"Lincoln in his early years was simply too poor"

I think you will find that is part of the "Lincoln Myth", that as a Lawyer in Springfield, Ill. prior to his marriage to Mary Todd, Lincoln had property holdings, I believe in a hotel and a couple of other partnerships, according to some recent documents discovered in the towns archives.

So it is possible that Lincoln did have persons working for him in these investment properties, in a non direct manner, who were less than free to make their own decisions.