Zachariah Riney bought a farm in 1811 on the Rolling Fork in Washington County, Kentucky, which originally belonged to Joseph Hanks. Joseph Hanks is either the Father or Grandfather of Nancy Hanks, the Mother of Abraham Lincoln.

That same year, Thomas Lincoln, Father of Abraham, moved his family to a farm on Knob Creek, about two miles form the Riney home.

Zachariah Riney is credited with being the first teacher of Abraham Lincoln. In the replica of Abe Lincoln's Knob Creek boyhood home, there is a sign stating that Zachariah Riney was the first teacher of Abraham Lincoln.