Abraham Lincoln, initially, was among the first (4)
I believe the answer is:
abel
'among the first' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.
'abraham lincoln initially' is the wordplay.
'abraham' becomes 'abe'.
'initially' suggests taking the first letters.
The first letter of 'lincoln' is 'l'.
'abe'+'l'='ABEL'
'was' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for abel that I've seen before include "tragic figure" , "One of the first children" , "The first recorded murder victim" , "Victim of murderer" , "First person killed" .)