Mary Todd Lincoln

On December 13, 1818, Eliza Parker Todd, wife of Robert Smith Todd of Lexington, Kentucky, gave birth to a daughter, Mary Ann Todd. She was the fourth of what was to be sixteen Todd children. 

Mr. Todd who received a degree in law at Transylvania University was a leading member of the Whig party and very active in the politics of the day. He was friends with Henry Clay who often came to the Todd home to discuss his presidential campaigns. Young Mary Todd admired Mr. Clay and said she would love to visit him some day in the White House. Mary's father encouraged her to sit in on the political meetings that took place in her home, to have an opinion and be able to back it up. Mary would often visit Mr. Clay at his home, Ashland.

Mary loved to learn and read. She had 12 years of formal education which was very unusual for that time for a young lady. Most men did not have that much formal education. This love of learning and politics was the basis of the beginning of a friendship between her and a young member of the Whig party in Springfield, Illinois. Mary Todd was most impressed by the speeches of Mr. Abraham Lincoln. The two would have long conversations about Henry Clay and about books and poetry they had read. Eventually, much to the chagrin of her family, the friendship grew stronger. Mary Todd married Abraham Lincoln in November, 1842.

As a young lawyer in Springfield, Abraham Lincoln would travel with the circuit court which would cause him to be in remote areas for extended periods. Mary would hold down the home front in his absence and keep up with all the latest political news by reading the newspapers and newest books. Mr. Lincoln often commented that he had no need to read a book after Mary reviewed it for him.

Abraham Lincoln was not always a popular and successful candidate. Many times he became discouraged by defeat but always Mary, his best supporter, was there to encourage him. She knew that he would be able to make a difference in Washington. In 1847 Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln and their two sons stopped to visit Lexington on their way to Washington, DC., where Mr. Lincoln would be in the House of Representatives. During this visit Abraham Lincoln witnessed first hand some of the slave auctions that were held in the center of town.

During the difficult times of the Civil War while Mr. Lincoln was president Mary made it her job to see that he took care of himself. She would prepare his favorite food and arrange to have interesting visitors at their meals to help take his mind off the war at least for awhile. Finally when the war ended on April 10, 1865 Mary was looking forward to being able to enjoy a normal life with her husband. On April 14, just four days later that dream ended with a shot from the gun of John Wilkes Booth.

Mary Lincoln knew much sorrow in her life.  As her husband’s fame grew, the attention to every detail of their lives grew.  During the Civil War, some of the Todd family supported the Confederacy, yet Mary was the First Lady of the United States.  She lost family members to the war and over the years lost three sons to illness.  Mary Lincoln lived for seventeen years after the assassination.  She remained in mourning that entire time, wearing black every day.  She died in July, 1882, just before her 64^th birthday.  She is buried in Springfield, Illinois, with her husband and three of her children, Eddie, Willie and Tad.