Mary Todd Lincoln

Mary Todd Lincoln

Mary Ann Todd (December 13, 1818 – July 16, 1882) was born in Lexington, Kentucky, the daughter of prominent residents of the city, Robert Smith Todd and Eliza Parker. At the age of twenty, Mary Todd moved to Illinois where her sister Elizabeth was living. Her sister Elizabeth, the fiancee of then-future Illinois Governor Ninian Edwards, introduced Mary to a young lawyer named Abraham Lincoln.

On November 4, 1842, she married Abraham Lincoln who later became the 16th president of the United States (1861-1865). Their children were:

1. Robert Todd Lincoln : Springfield, Illinois August 1, 1843 – July 26, 1926 in Manchester, Vermont
2. Edward Baker Lincoln : Springfield March 10, 1846 – February 1 1850 in Springfield
3. William Wallace Lincoln : Springfield December 21, 1850 – February 20, 1862 in Washington, D.C.
4. Thomas (Tad) Lincoln : Springfield April 4, 1853 – July 16, 1871 in Chicago, Illinois.

Of her four sons, only Robert survived into adulthood. Of Robert's children, only Jessie Lincoln had any children (2 - Mary Lincoln Beckwith and Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith). Neither Robert Beckwith nor Mary Beckwith had any children.

Mary Lincoln was instantly disliked when she arrived in Washington. Newspapers at the time criticized her for using taxpayers money to refurnish the White House as well as to fund personal shopping sprees. After her husband's death in April, 1865, her reputation was further besmirched as former Lincoln aides and cabinet members openly attacked Mrs. Lincoln as lacking compassion; some even hinting that she was a Confederate spy. In fact, she gradually became aggrieved and mentally unstable with the deaths of William, her husband, and ultimately Thomas (Tad).

Mary Lincoln was committed by her son Robert to an insane asylum in Batavia, Illinois in 1875. She was released three months later. She died at the Springfield, Illinois home of her sister Elizabeth on July 16, 1882.

External links

• Mary Todd Lincoln Research Site
• Especially for students - An Overview of Mary Todd Lincoln's Life