LINCOLN
. Mary Todd, wife of Abraham Lincoln,
was born in
Lexington
,
Ky.
, on December 12, 1818. Her father, Robert S. Todd, belonged to a family of
pioneers foremost in the development of the
commonwealth
of
Kentucky
. Her great-uncle, John Todd, took part in the capture of Kaskaskia and
Vincennes
, under Gen. George R. Clark in 1778, and subsequently organized the civil
government of
Illinois
. He was killed at the battle of Blue Licks, in which his brother, Levi, Mary's
grandfather, was a young lieutenant and one of the few survivors. Mary Todd was
carefully educated, and passed her early life in comparative luxury at the home
of an aunt. At the age of twenty-one while on a visit to a married sister in
Springfield
, she met Mr. Lincoln, a rising lawyer, and after a short engagement they were
married on Nov. 4, 1842. Miss Todd had curiously predicted in her girlhood that
she should be the wife of a president, and after her marriage her ambition kept
pace with her husband's progress in public life. In 1860 she awaited with
feverish anxiety the result of the republican convention at
Chicago
, keeping in mind her girlish prophecy. Her husband, not unmindful of her
ambition, upon receiving the telegram announcing his nomination, remarked:
"There is a little woman who has some interest in the matter," and
walked home to tell her of it. On the 9th of March Mrs. Lincoln gave her first
public reception, assisted by her sisters and nieces. Our portrait represents
her as she appeared at that period. She made a pleasant impression, and it was
perhaps the proudest moment of her existence. But it was also the inauguration
of her deepest afflictions. She presided at the most gloomy period in the
history of the capital. Her husband was bowed down by national cares; suspense
and uncertainty was in every heart; her family was devoted to the cause of the
South, while her hopes, with those of her husband and children, were with the
North. Unable by temperament and education to cope with these critical issues,
Mrs. Lincoln soon found herself the target of malice, detraction and falsehood.
She gave weekly receptions at a time when the state of the country made the
gaiety that she preferred out of keeping with the position she occupied, and the
death of the second son, Willie, shed a gloom over the private life of both
parents. But, during the whole of her occupancy of the White House, she was
unremitting in her care of the sick soldiers in the hospitals of
Washington
. The summer of 1864 was spent by Mrs. Lincoln at the seaside. After the
re-election of the president in the fall, the receptions of the season were
renewed with a promise of unusual gaiety, that of New Year's day opening with
exceptional brilliancy. . After the inauguration, Mrs. Lincoln felt that
brighter days were in store, and when the surrender of Gen. Lee on the 9th of
April was announced, she shared in the happy excitement that filled the White
House and the city. The fatal night of the 14th of April that ended the
president's life also blighted her own. From its effects she never recovered.
After a severe illness, she returned with her two boys to
Springfield
, where she was further afflicted by the death of Thomas, the youngest lad. In
1868," with a mind somewhat unbalanced and broken health, she sought rest
in travel. Congress had already paid her the amount of the president's salary
for one year, and in 1870 voted her an annual pension of $8,000, afterward
increased to $5,000. Still later an additional gift of $15,000 was presented to
her by congress to insure comfort in her old age. She possessed, besides, a
small estate left by her husband. In 1880 she returned from wanderings in
various countries, her mind still impaired, and spent her last days with her son
Robert in
Chicago
. She died stricken with paralysis, July 16, 1882, and was laid to rest by the
side of her husband and children in
Springfield
.
