Surprising Facts About Mary Todd Lincoln Lesson 44

Born: December 13, 1818- Lexington, Kentucky

Died: July 16, 1882- Springfield, IL

Mary Todd Lincoln, native to Kentucky, is often relegated to history as someone who suffered 

from mental illness, though in truth both herself and President Lincoln most likely suffered

from depression.  But, there are quite a few facts that most people don't know about this 

First Lady.

1. Mary was one of 16 children in her father's blended family.  He remarried after his first

wife, Mary's mother, passed away.  Mary had a troubled relationship with her stepmother.

2. Some of her siblings were confederates.  Raised in Kentucky, 8 of her siblings actually 

supported the Confederacy, which was not surprising considering her family's background.  

Three of her half brothers fought for the Confederacy.

3. Mary was educated.  As the daughter of a wealthy slave owner, Mary's family had plenty

of money.  Mary was highly educated and spoke fluent French, a fact she would put to use

in her later years as she traveled across Europe.

4. The Underground Railroad-  Despite a family that benefitted from slavery.  Mary was

always a staunch abolitionist.  Some say this is because her grandmother ran a safe house

on the Underground Railroad.

5. Mary had another suitor.  Mary was briefly courted by Stephen Douglas before she met

Abraham Lincoln.  The two men would later have a series of raucous debates in the 1858

race for the Illinois Senate race.  To say that Mary was into politics would have been quite the

understatement.

***Stephen A. Douglas (April 23, 1812-June 3, 1861) He was an American politician and 

lawyer from Illinois.  A senator, he was one of two nominees of the badly split Democratic

Party for president in the 1860 presidential election, which was won by Republican Abraham

Lincoln.  Douglas previously defeated Lincoln in the 1858 United States Senate election in

Illinois, known for the pivotal Lincoln-Douglas debates.

6. She was a follower of Spiritualism.  Spiritualism was one of her hobbies, as it was for many

women of the 19th century.  This was particularly true after the death of her children and after

Lincoln's assassination when she was overcome with grief and searching for comfort.

Mary sought a number of spiritualists, including Charles Colchester, an acquaintance of John

Wilkes Booth.

***"Lord" Charles J. Colchester was a medium whose spiritual gifts were as fake as his noble

pedigree.  He conducted seances for Mrs. Lincoln.  His shenanigans were exposed by journalist

Noah Brooks, who was one of Mrs. Lincoln's platonic male friends. He helped to expose 

Colchester, and also broke up Colchester's attempt to blackmail Mrs. Lincoln.

7. Inauguration gift- Because President Lincoln always felt he could not live up to Mrs. Lincoln's

wealthy upbringing and the fact that they had lived in boarding homes for most of their 

marriage, he bestowed his wife with a Tiffany seed pearl necklace and bracelet set which 

would have cost around $13,300. in today's money.

8. She petitioned for a pension.  After Lincoln's assassination she had to petition Congress for a

widow's pension.  Mary was finally granted a pension of $3,000. per year in 1870 after living

in declining financial circumstances following her husband's assassination.

9, Mary might have been a shopaholic.  She spent several years in Europe towards the end of

her life, after her only surviving child had her institutionalized for several months.  Mary had

four children with only one surviving.  A court later found her to be of sound mind but it created 

a huge rift between her and her son.

Among her faults, she was understandably depressed and seemed to cope by going on shoping

binges.