Woman of the Century/Mary Todd Lincoln

LINCOLN, Mrs. Mary Todd, wife of Abraham Lincoln, sixteenth President of the United States, born in Lexington, Ky., 12th December, 1865, and died in Springfield, Ill., 16th July, 1882. She was the daughter of Robert S. Todd, whose family were among the influential pioneers of Kentucky and Illinois. Her ancestors on both sides were conspicuous for patriotism and intelligence. She was reared in comfort and received a thorough education. She went to Springfield, Ill., in 1840, to make her home with her sister, Mrs. Ninian W. Edwards. There she was wooed by Abraham Lincoln, then a prominent lawyer, and they were married on 4th November, 1842. They began life in a humble way. When Mr. Lincoln was sent to Congress, in 1847, Mrs. Lincoln remained in Springfield with her children. Her family were divided by the Civil War, and tht division caused Mrs. Lincoln much sorrow, ;is she was devoted to the Union cause throughout the struggle. During the war she spent much time in the camps and hospitals in and around Washington. Her life as mistress of the White House was eventful from beginning to end, and she was subjected to much hostile criticism, most of which was based upon ignorance of her true character. She was conscious of and sensitive to criticism, and her life was embittered by it. She never recovered from the shock received when her husband was shot while sitting beside her. After leaving the White House she lived in retirement. She traveled in Europe for months, and lived for some years with her son, Robert T. Lincoln, in Chicago. Two of her sons, William Wallace Lincoln and Thomas Lincoln, died before her. The assassination of her husband intensified some of her mental peculiarities, and those near her feared that her intellect was shattered by that appalling event. She died of paralysis, in the home of her sister, Mrs. Edwards, in Springfield, Ill.