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(#3) Three Of Her Four Sons Passed Before She Did
Though Mary Todd Lincoln had four sons during her marriage to Abraham Lincoln, she buried three of them in her lifetime. Eddie and Willie both passed in childhood - Eddie at 4 and Willie at 11 - and Tad at the age of 18.
Her last surviving son was Robert, the only one who reached adulthood and outlived his parents.
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(#6) She Had A Wicked Stepmother
Mary Todd was only 6 years old when her mother passed. Her father soon remarried, giving his brood of seven children a new stepmother named Betsey Humphreys.
Mary Todd routinely clashed with her stepmother, and Humphreys didn't make life easy for her new stepchildren. She relied on shame, humiliation, and embarrassment as punishments and even referred to Mary Todd as a "limb of Satan."
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(#13) Her Husband's Political Rival Had Been Her Early Suitor
Mary Todd was a favorite fixture of society in Springfield, IL, whenever she visited her sister who was living there. Bright, witty, and vivacious, she attracted attention wherever she went.
Though a tall and skinny lawyer named Abraham Lincoln would eventually win her hand, he was far from Mary Todd's only suitor. Stephen A. Douglas - the very same man who ran a successful Senate campaign against Lincoln in 1858 - had also courted Mary Todd in Springfield.
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(#4) She Was Committed To An Asylum By Her Own Son
Following the assassination of her husband in April 1865, Mary Todd became increasingly depressed and agitated. It got to the point that Robert, her only surviving son, had her committed to an asylum outside of Chicago in 1875.
Mary Todd Lincoln was committed to Bellevue Sanitarium in Batavia, IL, ultimately orchestrating her own release from the institution a few months later and moving to Europe for a time.
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(#7) She Was Labeled A 'Hellcat'
Mary Todd Lincoln had a hard time pleasing her critics in Washington. So, when she took it upon herself to redecorate the shabby White House and give the president's office some added legitimacy and class, it was an opportunity for her to win the respect of those who disliked her. Unfortunately, her project ran over budget, which only emboldened her critics. Between her redecorating scheme and her shopping sprees (she was said to own over 300 pairs of gloves), it was easy to label her a spendthrift - a horrible charge during wartime.
It wasn't just her spending that attracted criticism, she could also be moody and volatile at times. And her husband's private secretary did her no favors when he called her a "hellcat."
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(#16) She Felt Betrayed By A Former Dressmaker And Friend
Elizabeth Keckley's story is every bit as fascinating as Mary Todd Lincoln's. Born into slavery in 1818, Keckley used her skills in dressmaking to buy her freedom and establish her own shop in Washington, DC, in 1860. When Mary Todd saw Keckley's dresses, she was so impressed that she hired the woman as her personal dressmaker. Keckley quickly became a trusted friend, confidant, and adviser to the increasingly isolated and troubled First Lady.
In 1868, Keckley wrote and published her memoirs about living and working in the White House, and the former first lady felt the book was a betrayal of their friendship.
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About This Tool
The assassination of Abraham Lincoln emotionally destroyed his wife. But this is not the first terrible thing Mary Todd Lincoln has suffered. Unfortunately, this is not the last tragic event in her entire life. Maybe no woman is as tough and wise as Mary Todd Lincoln, the most tragic first lady in American history. Although she grew up in a family with such a prominent position and married the greatest historical figure, her life was unfortunate.
Mary Todd Lincoln not only experienced the deaths of her mother, 3 children, and her husband but also misunderstood by society. The random tool shares 17 heartbreaking facts about the tragic life of Mary Todd Lincoln.
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