Mary Ann Todd Lincoln was the wife of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th U.S. President. She served as First Lady from 1861 to 1865.
Early Life
Mary Ann Todd Lincoln was born on December 13, 1818, in in Lexington, Kentucky. Her mother died when she was six-year-old. Her father, a wealthy merchant, ensured she had a privileged upbringing and was well educated.
Mary met Abraham Lincoln while visiting her older sister in Springfield, Illinois. Although her family initially objected to Mary marrying someone older and less affluent, the couple married on November 4, 1842. While they may have had opposite personalities as well, they had a loving and happy marriage. “My wife is as handsome as when she was a girl, and I…fell in love with her; and what is more, I have never fallen out,” Abraham said during his tenure as President. Mary and Abraham had four sons, three of whom died in childhood.
First Lady
Mary Todd Lincoln supported her husband’s political aspirations all the way to the White House. She hosted events and offered political advice. When Abraham Lincoln first learned he had been elected President, he reportedly ran home yelling “Mary, Mary, we are elected.”
Upon President Lincoln’s election, 11 states seceded from the Union. Although Mary was a loyal supporter of the Union, many of her family members were not. Her ties to the Confederacy, along with her outspoken nature and lavish spending during wartime, opened Mary to criticism as First Lady. As noted in her White House biography, “While the Civil War dragged on, Southerners scorned her as a traitor to her birth, and citizens loyal to the Union suspected her of treason.”
Mary also suffered intense loss while serving as First Lady. The couple’s son William died of typhoid fever in 1862. On April 14, 1865, Mary was sitting next to Abraham at Ford’s Theatre when he was assassinated. The President died the next day, and Mary never fully recovered.
Later Life
Upon the death of her husband, Mary returned to Illinois and went on to survive her husband by 17 years. During that time, raised her son Tad, traveled to Europe, and lobbied Congress for a widow’s pension. Tragically, her son Tad died in 1871 at the age of eighteen, sending her into a deep depression. In 1875, Mary was institutionalized for several months at an asylum in Batavia, Illinois.
Mary reclaimed control over life and went to live in Europe, returning to the United States to live with her sister in 1881 due to her declining health. Mary Todd Lincoln died on July 16, 1882, at the age of 63. She is buried with her husband in Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield, Illinois.
