Mary, an avid follower of politics, shared in the successes and misfortunes of her husband, who took national office for the first time in 1847, as a U.S.

In 1839 in Springfield, Illinois, she met Lincoln-“a poor nobody then.” Three years later, after a stormy courtship and a broken engagement, the couple wed on a rainy Friday before about 30 relatives and friends. Her strict stepmother later sent her away to school, where she received an elite education, studying French and the humanities. Mary Todd Lincoln in mourning attire after the 1862 death of her son Willie in the White House.īorn into a large, prosperous Lexington, Kentucky family, Mary Todd Lincoln lost her mother at age 6. Stepmother: Sarah Bush Lincoln (1788-1869) When 19-year-old Abe received news that his older sister had died in childbirth at the age of 20, he buried his face in his hands and sobbed, his former law partner and biographer William Herndon wrote. Like her brother, Sarah-who went by “Sally”-was intelligent, had a keen sense of humor and a gift for putting people at ease. Sister: Sarah (1807-1828)Īfter Nancy’s death in 1818, the burdens of keeping house fell to Lincoln’s 11-year-old sister Sarah. Two years later, Nancy died from “milk sickness” or tuberculosis. In 1816, the Lincolns moved to southern Indiana and constructed a small cabin on Little Pigeon Creek. Lincoln called his mother, a tall, slender woman with black hair, “highly intellectual by nature,” with a “strong memory” and “acute judgment.” Mother: Nancy Hanks Lincoln (1784-1818)Ī Virginia native, Nancy moved to Kentucky, where she married Thomas Lincoln and gave birth to their three children: Sarah, the eldest Abraham, the middle child and Thomas, who died in infancy. “In all of his published writings, and, indeed, even in reports of hundreds of stories and conversations, had not one favorable word to say about his father,” wrote Lincoln biographer David Herbert Donald. Abraham, busy with work and a sick wife, did not travel to attend his funeral. Thomas never met his daughter-in-law, Mary Todd, or his grandchildren. A stern father who was likely illiterate, Thomas never fully understood Abraham’s desire to further his education and reprimanded his son for reading instead of tending to chores. Thomas Lincoln, a homesteading farmer and sometime cabinet maker, chose to raise his family on the harsh Midwest frontier.

Here’s a look at Lincoln’s family, Mary’s Confederate relatives and tragedies that wracked the family: Father: Thomas (1778-1851) Losing the boys crushed Lincoln and Mary, who also lost two half-brothers and a brother-in-law during the Civil War. Lincoln’s mother, sister and three of his sons died young. Their lives together were marked by personal tragedy. His wife Mary Todd hailed from a wealthy clan. Abraham Lincoln came from the humblest of beginnings.

Lincoln herbert donald