Mary Todd Lincoln Mary Todd Lincoln, An Introduction By Her Family, With Their Love

So back in Springfield, Mary Todd, now Lincoln and their rapidly growing family were quite a fixture. A nice one, William Herndon's later claim notwithstanding. For all the claims on how difficult Mary Todd was, she sure had a circle of friends, was raising a family, functioned as the wife of a rising politician and was fiercely loyal to those around her.
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His wife detested this photo, Lincoln as a brilliant young lawyer with an eye to politics- and a young family.

Like suburbans families everywhere, close friends developed- the Remanns became American History, Mary, Henry and children moving into the neighborhood, Henry and Lincoln becoming buddies, Mary and Mary sharing much. Both buried children from these homes. Henry died of TB in 1849, leaving a widow and daughters who remembered Lincoln carrying them on his shoulders, to see a parade.
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The Remann girls, Mary and Josie- Josie, who grew up to marry Ninian and Elizabeth's son ( and were caretakers of the Lincoln home ) is wearing the gold watch bequeathed her by father Henry.

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Mary Todd Lincoln's best friend- yes, she had friends, Mary Black Remann. She also buried while in Springfield- and a husband.

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You see? Another name, ' Remann ', perhaps not Stanton, Grant or Halleck, in our History, but gosh, the stories are better. " If the boys strung a string .... " 1800's prank, who knew?
 
Annie just another excellent thread. I learn so much from your threads and enjoy all the photos and illustrations so much. It would have been interesting to live near the Lincolns.


This is from last year, sorry not to have seen it! Yes, Mary Todd's genuine story gets lost beneath fallacious, salacious rubble. You could see where the voices of those who really knew her would be lost- who wants to hear something nice when made-up nonsense gave era gossips something to treasure?
 
Annie, thanks for the posting. It's nice to see that the Lincoln's did have friends, including Mary. If anyone knows what a person is really like it's their friends and neighbors.
 
Ran into something yesterday which reminded me of this thread. One of her sisters, while gushing about Mary to newspapers was at work tearing her apart behind her back. THEN wrote a book- like she'd have been in the public eye without a sister married to the name attached to more streets, pennies, institutions and books than anyone on the planet. It was heart breaking, wish there were better words.

Mentioning this because we girls flatten me. And do not learn from History. As long as attacking each other like cowards and bullies is a hobby, we'll never have our own penny. Talk about shooting ourselves in the cute shoes.
 
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