Mr. And Mrs. Lincoln's Springfield, Illinois Home

JPK Huson 1863

Brev. Brig. Gen'l
Joined
Feb 14, 2012
Location
Central Pennsylvania
Why did the Lincoln's live in Springfield, Illinois?
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Mary Todd's sister Elizabeth Edwards lived there with her husband Ninian-son of a former governor. They moved in some elite social circles; Mary joined them there in in the late 1830's. Despite what one reads here and there Mary was extremely sought after. Her famous mercurial personality had not yet weathered losing three children and having a husband murdered in front of her eyes. Her on/off relationship with Lincoln is well-known. Known also is the 1842 marriage followed by the 1844 purchase of this NPS landmark, the home which carried them through the joys and storm clouds of mid-1800's family life.
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Lincoln is in white, to the right of the door in this photo taken of his campaign


Mary's niece wrote, "The little home was painted white and had green shutters. It was sweet and fresh, and Mary loved it. She was exquisitely dainty, and her house was a reflection of herself, everything in good taste and in perfect order."

When Abraham and Mary Lincoln bought their little home on Main St., Springfield, Illinois it was a little cabin-like home. Adding to the home as their family grew the home beloved by Mary and where she spent the happiest days of her life remains iconic to us, too. When they first bought it, as her niece described it was a tiny cottage perched on a corner lot. Much too cramped as their family grew, there does not seem to be a lot of the original cottage left? The architect must have been amazing, adding a second floor and much ground floor.

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This is cool. There are 2 of these, one with children in front of where you see Lincoln and his boys, one without the children. The other one is somewhere!
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The Lincolns faced much together during their married life together in this home. One of the aspects of life together Abraham raised with Mary in letters during their courtship- she had been raised as a wealthy young girl, how would she fare as the wife of a man who could not give her that lifestyle?

That is for another thread. I have several of those letters along with the famous, allegedly ' Abe/Mary ' breakup letter, where he supposedly ' broke up ' with her? Not true.

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NYPL, LoC, Pinterest, Springfield Historical Society, National Archives, Ebay
 
Such a neat place to visit and walk around. The "old time" feel is preserved in the neighborhood. I love visiting the Springfield area.
 
Tried to give you a look from afar to show you what the neighbor hood looks like today.


Thanks very much! It does seem to be a perfectly charming house and was then from what I can see. And older book whose title I will not source contains quotes and writings from the day. A Lincoln contemporary described it as cold and colorless- guess who he was influenced by? William Herndon- Lincoln's ex law partner and committed Mary 'enemy ' for want of a better word. He said this because Lincoln did not spend a lot of time planting things in the yard- and Mary did not either ,neglects to mention Mary had 4 small children under 10 all by herself and her husband a law practice keeping him away from home. Other visitors found it warm, charming and welcoming so to each his own.

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