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Mary Todd Lincoln
Date of Birth: Dec 13, 1818
Date of Death: July 16, 1882
Age at death: 63
Married: Nov 4, 1842 Abraham
Lincoln
Children: 4 |
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- Mary Todd dated both Lincoln and his
political rival Stephen Douglas
- She accepted a proposal from Abe,
who broke the engagement just before the wedding
- He re-proposed and they were married
in 1842
- To put it mildly, Mary Todd was an
emotional wreck
- Severe migraines kept her bedridden
for weeks at a time, and she often threw tirades in public while
accusing her husband of infidelity
- She was physically abusive as witnessed
by attorney Lincoln often appearing in court with bruises, blackened
eyes, and on one occasion, a broken nose
- She expressed open destain toward
members of the press who cited her extravagant spending during
the height of the Civil War as both outrageous and disrespectful
- She purchased new china for $12,000,
and redecorated the Mansion while overshooting her allocated
budget by $20,000
- It was not unusual for merchants to
petition Congress, or demand payment from the president, for
Mrs. Lincoln's credits
- After the death of their son Willie
in 1862, Mary Todd staged six White House seances in an attempt
to communicate with him
- The president attended only one of
the meetings stating he just wanted to find out who was wasting
his wife's money
- Following her role as First Lady she
was declared insane and institutionalized for a year
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