Mary Todd Lincoln was born on December 13, 1818 into a wealthy
Lexington family. Her father, Robert Smith Todd, was a banker while her mother, Eliza, was a socialite. Unfortunely, Mary lost her mother at the age of six.
She moved to Springfield in 1839 at the age of 21, to live with an older sister. Shortly thereafter she met Abraham Lincoln, a rising young lawyer/politician. They married in 1842.
The couple's first child, Robert Todd Lincoln, was born in 1843 and the following year purchased their fisrt and only home. Edward's birth in 1846 added to the growing family. Tragically, they lost Eddie in 1850 to pulmonary tuberculosis.
She tried bravely to carry on birthing William Wallace 20 days later. Thomas (Tad) was born in 1853.
Tragedy continued to stalk Mary as she saw Willie die in 1862, her husband assassinated in 1865 and Tad died five years later.
Declared insane for a time, she lived in Europe until her final days, moving into her sister's house where she died in 1882.
