KY -- Lexington -- Mary Todd Lincoln House:
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- Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
- MTLH_100531_15.JPG: Mary Todd Lincoln House:
Built in 1806 as an inn. Became home of politician & businessman Robert S. Todd in 1832. Mary Todd, his daughter, born in Lexington on Dec. 13, 1818, moved to IL in 1839. There, she met & married Abraham Lincoln. The Todds moved away after Mr. Todd died in the 1849 cholera epidemic.
- MTLH_100601_01.JPG: Mary Todd Lincoln (Kentucky Lincoln Heritage Trail):
Mary Ann Todd was born on December 13, 1818, in Lexington, Kentucky, to Eliza Parker and Robert Smith Todd. Eliza died when Mary was six years old. After her death, Mary's grandmother, the Widow Parker, became the leading female influence in her life. Mary attended about ten years of school, first at John Ward's school and then at Madame Mentelle's boarding school both in Lexington. At a time when most women did not attend school, Mary was extremely well educated.
In 1839, Mary followed her sisters to Springfield, Illinois. In November 1842, she married a fellow Kentuckian, Springfield lawyer, and third-term Illinois state legislator, Abraham Lincoln. Together they had four children: Robert Todd, Edward "Eddie", William "Willie", and Thomas "Tad." While Mary tended to her domestic duties as a wife and mother, she also maintained a special interest in politics, one she had shared with her father since early childhood, as a frequent visitor to Henry Clay's estate. Mary's political connections and ambition for her husband played an important role in his election to the presidency.
After Abraham Lincoln's election in 1860, Mary prepared her family for the move to Washington, DC. Following the death of her son, "Willie", in 1862, Mary became a spiritualist and attendee of seances, where she attempted to reconnect with her dead loved ones. During Lincoln's White House years, Mary frequently visited wounded soldiers at area hospitals.
On April 14, 1865, her husband was assassinated at Ford's Theatre, after which time Mary struggled financially and emotionally. In 1875, her only surviving son, Robert Todd Lincoln, committed her to Bellevue Place Sanitarium. Released after three months, Mary lived in Peru, France, from 1876 until 1880, when her health forced her to return to the United States. She died shortly thereafter on July 16, 1882, in Springfield, Illinois.
1809: Abraham Lincoln born at Sinking Spring farm, in present-day Larue County, Kentucky.
1816: Lincoln family moved from Kentucky.
1841: Abraham Lincoln visited his friend Joshua Speed at Farmington, the Speed family plantation, in Louisville, Kentucky.
1842: Abraham Lincoln married Mary Todd of Lexington, Kentucky.
1847: The Lincoln family visited Lexington, Kentucky, en route to Abraham's only term in Congress.
1860: Abraham Lincoln elected President of the United States in November.
1865: Abraham Lincoln assassinated at Ford's Theatre in Washington, DC.
- MTLH_100601_09.JPG: From Two Different Worlds (Kentucky Lincoln Heritage Trail):
Although Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd married in November 1842, they were from two distinct backgrounds. The Todd family was a wealthy, urban family residing here in Kentucky's cultural center. Mary's father, Robert S. Todd, was a well-respected businessman and politician. Mary was accustomed to comfort and privilege. She was frequently criticized for exorbitant spending habits arising from an extravagant taste in dress and her renovations of the White House during the Civil War.
In contrast to the Todds, the Lincoln family was a rural, frontier family of "middling" means, residing in the Kentucky and Indiana countryside. Abraham's father, Thomas Lincoln, was a farmer and a carpenter. In future political campaigns, Abraham Lincoln effectively used this hardscrabble image to garner support for his candidacy.
The social status of the two families also influenced the education of Mary Todd and Abraham Lincoln> Mary received approximately ten years of formal education at both Ward's and Mentelle's boarding schools in Lexington. This made Mary one of the best-educated women of her time. While Abraham's schooling amount to less than one year, he continuously educated himself and became a self-made man. A further distinction involved the institution of slavery. Abraham Lincoln's family did not own slaves, yet the Todds owned slaves as personal household servants,
These two contrasting backgrounds did not affect their political opinions, and both Mary and Abraham supported the Whig Party. The Todd family had a long history of connections with Kentucky statesman Henry Clay, while Abraham Lincoln saw Clay as his political hero.
Lincoln's birth cabin would fit into just one of the rooms here at the Todd House. Despite the differences in their upbringing and education, Abraham and Mary Lincoln forged an ambitious partnership that helped propel Lincoln to the White House.
When the Civil War erupted, the house of Union president Abraham Lincoln was truly divided. The family of his wife, Lexington native Mary Todd, split as a result of the war. Of her thirteen siblings, eight supported the Confederacy and five the Union. Mary believed that her half brothers, Samuel, David, and Alexander, had abandoned her when they joined the Confederate army, and she wept when she learned of Alexander's death at the Battle of Baton Rouge. "He made a choice long ago, " she later told Elizabeth Keckley. "He decided against my husband, through him against me. He has been fighting against us and since he chose to be our deadly enemy, I see no special reason why I should bitterly mourn his death."
1809: Abraham Lincoln born at Sinking Spring farm, in present-day Larue County, Kentucky.
1816: Lincoln family moved from Kentucky.
1841: Abraham Lincoln visited his friend Joshua Speed at Farmington, the Speed family plantation, in Louisville, Kentucky.
1842: Abraham Lincoln married Mary Todd of Lexington, Kentucky.
1847: The Lincoln family visited Lexington, Kentucky, en route to Abraham's only term in Congress.
1860: Abraham Lincoln elected President of the United States in November.
1865: Abraham Lincoln assassinated at Ford's Theatre in Washington, DC.
- MTLH_100601_31.JPG: Dedicated to
Beula C. Nunn
Founder and Chairman, 1968-1991
Kentucky Mansions Preservation Foundation.
Member, 1973-1979
President's Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
Founder and President, 1988-1995
South Central Kentucky Cultural Center.
For her vision, determination, outstanding accomplishments
and inspiration in preserving Kentucky's historic
properties and heritage.
The Governor's Mansion, Frankfort
White Hall State Shrine, Richmond
The Mary Todd Lincoln House, Lexington
Museum of the Barrens, Glasgow
- MTLH_100601_41.JPG: Todd House
Home of Mary Todd Lincoln
from 1832 to 1839. To this
house in after years she
brought Abraham Lincoln
and their children..
- AAA "Gem": AAA considers this location to be a "must see" point of interest. To see pictures of other areas that AAA considers to be Gems, click here.
- Wikipedia Description: Mary Todd Lincoln House
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mary Todd Lincoln House at 578 West Main Street in Lexington, Kentucky was the family home of the future first lady and wife of the 16th President, Mary Todd Lincoln. The two story home was the home of Robert S. Todd and his family. The family moved to the home in 1832. Mary Todd lived in this home till 1839 when she moved to Springfield, Illinois.
The house was built c.1803-1806 as an inn and tavern which was called "The Sign of the Green Tree" before its purchase by the Todd family. Todd was the president of the Lexington Branch of the Bank of Kentucky and also served in the Kentucky General Assembly for 24 years. He was actively involved in the grocery business in Lexington as well as a cotton-manufacturing firm.
Historic Status:
The Mary Todd Lincoln house has the distinction of being the first historic site restored in honor of a First Lady. The home is operated by the Kentucky Mansions Preservation Foundation, Inc. and was opened to the public on June 9, 1977.
Museum:
Beula C. Nunn, wife of Louie B. Nunn (former Governor of Kentucky), along with Kentucky Mansions Preservation Foundation, Inc. and the Metropolitan Women's Club of Lexington, was responsible for the preservation and restoration of the Mary Todd Lincoln House. In June, 1996 the Beula C. Nunn Garden at the Mary Todd Lincoln House was dedicated and opened to the public. Today the enclosed gardens contain trees, plants, herbs and shrubs that represent what may have been in the gardens at the Todd home in the early nineteenth century. The gardens are cared for by the Lexington Soil Mates Garden Club and the Bluegrass Herb Guild.
The Home is open to the public.
Unusual History:
Famous Lexington Madam Belle Brezing was a working girl in a bawdy house, run by Jenny Hill, located in this building starting in 1879, before becoming a Madam in her own right. Miss Brezing is widely credited as being an inspiration for the character of Belle Watling in Gone With The Wind.
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