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Thomas "Tad" Lincoln:
His nickname derived from his large head, said to resemble a tadpole. Tad was a lively, mischievous child who shared his mother's temper. He suffered from a speech impediment -- the result of a cleft palate -- and possible learning disabilities. "Let him run," said the president, "he has time enough left to learn his letters and get pokey."
One day Tad hitched a pair of goats to a chair and drove himself through a crowded East Room reception. On another occasion he stood behind his father at a review of Union troops and waived a Confederate flag. When not devouring strawberries intended for a state dinner or training a toy cannon on his father's Cabinet, Tad often stood at the foot of the staircase leading to the presidential offices and charged a five cent "entrance fee."
In 1863, Tad made a new friend -- a turkey sent to the White House for Christmas dinner. He named the bird Jack and interrupted a Cabinet meeting to demand a presidential pardon -- a tradition that is still carried on nearly 150 years later. |