Mary Todd Lincoln letters, 1865-1910, bulk 1865-1866

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Summary

Creators:
Lincoln, Mary Todd, 1818-1882
Abstract:
Collection consists of 69 letters, primarily from Mary Todd Lincoln to Alexander Williamson dated from 1865 to 1867. In addition, there are several letters from Lincoln to Sally Orne, 1865 to 1870, and to Noyes W. Miner, 1881 to 1882. Also present are two letters from Otto Wiecker to collector William K. Bixby, dated 1908 and 1910.
Extent:
3.7 Linear Feet (4 boxes)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Mary Todd Lincoln letters, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

Collection contains 56 letters from Mary Todd Lincoln to Alexander Williamson dated from 1865 to 1867; in addition, there are seven letters from Lincoln to Sally Orne, 1865 to 1870, and four letters to Noyes W. Miner, 1881 to 1882. Letters to Alexander Williamson concern Lincoln's financial situation and her enlistment of Williamson in her efforts to obtain appropriations from Congress. Letters from Lincoln to her friend Sally Orne also discuss her finances and the actions of Congress, and her illnesses. Her letters to Noyes W. Miner similarly discuss her Congressional pension and her health.

Also present are two letters from Otto Wiecker to collector William K. Bixby, dated 1908 and 1910. Wiecker mentions letters in the possession of the widow of Alexander Williamson, presumably referring to letters from Mary Todd Lincoln to Alexander Williamson in this collection. He also discusses other Lincolniana items he hopes to procure and/or sell, including a shawl of Mary Todd Lincoln's and a signed presentation copy of the Gettysburg Address in the hand of Abraham Lincoln.

Biographical / historical:

Mary Todd Lincoln (1818-1882) was born in Lexington, Kentucky, the daughter of Robert Todd, a lawyer and merchant, and Elizabeth Ann ("Eliza") Parker Todd. Her mother died when she was a child and her father remarried Elizabeth Humphreys in 1826. Mary Todd married Abraham Lincoln in 1842 and moved to Springfield, Illinois, where she was involved in furthering her husband's political career. Abraham Lincoln was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1846 and the Illinois State Legislature in 1854; he ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate in 1858. In 1860, he was elected president and Mary Todd Lincoln served as first lady of the United States from 1861 to 1865. Following Abraham Lincoln's assassination in April 1865, Mary Todd Lincoln struggled financially and sought appropriations from Congress and donations, engaging Treasury Department clerk and the Lincoln family's former tutor, Alexander Williamson (approximately 1814-1903), in her efforts. She relocated to Chicago then traveled to Europe with her son Thomas ("Tad") in 1868, living in Frankfurt, Germany, and in England, with visits to other locations. She was granted a lifetime annual pension from Congress in July 1870. Lincoln returned to the United States in 1871; her son Thomas died in July. In 1875, she was institutionalized in Illinois after a hearing instigated by her oldest son, Robert Todd Lincoln, spending a year at the sanitarium Bellevue Place. During the final years of her life, Mary Todd Lincoln lived in Springfield, Illinois; Pau, France; and New York. She died in Springfield, Illinois at age 63.

Acquisition information:
Most items in this collection were purchased from William K. Bixby, 1918; these letters are noted in item Source of Acquisition notes.
Custodial history:

The Mary Todd Lincoln letters (mssLincolnm) were previously part of the Lincoln file, an assembled collection created by the Huntington Library in the mid-20th century containing Abraham Lincoln and Lincoln-related material (see Guide to American Historical Manuscripts in the Huntington Library, 1979). Abraham Lincoln manuscripts are now in the Abraham Lincoln collection (mssLincoln).

Processing information:

This collection was reprocessed in 2022 by Melissa Haley as part of the American Presidential Papers Project. The items had been physically assembled and arranged by former Huntington Library staff; material was rehoused during reprocessing. Previously assigned item-level call numbers have been retained. Items marked autograph indicate the item is in the handwriting of the author of the letter.

Several letters in this collection have incomplete dates or dates with years which appear to have been added later in a different hand, some of which are most likely misdated. In these cases, dates in this finding aid reflect those determined by Justin G. Turner and Linda Levitt Turner, editors of Mary Todd Lincoln: Her Life and Letters (1972). See their editors' note for further information about their dating process. Scope and Contents notes in item descriptions detail date discrepancies where applicable.

Arrangement:

Material is arranged chronologically.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

Terms of access:

The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Mary Todd Lincoln letters, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
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