ok, so in my last post I told you about the BooksBloom Seminar we hosted right? I was flipping through the biographies when I came across one titled Mr. Lincoln's Wife & I was intrigued. In my mind I've kinda thought of the names we learn in history but never thought of the persons bearing the name, you get what I'm saying? Like I remember Abraham Lincoln, the President known as "honest Abe" but know nothing of the man behind the name.
As I was drawn in to the life of Mary Todd Lincoln, I thought to myself, huh, she and I could have probably been friends. It talks about how she came from a fairly nice family & they didn't quite approve of Abraham Lincoln, thinking he wouldn't go very far or be successful, but how she had set her mind on waiting for him, and boy did she! lol ;p Mrs. Lincoln caught alot of flack after coming into the White House for the money that she spent whilst the war was going on, and while I agree that she could have been more conservative with her purchases, I also can see how she was easily swept up in the shopping. She had just moved from her home, away from her family, her husband constantly busy with work, people in Washington were not at all welcoming her to the neighborhood. So the sales people were happy to see her, speaking ever so pleasantly I'm sure, now lets be honest here, I'd want to stay there too right? The Lincolns had 4 children, I never knew Mr. Lincoln was married before this book much less that they had children :) Robert, Eddie, Willie, Taddie... Poor woman, all that testosterone in one place, she had to stand her ground (:
Eddie was the first of her children to pass away from illness, then Willie became gravely ill and passed away while they were serving in Washington. Mr. Lincoln after being re-elected for The Presidency to serve his second term was out for the evening and was shot sitting right next to his wife. Now, I'm just adding my 2sence worth here but I think I would have lost my mind way before this point! Mrs. Lincoln started having dreams of Willie and Mr.Lincoln and people thought she was going a bit insane. She moved to Europe for several years to live comfortably and out of the public eye I imagine too. After coming home Taddie who had graduated, became sick and died. She only had her eldest son Robert left and he had her committed! Oh my, when I read that part I was like, seriously? I'm sure he thought it was in her best interest at the time, but really? This poor lady had been thought it in her life, I wonder how lonely she must have been, going from a house full of children to one by one them slipping away, only to be followed by the death of her husband whom she adored, pushed to succeed, proudly watched him blossom. To one day wake up and find it all gone? Makes me so sad to think of her in that place, but, as a wife and mother myself I can assure you she'd have done it all over again. Mrs. Lincoln eventually won back her freedom from the institution and spent her final days back at home in Springfield with her sister Elizabeth.
I've learned so much about the Lincoln Family through this book, I can say with confidence I now understand what a living book is! Oh, I can't wait to dive into the next one!
