Abraham Lincoln and the Eighth Judicial Circuit

[LincolnToddFan]

Thanks Roger. AL was what we call a "man's man" in the best, truest sense of the word. He enjoyed the humor, camaraderie, intellectual stimulation, all the things that one would only have gotten exclusively within a circle of male friends in 19th century America.

One of (many) puzzling and unfair charges Michael Burlingame makes is that AL's long absences from home-caused of course by his unhappy marriage-negatively affected his relationships with his sons.
(Abraham Lincoln-A Life-vol I)

Robert Todd Lincoln was not especially close to his father, as most Lincoln scholars agree. Part of it might have been because of AL's frequent absences during "Bobby's" early childhood but mostly it seems to have been because their characters and personalities were drastically different. Even so, he revered his father's memory to the end of his life.

Edward Baker(Eddie) Lincoln died just short of his 4th birthday but he is said to have adored his father. "Eddie's eyes light up just at the mention of your name". (Mary Todd Lincoln: Her Life and Letters) Justin G. Turner, Linda Leavitt-Turner

Then of course there are Willie and Tad. It hardly bears repeating how close Lincoln was to his two youngest children. He was quite simply crazy about them, and they seemed to adore him almost to the point of worship. There is no reason ever to think that his absences from home affected his relationships with them. There are too many eyewitnesses to the love and closeness he had for those boys to even begin to list here.

On what is Burlingame basing his opinion about AL's absences adversely impacting his relationships with his sons?