Lincoln and Ann Rutledge

[LincolnToddFan]

If conjoined bedrooms means semi-separate? Yes I suppose you could call it that.

They shared the same bedroom for the first 12-13 years of marriage until the enlargement of their Springfield residence in 1854-1855...then they acquired separate rooms that were connected to one another.

The same situation in their WH years, separate rooms that were conjoined. The president could access his wife's bed anytime without being seen by anyone, and the same for his wife.

ETA: Another overlooked, very poignant detail provides-in my opinion- a key about the physical intimacy that existed between the Lincolns throughout at least most of their marriage..in the last months of her life even though she was ill and confused, Mary insisted on sleeping on one side of the bed so as to keep "the president's place" as she called it free for him. This is sad, but significant. I think it confirms the idea that even in the fog of her dying days she was relying on her memories of a husband who had regularly shared her bed.

sources: Ruth Painter Randall's "Biography of a Marriage" and Jean Baker "Mary Todd Lincoln"