Grave of James Rutledge, father of Ann

[davg2000]

I grew up in central Illinois believing that Lincoln loved Ann Rutledge and that her death nearly destroyed him. Over the years I taught quite a few relatives of Ann Rutledge, and all of them believed that Lincoln loved Ann, although one did say that opinion in the Rutledge family was mixed. With regard to Ann's significance in the Lincoln story, for several years I taught Edgar Lee Masters's 1916 poem from "Spoon River Anthology," in which Masters has Ann[e], speaking from beyond the grave, say: "Bloom forever, O Republic,/From the dust of my bosom!" (The usual explanation of those words is that Ann is acknowledging that after her death the distraught Lincoln threw himself into a political career, which culminated in his saving the Union, and causing the Republic to "bloom forever.") Perhaps Herndon's and Weik's biography fed the poem, which has fed the myth. I'd guess that if you ask most in central Illinois to explain Ann's importance to Lincoln, you'd hear that Lincoln deeply loved her, somehow overcame her loss, and then went on. I don't think it is commonly believed around here that Lincoln never truly loved Mary, whatever Herndon said, and whatever the "myth" suggests.

I once asked Tom Schwartz what he thought. He said that he didn't believe that Lincoln had the time to pursue a deep relationship with Ann. Dr. Schwarz said that in 1834 and 35 Lincoln was too busy in the Illinois State Legislature, which met in Vandalia, a long way from New Salem.