Mary Todd Lincoln by Jean Baker

[Susan Higginbotham]

(09-26-2019 08:12 PM)Gene C Wrote:  

(09-26-2019 10:36 AM)L Verge Wrote:  Until Gene pointed it out, I had forgotten about the reference to Mary Harlan Lincoln having a drinking problem. I don't ever remember reading that anywhere else; did I miss it in Giant in the Shadows? I've always wanted to see something in depth about Mary Harlan, mainly because I suspect she was one of the problems that contributed to how Robert handled his mother's situation.

I looked through Jason Emerson's Giant In the Shadows and was unable to find any reference to Mary Harlan and a drinking problem.

There is a footnote in Baker's book about Mary
"The evidence for Mary Harlan Lincoln's alcoholism is circumstantial, although strong. Her husband never specifically names it, although he does refer obliquely to it in a number of ways. The stories about Mary Lincoln's wanting to kidnap her granddaughter, Mamie, were partly the result of the grandmother's desire to her away from a drunken mother."
(page 405, note 88)

This note epitomizes the flaws in Baker's biography for me. She offers no specific evidence for her claim, circumstantial or otherwise, and essentially concludes that Mary Harlan was a drunk because she was a drunk.

I'm also not convinced that Mary managed Lincoln's salary in the White House, especially in light of her own financial difficulties. Didn't he die with uncashed salary checks in his desk?