Did Mary Lincoln Suffer from Pernicious Anemia?

[RJNorton]

(07-17-2016 11:15 AM)L Verge Wrote:  Weren't many of the bodies prepared for burial and then brought to the family's parlor for viewing?

Laurie, this is what happened with Mary. Dr. Wayne C. Temple writes that the Edwards family "summoned Thomas C. Smith to take charge of the body and prepare it for burial. This noted undertaker kept his establishment and his home at 325 South 5th. After embalming, Mary's body was placed in a rosewood casket having a heavy lead inside lining. Outside, the coffin was covered with black velvet. When the undertaker had completed his labors, Mary Lincoln's 'face bore the faint trace of a smile as though the troubled soul had been thrilled with a new joy'....Early on Tuesday morning July 18 the undertaker returned Mary Lincoln's body to the Edwards house. There, the casket was opened and placed in the front parlour where Mary Todd had wed Abraham Lincoln on November 4, 1842."

Source: p. 395-396 of Dr. Temple's Abraham Lincoln: From Skeptic to Prophet.