Mary Todd Lincoln's Cell

[historybuff22]

The travel channel will be airing a new episode of their "Mysteries at the Museum" tonight at 9 PM and Midnight Eastern Time Zone. One segment relates Mary Todd Lincoln's time spent in the mental institution including showing the "cell" she was in. I have no idea how accurate it will be, but I plan on watching it anyway.

Rick Brown
HistoryReference.org
A Nonprofit Organization

PS: HistoryBuff.com has changed its name to HistoryReference.org

[Anita]

Thanks for posting. I will watch also!

[LincolnMan]

Mary Todd Lincoln's Cell: I always imagined she had a room- a sort of homey living area for the VIP that she was.

[RJNorton]

For anyone who may have missed it previously our own Dr. Blaine Houmes owns the rocking chair from Mary's room.

[LincolnMan]

Way cool!

[LincolnToddFan]

Poor Mary.

[L Verge]

I missed the broadcast; did Mary really have a "cell?" Like Bill, I always imagined her having a nice room or even a suite of at least a sitting room and bedroom.

[Eva Elisabeth]

J. Baker describes it as "12- by-21-foot room that had the furnishings of a third class European hotel." She was locked in the room at nights and spied on through the door. (Well, the furnishing of a third class European hotel can vary a lot depending on the country!!!)

[L Verge]

(07-03-2015 02:14 PM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote:  J. Baker describes it as "12- by-21-foot room that had the furnishings of a third class European hotel." She was locked in the room at nights and spied on through the door. (Well, the furnishing of a third class European hotel can vary a lot depending on the country!!!)

Then I'm going to agree with Toia, "Poor Mary." And add, "Wretched Robert."

[historybuff22]

One thing I learned from the show is that Mary had several migraine headaches each month. Her doctor prescribed laudanum. Side effects were hallucinations. This is where the claim of "insanity" came from.

Rick Brown
HistoryReference.org
A Nonprofit Organization

[Susan Higginbotham]

Well, the bed and dresser don't look that bad:

http://i.dailyherald.com/stories/89/normal/89065.jpg

A reporter who visited Mrs. Lincoln in her rooms in July 1875 described them thusly: "She occupies a suite in front of the house on the second floor. The attendant sits in the small room, which contains a single bed. The larger room is Mrs. Lincoln's sitting and bedroom. It is very plainly furnished, the same as it was prior to her coming: an ordinary, three-ply carpet, of pleasant colors, harmoniously blended; a bureau, rocking chair, and lounge, and a plain bedstead, with a very fine bed, about which she is quite particular."

I enjoyed the Baker book, but I think her objectivity went off the rails when it came to Robert Lincoln, even to the point of accusing his wife of being an alcoholic with very little supporting evidence.

[RJNorton]

Jean Baker surprised me when she wrote the introduction to Tripp's book. Unless I missed it she gave no hint of her feelings regarding Abraham when she wrote her Mary Lincoln bio.

[L Verge]

The reporter's comments seem more realistic to me, so I'll calm down a bit. Is it just me, or does it appear that all the furniture in that bedroom has been pushed together in a tight space? Were they polishing the floors in the rest of the room when that photo was taken?

For a woman such as Mary, who had been active all of her life and who enjoyed traveling, confinement in a small space (no matter how elegant) would have been very difficult and, I suspect, would have led to some of her "mental issues." I also suspect that laudanum was prescribed for her repeatedly to keep her calm -- much like what some questionable nursing homes do to the elderly today. My mother was in a very reputable one for six months of rehab after poor military medical treatment. A CVS pharmacist and I became good friends as I monitored what medicines were being prescribed for her by the nursing home's doctor - since her own physician was not allowed to attend her.

Tranquilizers and anti-depressants come under a wide variety of names, and I'm not sure that all doctors know how they interact with other drugs, etc. The nursing station did not want to give me the names of the drugs she was taking, but a power of attorney and the threat of a lawsuit (plus reminding the administrators who is paying the bill) works wonders. My mother was a self-pay because the military did not cover rehab and nursing care and neither she nor my father had Social Security benefits -- a long story on how the system allowed people to slip through the cracks. Okay, off my soap box.....

[RJNorton]

(07-04-2015 12:38 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Is it just me, or does it appear that all the furniture in that bedroom has been pushed together in a tight space? Were they polishing the floors in the rest of the room when that photo was taken?

Laurie, I do not think that photo shows the actual room at Bellevue. It's a display of furnishings from the Lincoln Room in a museum in Batavia. They probably need the rest of the space for other Lincoln-related exhibits.

(Depot Museum, I believe)

[Houmes]

(07-04-2015 12:59 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  

(07-04-2015 12:38 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Is it just me, or does it appear that all the furniture in that bedroom has been pushed together in a tight space? Were they polishing the floors in the rest of the room when that photo was taken?

Laurie, I do not think that photo shows the actual room at Bellevue. It's a display of furnishings from the Lincoln Room in a museum in Batavia. They probably need the rest of the space for other Lincoln-related exhibits.

(Depot Museum, I believe)

I agree. The photo is very misleading regarding the room size. I've been there and due to other Lincoln artifacts in the room, it's somewhat crowded. In addition, Mrs. Lincoln did not have it as bad as might be thought; she frequently took meals with Dr. Patterson (the owner) and his family (which were not arranged for other "patients"), had friends visiting from nearby St. Charles, went for buggy rides in the nearby countryside, etc., etc. Calling it an asylum would be stretching the truth; it was fairly genteel, and more like a rest home with medical treatment for those able to afford it.