Mary's purchase ....

[eperon]

   

I just read something last night that gave me chills! I started a brand new book (for me), written in ‘08, called, “They Have Killed Papa Dead,” taken from a quote by little Tad Lincoln when he heard about his father’s death.

Anyway, this historian decided to take the “road less taken” to see what he could discover about Lincoln’s assassination — not in public documentation, but in private letters and journals of people it touched most at the time.

Searching the White House financial expenditures around the time, the bookkeeper documented that about a MONTH before the assassination, Mary Lincoln bought about a thousands dollars’ worth of “mourning goods and fabric”....

ISN’T THAT BIZARRE???? Did she have a premonition that was not documented nowhere else, not even by herself??!!

I'm sure I'm new to this information... does anyone else know anything further about this???
Thank you!

[BettyO]

More or less in reference to Willie's death (February of 1862) perhaps? Although by that time, she should have been out of mourning. Does anyone know if she put off mourning for Willie after a year or so?

Some mothers wore mourning until they died; according to one source, Lew Powell's mother did. Queen Victoria also wore mourning for her Albert until she died as well.... it could depend on the individual.

[eperon]

(04-29-2013 09:39 AM)BettyO Wrote:  More or less in reference to Willie's death (February of 1862) perhaps? Although by that time, she should have been out of mourning. Does anyone know if she put off mourning for Willie after a year or so?

Some mothers wore mourning until they died; according to one source, Lew Powell's mother did. Queen Victoria also wore mourning for her Albert until she died as well.... it could depend on the individual.

But, Betty, this purchase was made ONE MONTH before her husband's assassination!

[BettyO]

Have no answer for that!

[eperon]

The truth is so much stranger than fiction! And all we know is "the part that got written down."

[RJNorton]

Hi Dorothy. I have that book and would like to read what you are talking about in context. Can you post what page it's on? Many thanks!

[eperon]

Absolutely!

It's starts at the bottom of the first page of the Preface, running over to the next page (pg. xvi)...

(I got chills and I wasn't even out of the Preface!!)

[RJNorton]

Thanks, Dorothy. Mary Lincoln was definitely worried - when you have a chance please see the bottom of p. 83 and top of p. 84.

[eperon]

Thanks so much!
I just read it and recalled reading that sentiment elsewhere..

I can't imagine that poor woman's turmoil to "expect" it so very much, that she'd actually make preparations for the "eventuality." Wasn't it also written somewhere that when Mr. Lincoln saw his faint double-image in his mirror and wondered what it could mean, that Mary said something to the effect that he was to have a first term, but would not live out a second?

[Laurie Verge]

Donna McCreary needs to weigh in on this one. Mrs. Lincoln's "fascination" with the other world and her fear of those around her dying are certainly well-grounded and well-documented. This purchase of what seems an excessive amount of mourning materials was written about long before Anthony Pitch stressed it again. Earlier historians have hinted that it was evidence of Mary's involvement in her husband's death. I got the feeling when I read Papa that Tony was hinting at the same thing....

I do not believe that Mrs. Lincoln maintained solid mourning from the time of Willie's death beyond the appropriate length. However, she likely realized that one never knew when the unexpected would happen. I also don't think that these materials were necessarily just for her personal adornment. The White House would have to be draped if someone within the administration or someone close to the family were to die.

Also, please remember that the yardage needed to make one mourning dress was/is considerable. I have tucked away in my closet, four period-appropriate day dresses and one skirt and zouave jacket. Each outfit uses about eight yards of material or more. Then one must add trim and also layers of black petticoats, pantalets, chemises, corsets, etc. The undergarments might not be visible to the public, but they were de riguer for ladies in full mourning. Don't forget the heavy veils, the black bonnets, handkerchiefs, and so forth.

I had one other thought as to why she would buy these a month before the assassination: The final strike at Richmond and Petersburg was at hand. The massive loss of lives was inevitable - and one of the Lincolns was at the front lines with Gen. Grant. Would Robert become the third son to die? Was his mother preparing for that eventuality?

[Donna McCreary]

Women wore mourning attire for many, many relatives. By the fall of 1864, Mary was no longer wearing mourning for Willie, but she was thrown back into it by the death of her brother Levi Todd. Levi was a full brother, and he was a Union man who had supported Lincoln during the election of 1864.

While Mary was still mourning her brother, her Uncle John Todd of Springfield passed away. Uncle John was the father of Cousin Elizabeth who had traveled to Washington with the Lincolns and remained with them for six months. He was also a surrogate father to Mary when she moved to Illinois and after her own father's death. Mary was very close to her Uncle John and would have followed the strict social expections of a woman mourning a beloved brother and uncle. By March 1865, Mary would have been planning her second phase of mourning and her spring/summer wardrobe. There is nothing odd about this expenditure, and it has nothing to do with premonitions about Lincoln's death.

Regarding whether or not Mary purchased items "just in case" they were needed -- it was considered bad luck for women to have unneeded mourning items in their home. Often, as soon as a woman was finished with one stage of mourning, she gave her attire to someone who was in need. I do not know if Mary did this or not. As Laurie mention, Mary held a "fascination" with the 'thin veil that separates the living from the dead.' She was also somewhat superstitious. I don't see her making purchases for items if owning them would bring bad luck to the owner.

[RJNorton]

Dorothy, I had a file on the story you mentioned, but I do not know if it's true or apocryphal. I do not know the original source, but if I had to guess, I'd guess Ward Hill Lamon (if there is an original source).

************************************

Lincoln finally managed to return home in the early morning hours although news of victory and telegrams of congratulations were still being wired to his office. He went into his bedroom for some much needed rest and collapsed onto a settee. Near the couch was a large bureau with a mirror on it and Lincoln stared for a moment at his reflection in the glass. He then experienced what many would term a "vision"... an odd vision that Lincoln would later believe had prophetic meaning.

He saw that in the mirror, his face appeared to have two separate, yet distinct, images. The tip of one nose was about three inches away from the other one. The vision vanished but appeared again a few moments later. It was clearer this time and Lincoln realized that one of the faces was actually much paler than the other, almost with the coloring of death. The vision disappeared again and Lincoln dismissed the whole thing to the excitement of the hour and his lack of sleep.

Later on that evening, he told Mary of the strange vision and attempted to conjure it up again in the days that followed. The faces always returned to him and while Mary never saw it, she believed her husband when he said he did. She also believed she knew the significance of the vision. The healthy face was her husband’s "real" face and indicated that he would serve his first term as president. The pale, ghostly image of the second face however was a sign that he would be elected to a second term.... but would not live to see its conclusion.

[Eva Elisabeth]

(04-29-2013 12:23 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  Dorothy, I had a file on the story you mentioned, but I do not know if it's true or apocryphal. I do not know the original source, but if I had to guess, I'd guess Ward Hill Lamon (if there is an original source).

************************************

Lincoln finally managed to return home in the early morning hours although news of victory and telegrams of congratulations were still being wired to his office. He went into his bedroom for some much needed rest and collapsed onto a settee. Near the couch was a large bureau with a mirror on it and Lincoln stared for a moment at his reflection in the glass. He then experienced what many would term a "vision"... an odd vision that Lincoln would later believe had prophetic meaning.

He saw that in the mirror, his face appeared to have two separate, yet distinct, images. The tip of one nose was about three inches away from the other one. The vision vanished but appeared again a few moments later. It was clearer this time and Lincoln realized that one of the faces was actually much paler than the other, almost with the coloring of death. The vision disappeared again and Lincoln dismissed the whole thing to the excitement of the hour and his lack of sleep.

Later on that evening, he told Mary of the strange vision and attempted to conjure it up again in the days that followed. The faces always returned to him and while Mary never saw it, she believed her husband when he said he did. She also believed she knew the significance of the vision. The healthy face was her husband’s "real" face and indicated that he would serve his first term as president. The pale, ghostly image of the second face however was a sign that he would be elected to a second term.... but would not live to see its conclusion.

Roger, could it be the following you are thinking of? It's on http://www.lincolnportrait.com/emotional...erstitious
But it refers to 1860-however, I think, the website is worth reading:

His description of a particular experience shows how he mystically interpreted his first experience with complete diplopia. Upon learning of his nomination for the presidency, in 1860, by the national convention of the young Republican party, Mr. Lincoln returned to his home, after a strenuous day, tired, and nervous, and lay down on a couch in his wife's sitting room to rest. Directly across the room, facing him, was a large mirror on the bureau. In it he saw for the first time a double image of his face, and it perplexed him greatly. He described the experience as follows:


As I reclined, my eyes fell upon the glass, and I saw distinctly two images of myself, exactly alike, except that one was a little paler than the other. I arose and lay down with the same result. It made me feel quite uncomfortable for a few minutes, but, some friends coming in, the matter passed from my mind. The next day while walking the street, I was suddenly reminded of the circumstance, and the disagreeable sensation produced by it returned. I had never seen anything of the kind before, and did not know what to make of it. I determined to go home and place myself in the same position, and, if the same effect was produced, I would make up my mind that it was the natural result of some refraction or optics, which I did not understand, and dismiss it. I tried the experiment with the same result; and, as I had said to myself, accounted for it on some principle unknown to me, and it ceased to trouble me. But the God who works through the laws of Nature might surely give a sign to me, if one of his chosen servants, even through the operation of a principle in optics.

---

http://www.lincolnportrait.com/emotional...erstitious

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I try to edit the link again: http://www.lincolnportrait.com/emotional...erstitious

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Somehow it doesn't work to edit the complete link, but if you google "lincolnportrait.com" + "diplopia" + "superstitious", you'll easily get there.

[MaddieM]

(04-29-2013 10:12 AM)BettyO Wrote:  Have no answer for that!

Didn't he have a premonition of his own death? Could he have shared that with her.

[RJNorton]

Eva, thank you. Much of what you posted comes from pp. 164-165 of Francis Carpenter's The Inner Life of Abraham Lincoln - Six Months at the White House. However, Carpenter also writes that, "He (Lincoln) did not say, at this time, that either he or Mrs. Lincoln attached any omen to the phenomenon." So I am still not sure of a source for Mary Lincoln's "interpretation" of Lincoln's experience.

Maddie, I have a web page on what I think you are referring to here.