We know the Abraham Lincoln direct bloodline is done. There are many who claim to be related to the Lincoln line indirectly. Now perhaps this is a stupid question but I will throw it out here on the Forum anyway. Mary Todd had many siblings didn't she? Are the Todd bloodlines from the siblings still with us today? I don't ever remember reading about that. Or has the Todd line from Mary's father ended?
Bill, I do not do any work in genealogy, so when I receive questions about the Todd family I forward them to Donna McCreary. Donna is the expert on this topic. She is the author of
Lincoln's Table,
Fashionable First Lady: The Victorian Wardrobe of Mary Lincoln, and she recently released her latest book titled
The Kentucky Todds in Lexington Cemetery.
She can be reached through her website
here.
Roger: I just knew someone knew a book or someone to deal with this question! No surprise that it turned out to be you. Do you ever remember hearing from a Todd about Mary and her life? I don't. It seems such a person could offer rich insight. Perhaps Donna can shed some light for us.
Bill, I think I'll write Donna and see if I can get her to join our group here.
Roger: that would be wonderful!
She joined! Welcome, Donna!
Welcome, Donna! Please feel free to jump right in!
Yes, there are Todds living from the bloodline of Robert Smith Todd. However, very few carry the surname Todd. I have met a few of them. Plus, there are hundreds of people related through Mary's cousins - it is a very large family. Several family members did write about Mary, including her sister Frances, her half-sister Emilie, cousin Elizabeth Todd Grimsley Brown, and later her niece Katherine Helm wrote the first (and only authorized) bio of Mary. The Todds as a whole are an intersting family.
For years, I have been compiling a genealogy of the Todds. Thus far, it is about 300 pages in length. Someday, I will get it finished and published.
Hello Donna! Again, glad you joined our group. Do you consider the Helm book the best resource regarding Mary? It struck me that I don't recall ever from any Todd blood relatives in my Lincoln pursuits over the years. They seem to keep a low profile. I'm pleased you have heard from them. Are there some things you have learned about Mary and/or the Todd's you can think to share with us?
The Helm book is good, and probably the best source for information about Mary's time in Lexington. We just have to remember that Robert T. Lincoln had final say in what information was written in the book. Since he fought so hard to protect the family's privacy - I often wonder what, if anything, he had removed before publication.
For a good look at Mary's first few months in Washington, read Elizabeth Grimsley's "Six Months in the White House." Just be sure you get her article and not F. Carpenter's article with the same name.
Well, his is good reading as well.
Donna,
Given my current research interests, just curious as to your thoughts on Sandburg and Angle's Mary Lincoln: Wife and Widow.
Best
Rob
I am not sure if there were one or two versions of this book. The copy I own has no footnotes, no documentation, and reads like a novel.
Herb Collins is the retire curator of the political collection at the Smithsonian. Several members of this symposium have gone on field trips with me to see Herb down in Caroline County. He is a collateral relation to the Tod line of VA from which the KY Todd line comes from. The Tods of Virginia used to say that if 1 d was good enough for God, 1 d was good enough for Tod.
Hi Jim. There is also this story involving Lincoln: In 1863 David Tod, the governor of Ohio, had occasion to visit Washington on government business. During an interview with President Lincoln, the president remarked, "You are perhaps aware, Governor, that my wife is a member of the Todd family of Kentucky, and they all spell their name with two d's. How is it that you use but one?"
David Tod replied, "Mr. President, God spells his name with one d, and one is enough for the Governor of Ohio."
Another member of the Todd family has come forward with orginial family documentation that will help shed some light on just how many children were born to General Levi Todd. (Mary Lincoln's grandfather) Apparently, there were more than orginially thought. I trust this man's documentation -- it is a family Bible from the early 1800's. Some of the information was recorded in the late 1700's. Ah, the Todd family tree has just gotten a little bigger, and I am busy adding information to the manuscript.