Mary Lincoln Extra Credit Questions

[RJNorton]

Whom was Mary Lincoln referring to when she characterized her as having "much forwardness and unladylike persistence?"

[Gene C]

Kate Chase?
Jessie Freemont?

[RJNorton]

I am sorry, Gene, but it was someone else.

[Susan Higginbotham]

Vinnie Ream?

[RJNorton]

Kudos, Susan! Yes, it was Vinnie Ream. After the assassination Mary gave the clothes Lincoln wore to Ford's Theatre to Alphonso Dunn, the White House doorman.

She wrote him on March 18, 1867:

"Mrs. Welles writes to my son Robert in regard to the suit of clothes I gave you and which have been in possession of Mr. Wilson, the artist. She desires them for a Miss Vinnie Ream, an unknown person, who by much forwardness and unladylike persistence, has obtained from Congress permission to execute a statue of my husband, the late President. From her inexperience I judge she will be unable to do this, in a faithful manner. For your devoted attentions to President Lincoln, I gave you those clothes, and after the loan you have made of them without you see proper you need not let them go farther. Retain them always in memory of the best and noblest man that ever lived."

I believe Mary later changed her mind and allowed Dunn to let Vinnie Ream borrow the clothes.

[Susan Higginbotham]

Kudos, Susan! Yes, it was Vinnie Ream. After the assassination Mary gave the clothes Lincoln wore to Ford's Theatre to Alphonso Dunn, the White House doorman.

She wrote him on March 18, 1867:

"Mrs. Welles writes to my son Robert in regard to the suit of clothes I gave you and which have been in possession of Mr. Wilson, the artist. She desires them for a Miss Vinnie Ream, an unknown person, who by much forwardness and unladylike persistence, has obtained from Congress permission to execute a statue of my husband, the late President. From her inexperience I judge she will be unable to do this, in a faithful manner. For your devoted attentions to President Lincoln, I gave you those clothes, and after the loan you have made of them without you see proper you need not let them go farther. Retain them always in memory of the best and noblest man that ever lived."

I believe Mary later changed her mind and allowed Dunn to let Vinnie Ream borrow the clothes.

I have a photograph somewhere of a letter Mary wrote to Vinnie Ream. It's so chilly, I'm saving it to re-read in August.

[Anita]

During the White House years Mary and Tad visited New York. They were gone for a month. Mary mailed Lincoln something belonging to Tad. What was it?

[RJNorton]

A photo of Tad with his Philadelphia friend, Gus Gumpert?

[Anita]

Good guess Roger, but not a photo.
Hint 1. It was an object that had been very close to Tad.

[Eva Elisabeth]

A toy?

[Anita]

Good guess but not a toy.
Hint 2. It was a very personal object that had been part of him?

[Eva Elisabeth]

His last baby tooth?

[RJNorton]

Tad had trouble with reading, but I will still guess a book he really liked?

[Anita]

Kudos Eva. It was a baby tooth but I don't know if it was his last.

In October 1862, Mary took Tad to New York City. They were gone nearly a month, visiting friends and enjoying the comforts of the city’s best hotels. A highlight was their visit to P.T. Barnum’s American Museum. For a twenty-five-cent fee they saw mastodon bones, an Egyptian mummy, and the famous Feejee mermaid (purported to be the remains of a real mermaid, it was really just a glued-together conglomeration of different animal parts). During their time away, Tad lost a tooth, which Mary mailed to her husband. They were gone so long that Abraham—who always let his wife decide when to return—wired: “I really wish to see you.” Mother and son hurried home.

From The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary by Candace Fleming. Page 125.

[Anita]

Who said this about Mary Todd?
"I was attracted towards her at once. The sunshine in her heart was reflected in her face."