Mary Lincoln's presence at Abraham's death-bed

[My Name Is Kate]

It's easy to see how Mary was being an unsettling influence on the others present. But the words "that woman" are what I find offensive. It's obvious Stanton wasn't thinking about what was best for Mary. And if he was thinking about peace and quiet for the dying Lincoln, I don't think he would have referred to his wife in that way. I think he was thinking about himself.

I wonder if anyone bothered to talk with Tad and ask him if he wanted to see his Dad for one last time, or did they just decide, without Mary being involved in the decision, that it would be best he not be present?

Stanton wasn't present at the conspirator executions, was he? I wonder how well he would have handled that sight.

(I just read this on Wikipedia. It seems Stanton had his share of tragedies too, so maybe that is why he couldn't cope with Mary's reaction. Still...)

"On May 31, 1836, Edwin Stanton married Mary Lamson, and they had two children: Lucy Lamson Stanton (b. March 11, 1837) and Edwin Lamson Stanton (b. August 1842). They built a house in the small town of Cadiz, Ohio, and he practiced law there. Their daughter Lucy died in 1841 and their son Edwin died in 1877.

Mary Lamson Stanton died on March 13, 1844. The loss of his beloved wife sent Stanton spiraling into a deep depression. Then, in 1846, Stanton's brother Darwin cut his own throat – "The blood spouted up to the ceiling," a doctor recalled."