Miss Todd left at the altar

[Donna McCreary]

(08-16-2012 07:44 PM)LincolnMan Wrote:  According to author Benjamin P. Thomas, as written in his book Abraham Lincoln, the Lincoln leaving Mary Todd at the altar story came from none other than William H. Herndon. Herndon, in need of making a living at the time, sold copies of the material he had been collecting for a book on Lincoln to Ward Hill Lamon. Lamon's book The Life of Abraham Lincoln appeared in 1872- and contain the "altar story." Because the material for Lamon's book actually came from Herndon, there were several other sensational items found therein, including: Thomas Lincoln was a lazy vagabond, Lincoln loved smutty stories, Mrs. Lincoln was a shrew, and Ann Rutledge was the only woman Lincoln ever loved. By the way, Lamon didn't actually write the book. It was ghost written by Chauncey F. black, son of Buchanan's Attorney General.

So, my question remains . . . Did Herndon switch the names of Ann and Mary Ann Todd to hurt Mary, or was it an honest mistake? Did the person who told Herndon the story mix up the sisters' names. Not that I am defending Herndon, but I can see someone telling the story about "Miss Todd" and the listener assuming it was Mary.