Lincoln and Ann Rutledge

[David Lockmiller]

(05-22-2014 08:12 PM)LincolnToddFan Wrote:  I personally have never doubted the Rutledge romance. What I do scoff at is the idea that she affected AL for the rest of his life, or that she was necessarily his great love.

Herndon wrote in his book "Herndon's Life of Lincoln" at pages 113-14:

"[Lincoln's] condition finally became so alarming, his friends consulted together and sent him to the house of a kind friend, Bowlin Greene, who lived in a secluded spot hidden by the hills, a mile south of town. Here he remained for some weeks under the care and watchful eye of this noble friend, who gradually brought him back to reason, or at least a realization of his true condition. In the years that followed Mr. Lincoln never forgot the kindness of Greene through those weeks of suffering and peril. In 1842, when the latter died, and Lincoln was selected by the Masonic lodge to deliver the funeral oration, he broke down in the midst of his address. 'His voice was choked with deep emotion; he stood a few moments while his lips quivered in the effort toform the words of fervent praise he sought to utter, and the tears ran down his yellow and shrivelled cheeks. Every heart was hushed at the spectacle. After repeated efforts he found it impossible to speak, and strode away, bitterly sobbing, to the widow's carriage and was driven from the scene.'"

Anne Ruttledge died August 25, 1835. Greene's funeral took place 7 years later in 1842.

Joshua Speed observed regarding the long letter that Lincoln wrote to the famous physician Dr. Daniel Drake of Cincinnati in December 1840 or January 1841 (at least five years following Anne's death): "I think he (Lincoln) must have informed Dr. Drake of his early love for Miss Rutledge, as there was a part of the letter which he would not read."

I absolutely believe that Anne Rutledge was the love of Lincoln's life and that her loss affected Abraham Lincoln for the rest of his life. I also believe that had Lincoln married Anne Rutledge, he never would have been President of the United States. Subsequent events, including the marriage to Mary Todd, as they actually occurred were the course of history.