Lincoln and Ann Rutledge

[L Verge]

Personally, and I believe it has been stated by others here, I believe that Abraham Lincoln did love Ann Rutledge and did grieve over her death. However, I also believe that, like most normal people, he got over the loss and found someone else who intrigued him enough to marry and start a family.

The fact that Ann Rutledge may have been a polar opposite to Mary Todd does not make Mary the evil shrew as some disenchanted historians want to portray her. Somehow, this thread has changed from the simple question of what was Abe's relationship with Ann to a Mary-bashing of sorts.

How long did Lincoln and Mary "date" before getting married? Wouldn't he have had ample time to decide whether or not he wanted to spend his life with Mary? And don't throw the old "she tricked me" formula into the mix about the speedy wedding. It was pretty darn hard in those days for a good society lady to mess around to that point. Just getting through the petticoat situation was a major obstacle (pardon my indecent comment). And there was not a lot of opportunity to be alone and wander off to a woodpile someplace!

I still maintain that no author of yore or of today can adequately get into the minds of either Abe or Mary to figure out what made their marriage tick. And little snippets of gossip, family thoughts, etc. are not going to give a clear picture. No matter which side of the coin you toss -- love or hate -- it's all going to be based on speculation. Let the dead rest in peace. The marriage of the Lincolns is not going to solve the problems of today's world.