Lincoln & Herndon

[RJNorton]

I have never had the impression from anything that I read that there was an actual falling out between Herndon and Mary before he started his lectures. Am I wrong in that?

Hi Angela. What you say relates and agrees with what Mike cited in a previous post. As Mike mentioned this is what Douglas Wilson argues in his "William H. Herndon and Mary Todd Lincoln" chapter in the The Mary Lincoln Enigma (pp. 112-139). Other historians see it differently and think the dislike/hatred began much earlier. I very much recommend The Mary Lincoln Enigma for all its fascinating chapters.

Herndon's lecture in which he said, "Lincoln loved Ann Rutledge better than his own life" was on November 16, 1866. Jason Emerson writes that apparently Mary did not find out about it until 4 months later.