Lincoln, 1865 - 2015.

[Donna McCreary]

(03-30-2015 10:30 PM)LincolnToddFan Wrote:  Donna, I've read that story too and I've always been enchanted by it. It's a story that is never referred to by certain historians who claim AL never loved his wife and was somehow tricked, seduced, or bound by his "honor" to marry her.

Do we know the source for it?

The source is Katherine Helm's book, Mary, Wife of Lincoln. I paraphrased most of it here. The problem with the Helm book is that there are no footnotes. She did use original sources, and many letters from family. Sadly, most of the letters written to Katherine have been lost or destroyed. This particular story had to have come from Elizabeth Edwards as she was part of the narrative in Helm's book.