Robert Todd Lincoln --The vitals

[kerry]

(02-04-2018 09:25 AM)Gene C Wrote:  Thanks Kerry, that puts the anonymous letter in its proper context.

Was this James or Ruth Randal?
Do you know if it is in one of their books, papers or speech's?

Anyone know if this anonymous letter still exists?

Ruth Painter Randall's biography of Mary, available at archive.org for free.

The letter I'm pretty sure does exist somewhere - I seem to remember reading it, but I can't find it. There's another one here that gets some mentions: https://historical.ha.com/itm/autographs...14-61063.s

That one is often used to make it sound like Mary was running into trouble, but I find it hard to believe she went to Beecher's church without Lincoln's permission. I think there were thousands of such letters sent by all the angry people at the time, that look like Mary was up to something but are just your typical complaints - Beecher was too radical for some, and her traveling was unusual at the time.

I find it very interesting that Sumner, Lovejoy, and Joshua Giddings all liked her. All of them were people who weren't afraid to take an unpopular stance with abolitionism, but they were no pushovers or intellectual lightweights. All of them were well acquainted with her at times volatile personality, but liked her overall. Had she been involved in a movement like abolitionism, I think she would have been a lot more stable -- I think her intellect was continuously frustrated. She appeared to try to get involved with her letter to the fair after Lincoln's death, but by then she was at odds with the remaining radicals, minus Sumner, due to the political situation, and Lovejoy and Giddings were dead (as were Caleb Smith and Benjamin French, when most of the allegations about her corruption were made public; I don't think they were made up, but it was certain no context could be provided).