Lincoln and his father-in-law

[Donna McCreary]

In trying to sort out the relationships among the Todd family, one that does not get mentioned often is the relationship between Abraham and his father-in-law, Robert Smith Todd. When Todd came to visit his new grandson, he arranged for Mary to receive $120 per year, gave the Lincolns some land, and turned business over to Lincoln telling him to keep any money he may collected from the debts owed.

My question is, what was the relationship between the two men? Did Todd have an opinion of Lincoln before they met? They seem to have gotten along well when the Lincolns came to Lexington, but what about before then? Why did he help the Lincolns when he did not help his other children? Did he favor Mary? or did he feel sorry for her because she married "beneath her station in society."