Herndon on Lincoln: Letters

[RJNorton]

Thanks for noting the 1866 interview, Steve. IMO, Elizabeth Edwards' memory was faulty. I still lean toward no actual wedding being planned for that date, but perhaps a dinner celebration of a marriage engagement between Mary and Abraham. So, IMO, Abraham backed out of his engagement, not a wedding, on the "fatal first." It just seems logical to me that Mary would have told Merce about a planned wedding in her c. December 15, 1840, letter. And I am sure she would have asked Merce to be in the wedding if one were really planned.

Professor Kenneth J. Winkle writes, "After Lincoln's death, William Herndon concocted a compelling but dubious story in which his law partner left his fiancée standing at the altar on January 1. IMO, Professor Winkle got it right.