Madness of Mary Lincoln

[Susan Higginbotham]

Interestingly, Julia Edwards was one "different" person whom Mary didn't like at all, judging from her references to her in her letters.

The source for Julia's husband being sent abroad for causes related to his wife is a 1912 letter by Ada Bailhache, who writes that "Mrs. Baker was a wayward girl and very attractive woman to the sorrow of her family and friends. There was a scandal connected with her about 1872, and Mr. Baker was sent as Consul to the Argentine Republic . . . " It sounds that if Julia was indeed the cause of her husband's being given a diplomatic appointment, it was because of a sexual scandal and not because of her mental health.

Michael Burlingame, who quotes the Bailhache letter, also writes that a trustee was appointed for Julia because she could not handle her affairs, but it seems more probable that Julia, who owned some real property in Springfield, had put it into a trust before going abroad. She and her daughter were visiting Julia's brother in Chicago when her husband was fatally injured in a railroad accident in Argentina in 1897, and Julia apparently spent the rest of her life in Chicago.