"Herndon was born mediocre"

[RJNorton]

(01-16-2013 08:44 PM)antiquefinder Wrote:  Lincoln told Herndon that he visited a prostitute. I don't remember if Herndon stated that this was before or after Lincoln was married to Mary Todd? Do we know for a fact that Lincoln did have syphillis?

Good morning, Gloria. We do not know this for a fact. Herndon's reference is to an incident in Beardstown, Illinois, in the mid-1830's. So this is 6 or 7 years before he married Mary. It's possible Lincoln thought he had syphilis. Whether he really did or not is unknown for certain.

In recent years some have speculated that Mary Lincoln may have had syphilis. There has been some interesting research on her cause of death. For example, there is the work of Dr. Norbert Hirschhorn and the late Dr. Robert Feldman on this subject. Their research indicates Mary died of tabes dorsalis which is a condition that results from the destruction of the dorsal columns in the spinal cord, normally responsible for position sense. Loss of position sense causes severe gait and leg ataxia (balance and motor control problems). The authors state that tabes dorsalis can be the result of diabetes, spinal cord injury, or infection (syphilis). In 1863 Mary was involved in a serious carriage accident, and at the age of 60, in Pau, France, Mary took a fall from a stepladder and injured her spinal cord. Tabes dorsalis results in a staggering wide-based gait, postural instability, pain, and paresthesias.

I believe some doctors feel that tabes dorsalis never originates without syphilis. This can be argued. Mary Lincoln's cause of death varies from book to book. There was no autopsy or post mortem of any kind. Who knows.