Mary's Legacy, According to Robert

[Donna McCreary]

Everyone has one thing in common -- we are someone's child. As children, it becomes our responsibility and duty to determine the legacy of our parents. We chose the stories that are retold, the letters that are kept, and the images that are preserved. Robert Lincoln had the task of not only preserving the memory of his parents, but also establishing public images of Abraham and Mary Lincoln.

One of the lectures I am frequently asked to give is titled "Mary's Legacy According to her son Robert." In it, I discuss six or seven things that Robert did that hurt, enhanced, or preserved his mother's image. These include everything from his comments about bulding the Lincoln Tomb to the painting of his mother he gifted to the White House.

I am curious as to what members of this forum believe is the greatest thing Robert did to honor Abraham and Mary - either jointly or independantly.

[LincolnMan]

Donna: just curious- is the painting of Mary gifted by Robert- the one that turned out to be a fake?

[RJNorton]

Donna, this is not the greatest thing, but one thought that came to mind was Robert's reaction to Elizabeth Keckly's book. He was furious that Elizabeth published some of the private conversations his parents had in the White House. He was also very upset that Elizabeth's book contained letters from his mother that were private and published without permission. I believe he contacted the publisher and may have tried to suppress the book.

[LincolnMan]

Didn't Robert try and suppress to the public Mary's "odd" behaviors in an effort to protect her?

[Donna McCreary]

The painting that was gifted by the Robert T. Lincoln family still hangs in the Lincoln Bedroom of the White House. It was painted by Robert's cousin, Katherine Helm. Helm painted six portraits of Mary. I have only been able to find the current locations of three.

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Donna, this is not the greatest thing, but one thought that came to mind was Robert's reaction to Elizabeth Keckly's book. He was furious that Elizabeth published some of the private conversations his parents had in the White House. He was also very upset that Elizabeth's book contained letters from his mother that were private and published without permission. I believe he contacted the publisher and may have tried to suppress the book.

Robert was furious when the book was published. However, I do not know if he had advanced knowledge of the book prior to publication in order to try to suppress it. Maybe Jason knows. Since the book was published in 1868, I am not even sure if anyone had advanced knowledge of the publication.
Robert did manage to stop several other biographies of his mother from being written.