Mary Todd Lincoln… Irish? Yes.

Mary Todd Lincoln served as the first lady of the United States from 1861 until the assassination of her husband, President Abraham Lincoln, in 1865. Her family lineage reveals she was from Ireland.

Mary was 23 years old when she married 33 year old Abraham Lincoln on November 4, 1842, at the home of her sister Elizabeth in Springfield, Illinois.

From 1832, Mary and her family lived in what is now known as the Mary Todd Lincoln House, an elegant 14-room home at 578 West Main Street in Lexington. In November 1860, Abraham Lincoln won the election as Republican Party candidate and the 16th President of the United States. This resulted in 11 Southern states to secede from the Union.

Mary’s paternal great-grandfather, David Levi Todd, was born in County Longford, Ireland, and immigrated emigrated to Pennsylvania in the early to mid 1700s then settled in Kentucky. David Levi’s son was the famed Levi Todd (1756-1807) who became an early American pioneer who helped found present-day city of Lexington, Kentucky. Another great-grandfather, Andrew Porter, was the son of an Irish immigrant to New Hampshire and later Pennsylvania.

At an early age Mary was sent to Madame Mentelle’s finishing school, where the focus was French language and literature. Mary learned to speak fluent French and studied dance, drama, music, and of course, the social graces. By age 20, she was regarded as witty and gregarious with a grasp of politics that was unique for ladies at that time. And as a young woman standing just 5’2”, with bright blue eyes and reddish-brown hair, she projected energy and humor.

Mary Lincoln adored her husband throughout his presidency and was made it a priority to keep the country’s morale up during the Civil War. She performed White House social coordinator duties, planning beautiful balls and updated the White House decor; her husband’s political foes seized on her spending saying she was too lavish. Mary was actually seated next to Mr. Lincoln on the day he was assassinated in the President’s Box at Ford’s Theatre on Tenth Street in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865.

Mary Todd Lincoln gave birth to four sons but sadly only the oldest boy, Robert, survived to adulthood. While Mary was a strong woman, one can only imagine how difficult life would become after so much sorrow. Mary Todd Lincoln passed away at the age of 63, due to stroke on July 16, 1882.

Their stylish family home and lovely neighborhood in Springfield, IL has been well-kept at the Lincoln Home National Historic Site and is open to the public.

In April of 2021, Time Magazine’s Edward Steers Jr. wrote of the former President: ¹ “In poll after poll, the man who died on April 15, 1865, has consistently been ranked by historians and the American people as our greatest president. Bothpolitical parties claim to represent his values and never hesitate to invoke his name to bolster their image. Over 145 statues of Lincoln stand, more than two dozen of them in foreign countries. Lincoln is recognized internationally as a symbol of freedom and all that America stands for.”

Promoting Women in the War effort

In a letter discovered in 2024 written by the former first lady Mary Todd Lincoln and is addressed to George Harrington who at the time was assistant secretary of the Treasury.

The content of this letter shows Mrs. Lincoln was trying to land a Treasury Department job for a woman, which would have been unheard of for that time. This letter was sent in 1864 during the Civil War and shows unequivocally that Mrs. Lincoln was quite forward thinking!

Mary Lincoln felt the current Treasurer “has not acted worthily.” She followed with “I am sure it will be an unimportant matter to you, and your compliance will gratify me,” Mrs. Lincoln wrote.

What this letter helps illustrate is Mary Lincoln’s commitment to having women fill traditional male government roles during the war effort when every man was needed on the battle field.

And here are just a few of Mary Todd’s husband, Abraham Lincoln’s greatest accomplishments:

“House Divided” Speech

This simple but compelling 1858 speech marked the beginning of Lincoln’s campaign for the U.S. Senate against Stephen A. Douglas. “A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently, half slave and half free,” Lincoln told his audience at the Illinois Republican state convention. “. . . It will become all one thing, or all the other.” In other words, slavery would either be legal or illegal throughout the United States.

Emancipation Proclamation

Abe Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, issued on January 1, 1863 allowed the Union to recruit black slaves as soldiers, and thus securing their liberty. These former slaves turned out to be crucial in winning the fight against the Confederate army.

Gettysburg Address

On November 19, 1863, Abe issued his Gettysburg Address “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”

Mrs. & Mr. President Lincoln, we raise a glass of Irish Tipple to you this day.