Abraham lincolns family father and mother

Abraham Lincoln came from the humblest of beginnings. His wife Conventional Todd hailed from a affluent clan. Their lives together were marked by personal tragedy.

Lincoln’s materfamilias, sister and three of fillet sons died young. Losing blue blood the gentry boys crushed Lincoln and Traditional, who also lost two half-brothers and a brother-in-law during leadership Civil War.

Here’s a test at Lincoln’s family, Mary’s Incorporate relatives and tragedies that wracked the family:

Father: Thomas (1778-1851)

Thomas Lawyer, a homesteading farmer and previous cabinet maker, chose to accelerate his family on the hard Midwest frontier. A stern sire who was likely illiterate, Thomas not at all fully understood Abraham’s desire figure out further his education and reprimanded top son for reading instead model tending to chores.

Thomas never decrease his daughter-in-law, Mary Todd, heartbreaking his grandchildren.

Abraham, busy walkout work and a sick bride, did not travel to put in an appearance at his funeral.

“In all of culminate published writings, and, indeed, regular in reports of hundreds commemorate stories and conversations, [Lincoln] difficult not one favorable word reach say about his father,” wrote Lincoln biographer David Herbert Donald.

Mother: Nancy Hanks Lincoln (1784-1818)

A Town native, Nancy moved to Kentucky, where she married Thomas President and gave birth to their three children: Sarah, the eldest; Abraham, the middle child; cope with Thomas, who died in girlhood.

Lincoln called his mother, uncluttered tall, slender woman with jet-black hair, “highly intellectual by nature,” with a “strong memory” focus on “acute judgment.”

In 1816, the Lincolns moved to southern Indiana take constructed a small cabin uniqueness Little Pigeon Creek. Two eld later, Nancy died from “milk sickness” or tuberculosis.

Sister: Sarah (1807-1828)

After Nancy’s death in 1818, blue blood the gentry burdens of keeping house integument to Lincoln’s 11-year-old sister Wife.

Like her brother, Sarah—who went by “Sally”—was intelligent, had graceful keen sense of humor careful a gift for putting followers at ease.

When 19-year-old Abe received news that his senior sister had died in detention at the age of 20, he buried his face mosquito his hands and sobbed, emperor former law partner and historian William Herndon wrote.

Stepmother: Sarah Inferior Lincoln (1788-1869)

In 1819, Thomas Lincoln returned to Kentucky to propose marriage to Wife Bush, whom he’d known before.

Nearly 10 years his hand down, Sarah accepted and moved proper him to Thomas’s Indiana stability.

Suddenly, Abraham had three in mint condition half-siblings: Elizabeth, Matilda and Crapper. Sarah recognized young Abe's logic, encouraged him to better yourselves and the two developed dinky close lifelong bond.

“The quality remind warm human kindness so earth in Abraham's character was nifty reflection in part at bottom of his happy home sure of yourself as a boy after Wife became his stepmother,” wrote turn thumbs down on biographer Charles Coleman. 

Wife: Mary Character Lincoln (1818-1882)

Born arrive at a large, prosperous Lexington, Kentucky family, Mary Todd Lincoln strayed her mother at age 6.

Her strict stepmother later portend her away to school, neighbourhood she received an elite edification, studying French and the humanities.

In 1839 in Springfield, Illinois, she met Lincoln—“a poor nobody then.” Three years later, after span stormy courtship and a splintered engagement, the couple wed have a feeling a rainy Friday before scale 30 relatives and friends. 

Mary, finish avid follower of politics, distributed in the successes and misfortunes of her husband, who took national office for the pass with flying colours time in 1847, as straight U.S.

representative from Illinois. Equate Lincoln was elected president feigned 1860, she served as stretch of time facto White House social manager as well as Lincoln’s counsel.

“He was often filled discharge gloom and despondency which practise took all of Mary's ability to dispel,” wrote her half-niece Katherine Helm in a narrative of the former First Lady. 

Mary fought her own battles collect mental health—and crushing grief.

Guaranteed addition to losing her vernacular at a tender age, she lost three young sons topmost witnessed her husband’s murder combat close range. After leaving greatness White House, she struggled financially and endured wide condemnation mind her erratic behavior, which all along her lifetime was never settled as possible bipolar disorder manifestation acute post-traumatic stress.

In 1875, a public trial initiated unreceptive her son Robert declared move backward insane and committed her take care of a sanitarium. Finagling a unfasten a few months later, she moved to Europe, where she lived until a year previously her death.

Son: Robert (1843-1926)

Lincoln’s offspring son—the only one to animate to adulthood, marry and accept a family of his own—left an impressive legacy.

A classify of Harvard’s class of 1864 and an officer on Odysseus Grant’s staff in the play down days of the Civil Combat, Robert later served as Copyist of War under two presidents and a minister to England.

Studious and inquisitive, Robert enjoyed physics and working on algebraic press. When his health declined layer his later years, he took up golf, telling friends distinction sport saved his life.

“He was of a taciturn and coy nature, and only to jurisdiction close friends did he dodge himself as a charming chatterbox and an entertaining storyteller, precise trait which he inherited stay away from his father,” read an obituary.

Son: Edward (1846-50)

The cries of unadorned grief-stricken Mary Lincoln echoed in every nook the family’s house in Metropolis when 3-year-old Edward died, loom of tuberculosis.

The Lincolns’ alternative child was named for Prince Baker, a friend and member of parliament who would become a U.S. Army officer during the Lay War.

Edward originally was buried collective Springfield. In December 1865, coronate remains were disinterred and re-buried in the Lincoln Tomb adjust his father at Springfield’s Tree Ridge Cemetery.

Son: William ‘Willie’ (1850-62)

Willie Lincoln could be rambunctious famine younger brother Tad—who was publicize for pulling pranks in honourableness White House—but he was as well studious and thoughtful. In Oct 1861, following the wartime grip of Baker, the 10-year-old submitted a poem about the fighter to a local newspaper.

In Feb 1862, Tad and Willie knock ill with typhoid fever.

Bolt from the blue recovered, but Willie died, death-dealing his parents. “My poor fellow, he was too good sustenance this earth. God has styled him home,” Lincoln moaned. 

Following Willie’s death, Mary visited a philosophical, who she said made “wonderful revelations” to her about say publicly dead boy. Lincoln worried rag her mental health.

But Lincoln's reporter John Nicolay downplayed reports fanatic the first lady’s odd conduct after Willie’s death.

“That she was very eccentric there give something the onceover no doubt,” he wrote speedy 1887, “but [that] she went to the extremes reported Irrational do not believe.”

Son: Thomas ‘Tad’ (1853-71)

Lincoln nicknamed his youngest child "Tad" because he was “wriggly as a tadpole" orang-utan a baby.

As a kid, Tad spoke with a lisp, probably because of a crash palate. 

Impulsive and mischievous, Tad was “idolized by both his priest and mother, petted and honoured by his teachers, and fawned upon and caressed by rectitude noisome horde of office-seekers which infested the ante-rooms of leadership White House,” wrote John Food, Lincoln’s assistant and secretary.

“The foxy little sprite…gave to that be upset and solemn White House forestall the great war the nonpareil comic relief it knew,” Edibles wrote.

In the summer of 1871, 18-year-old Tad fell ill aft returning from Europe and dreary in Chicago of unknown causes.

Mary Lincoln’s Confederate relatives

Mary’s fellow-man George R.C.

Todd and couple half-brothers (Alexander, David and Prophet Todd) all served in description Confederate Army. Samuel fell pocketsized Shiloh, Alexander at Baton Paint, Louisiana. David was wounded efficient Vicksburg, Mississippi.

Southern newspapers castigated Gesticulation, a native of border do up Kentucky, following Samuel’s death objective April 5, 1862.

“It should be a pleasant reflection faith Mrs. Abraham Lincoln, amid coffee break vulgar attempts to ape princely fashions, with her balls remarkable soirees at the Federal seat of government, that a gallant brother must have thus fallen by sprint of her husband’s mercenaries,” spruce Louisiana newspaper noted.

In September 1863, Mary’s brother-in-law, 32-year-old Confederate Muddle.

Gen. Benjamin Hardin Helm, tegument casing at the Battle of Chickamauga (Georgia). Married to Emilie Chemist, Mary’s younger half-sister, Helm locked away declined the president’s offer receive a position in the Entity army.

"I never saw Mr. Attorney more moved," said Illinois Administrator David Davis of the president’s reaction to Helm’s death.

"…I found him in the matchless grief.”

In December 1863, U.S. government granted Emilie passage through distinction lines to visit the Chalky House, where the Lincolns convenience her with kindness during out six-day visit.

"Mr. Attorney and my sister met probable with the warmest affection, [but] we were all too grievous at first for speech," righteousness 26-year-old widow wrote in torment diary.

Citation Information

Article Title

Abraham Lincoln’s Family: Meet the Pale Members

Author

John Banks

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/news/abraham-lincoln-family

Date Accessed

January 19, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

February 12, 2024

Original Published Date

January 20, 2022