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Mary Lincoln Mourns Her Husband, Complains of “greatly impaired” Health & “feelings already so crushed”
Mary Lincoln Mourns Her Husband, Complains of “greatly impaired” Health & “feelings already so crushed”
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Description:

Mary Lincoln
Chicago, IL, January 18, 1867
Mary Lincoln Mourns Her Husband, Complains of "greatly impaired" Health & "feelings already so crushed"
ALS

MARY LINCOLN, Autograph Letter Signed, to Leonard Swett, January 18, 1866 [1867], [Chicago, IL]. 3 pp., 4.75" x 7.25". On black-bordered mourning stationery; expected folds; expert repairs to separations on folds.

In this mournful letter, Mary Lincoln writes to her assassinated husband's long-time friend Leonard Swett, then practicing law in Chicago. She appealed to Swett, David Davis, Lincoln's former Secretary of War Simon Cameron, and Congressman William E. Dodge to use their influence to have Congress agree to support her financially.

Complete Transcript
Jany 18th '66.
Hon L. Swett
My dear Sir:
Another week of anxiety has passed and I am sure you will pardon me, if I write to you, relative to any news from Judge D. Mr W. E. Dodge or it may be nearer home. Under the present circumstances without a prospect and assurance of change, I must make arrangements-that will bring fresh trouble to me, with health greatly impaired and feelings already so crushed. But to linger on, as I now am, is utterly impossible. I hope you will deal with me candidly and if you are not hopeful inform me. I remain
very resp & truly
Mary Lincoln
[Postscript:] Next week will bring us news from Genl. Cameron, if he means to act, have you heard from him?

Historical Background
In the immediate aftermath of Abraham Lincoln's assassination, Mary Lincoln moved to Chicago and lived with her son Thomas "Tad" Lincoln at the Tremont House hotel and then at the Hyde Park Hotel with her oldest son, Robert T. Lincoln. In December 1865, Congress voted to give her the $22,025 that Abraham Lincoln would have earned that year as president, had he lived. In 1866, she purchased a house for $17,000 on West Washington Boulevard, but she could not afford it. In mid-September 1866, she wrote to Leonard Swett, an old friend of her husband's who was then practicing law in Chicago, "With the most rigid economy, which I am compelled to practice, I find it will be absolutely impossible to continue housekeeping on my present means two months longer." She complained to Swett that the nation, "under so many obligations to my noble husband," had failed to provide for his family. Two days later, she added in another letter to Swett that she could not aid those who called on her for charity, a situation in which "my noble husband's name is dishonored. If the country had truly loved him, such want would not have been inflicted upon the household."

At the end of November 1866, Mary Lincoln again wrote to Swett, "Can the Country be so forgetful, to my beloved husband's memory, as to deny me, this simple request." She told Swett that "remembering your influence, socially & politically I am relying on your success. I am struggling for a short time longer, but shall soon be compelled to give up this house, without you will send me some good news, which will happily continue us here."

On January 12, 1867, she wrote to Swett, "Should Gen Cameron be confirmed by the Senate, as he unquestionably will, will you immediately write him?" After an unsuccessful attempt to gain a third term in the U.S. Senate from Pennsylvania in 1863, Cameron had begun rebuilding his political base over the next several years. In 1867, Pennsylvania Republicans in the state legislature selected Cameron over popular incumbent Governor Andrew Curtin for the seat in the U.S. Senate. He took his seat in the U.S. Senate for the third time in March 1867.

In another letter to Swett, written in February 1867, she confided that her home "has for the last few months, been a refuge to me in my great sorrow & desolation, and it will be a very great additional grief, if...I find myself soon compelled to leave it." She praised the efforts of Swett and Judge Davis, and told him, "It is a painful gratification to me, that the two friends, whom my dearly beloved husband, most loved—should be the one's, to use their influence in endeavouring to extricate me from this painful & humiliating dilemma."

In May of 1867, she rented out her house on West Washington Boulevard and moved into the Clifton House Hotel. In October 1868, she and Tad took a trip to Europe, returning in May 1871. Tad became ill on the return voyage and died in July 1871, likely of tuberculosis. In 1869, Mary Lincoln had submitted a petition to Speaker of the House of Representatives Schuyler Colfax, requesting a widow's pension to help her live in a style befitting a former first lady. In July 1870, Congress passed a special act awarding her an annual pension of $3,000, following a moving plea by Senator Simon Cameron.

Mary Lincoln (1818-1882) was born into the prominent Todd family in Lexington, Kentucky. Educated at female academies and boarding schools, she learned to speak French fluently and studied literature, dance, drama, and music. She was very well-educated for her time, place, and gender. In November 1842, she married Abraham Lincoln in Springfield, Illinois, and they had four sons. She supported her husband's political ambitions, becoming First Lady in 1861. Because she was from a border state, with several of her relatives supporting the Confederacy, Mary Lincoln was the object of suspicion in the press. Although she was responsible for hosting many social functions, her extensive spending to renovate the White House also drew complaints from a nation at war and from her husband. However, she also visited wounded soldiers in Washington hospitals, taking them fruit and flowers and writing letters home for them. Prone to severe headaches and depression, she suffered the loss of three of her four sons and was present when Abraham Lincoln was assassinated at Ford's Theatre. After leaving the White House, she lived in Chicago, where her son briefly had her committed to a sanitarium in 1875. After being declared competent to manage her own affairs in 1876, she spent the next four years traveling in Europe and living in Pau, France. She later returned to Springfield, where she died in her sister's home.

Leonard Swett (1825-1889) was born in Maine and educated at Waterville College (now Colby College). He read law in Maine, served in the Mexican War, and then settled in Bloomington, Illinois. Admitted to the bar in 1849, he practiced law and traveled the Eighth Judicial Circuit with attorney Abraham Lincoln and judge David Davis. He was also active in Whig politics and, after the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, joined the Republican Party. He was elected to the state legislature as a Republican in 1858. He actively campaigned for Lincoln in 1860, and during the Civil War, he handled the trial of government legal cases. In 1863, Lincoln sent him to California to seize the New Almaden Mine. In 1865, he moved to Chicago, where he formed a law partnership with Judge Van H. Higgins and Colonel David Quigg.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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