Lot 81

Mary Lincoln Remembers Abe as a "... man, whose life was so sacrificed in his country’s service" - Seeks Support While Abroad

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Lot 81
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Mary Lincoln Remembers Abe as a "... man, whose life was so sacrificed in his country’s service" - Seeks Support While Abroad
Mary Lincoln Remembers Abe as a "... man, whose life was so sacrificed in his country’s service" - Seeks Support While Abroad
image_0 image_1 image_2 image_3

Mary Lincoln Remembers Abe as a "... man, whose life was so sacrificed in his country’s service" - Seeks Support While Abroad

Estimate: $4,000 - $6,000

Current Bid: $1,700

(4 Bids)
June 17, 2026 10:00 AM EDT
Live Auction
Wilton, CT, US
Description:

Mary Lincoln
Frankfurt, Prussia, February 2, 1870
Mary Lincoln Remembers Abe as a "... man, whose life was so sacrificed in his country's service" - Seeks Support While Abroad
ALS

MARY LINCOLN, Autograph Letter Signed, to James H. Orne, February 2, 1870, Frankfurt, Germany. On black-bordered mourning stationery, marked "Private" on first and second pages. 4 pp., 6.75" x 8.75". Folded; light toning; several separations on folds expertly repaired at seam.

This pleading letter is an important expression of Mary Lincoln's post-White-House exile in Europe. It is the first in a series of letters she wrote to Congressman James H. Orne regarding a pension for the former First Lady. She was a frequent correspondent of Orne's wife, Sally, to whom she wrote more than two dozen letters.

Lincoln firmly believed that America owed a moral debt to the widow of its martyred President. On July 14, 1870, Congress granted Lincoln an annual pension of $3,000, but only after public sympathy and political embarrassment forced Congress to act. When she received the news, Mary Lincoln vowed to Sally Orne to utter "not a murmuring word," a resolve that lasted almost a year.

In November 1870, Mary and Tad Lincoln moved to London. At the end of April 1871, they began their return voyage to the United States, prompted by Tad's homesickness and the birth of her first grandchild in October 1869.

Congress raised her pension to $5,000 annually in January 1882, prompted in part by provisions for the widow of assassinated President James Garfield. Congress also voted her an additional one-time gift of $15,000 to meet her medical needs, and President Chester A. Arthur signed the bill into law on February 2. She died at her sister's home in Springfield, fewer than six months later, on July 16, 1882.

Complete Transcript
Frankfurt a Maine
Feb 2d 1870
Hon. James H. Orne
My dear Sir:
When I explain my reason for intruding this note upon your kind notice, with my impression of your great nobleness of heart, I feel assured, you will excuse the liberty I am taking.
Mrs Orne has frequently written to me, during the winter and has invariably assured me of the interest you are taking regarding Congressional action in my behalf. As you are doubtless aware, she is now in Italy & I have not heard from her since her arrival there. The details of my situation regarding pecuniary matters, would be too painful for me to write you, from dear Mrs Orne, who in her kindness & sympathy, has proved an angel of light to me, I dare say, you have heard exactly, in what manner I am compelled to live, both at home & abroad. Between my great sorrow, & humiliating surroundings, separated from a devoted husband, who always provided so comfortably & even luxuriously for me you can imagine that the great change is crushing me to the earth. The anxiety too, regarding what Congress will do for me—where it is so much required—has completely undermined my health so much so that the physician who has been attending upon me, has urged me to go south. Alas, alas, it would be a sad story to reveal to him, that the wife of the man, whose life was so sacrificed in his country's service, has not the means to leave the place where she now is. Dear Mr Orne, will you, in your great goodness, ascertain as you have the means of doing, whether the services of my great & good husband, will be recognized, by his country. The silence so far, regarding some relief for me in Congress, is very painful to me. Will you forgive the liberty I have taken & inform me, when you receive this, candidly what expectations, I may have. Words cannot express, my fearfully trying position, at present.
I remain, most respectfully
Mrs A. Lincoln

Historical Background
On February 11, 1870, nine days after penning this letter, Mary Lincoln wrote to James H. Orne's wife, Sally, who was then in Europe, expressing her joy at again receiving letters from her and complaining about the failure of Congress to act to grant her a pension. In a postscript, she referred to this letter, "I took the great liberty, dear Mrs Orme, in my nervous anxiety a week since—to write to your good husband, requesting his opinion & information. I am sure, you will excuse, the intrusion upon his time & my impatience."

On May 22, she again wrote to Sally Orne, reporting the news that a newspaper she had seen in Frankfurt "said the Senate Com. had decided against on the ground, that I had property to the amount of $60,000!!! A fearful & wicked invention of the enemy—which infamous falsehood will consign me to a most painful state of existence all my days—Will our country, with its many noble hearted men allow this? Neither you or I will believe it—I became very sick—I was assisted into a cab—went to the house—of this good friend—my physician was sent for & after seeing me, he declared—another attack of sickness—such as I had in the winter—would follow—if I was not hurried away.... I expect to remain here 6 weeks...."

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.

James Henry Orne (1816-1871) was born in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, and moved with his family to Philadelphia as a child. He became a respected Philadelphia merchant and patron of the arts. He married Sally B. O'Neill (ca. 1819-1888) around 1840, and they had at least three children. The Ornes were friends and occasional correspondents of Mary Lincoln. They sought to assist her financially and socially. The Orne family was well known in Pennsylvania civic life.

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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  • Dimensions: 6.75" x 8.75"
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