Mary Todd Lincoln

                                                                  Mary Todd Lincoln

The Mary Todd Lincoln House has been around since around 1803; Before it became a home it was an inn and a tavern.  However, I want to focus on Mary Todd herself, not the building. Mary Todd Lincoln, born in Lexington, KY, is another important figure in the history of Kentucky in the early 1800's. Mary Todd is recognized for marrying Abraham Lincoln in 1842, becoming the first lady of the 16th president of the United States. Her father, Robert Todd, was one of the wealthier and more prominent men in the town. Lexington, during this time, was compared to Philadelphia and Boston in its wealth and sophistication (mlthouse). This gave Mary the opportunity and advantage to socialize with her father’s influential and political guests, the most prominent being Henry Clay, leader of the young Whig party. Clay was a family friend and resided less than 2 miles away from the Todd’s (mtl house). He once promised Mary she would be among his first guests in Washington should he become president. Unfortunately, Clay never became president. Mary Todd, however, would eventually live in Washington with her husband.

Mary Todd (pictured above) was the first person that came to mind when I was thinking of something that connected to my proposal paper topic. I already had slight background information over it because After researching it, it became one of my choices for my proposal. I was stuck between choosing this or The Henry Clay Estate (Ashland); I ended up choosing the latter because it was simply more appealing to my interests. 

Aside from that, One of the questions I have is: Why did the Todd family decide to settle in Lexington?

Works Cited:

"History." Mtlhouse.org. Web. 16 Sept. 2014. <http://www.mtlhouse.org/history.html>.

"Mary Todd Lincoln Quotes." Rogerjnorton.com. Web. 16 Sept. 2014. <http://rogerjnorton.com/Lincoln90.html>.