Chapter 4: In 1842, Abe Gets Married

His bride is Mary Todd, daughter of a wealthy slave-owning family in Lexington, Kentucky. She has moved to Springfield to live with her married sister and guardian, Elizabeth Edwards. 

Mary is quite the catch, having completed “finishing school,” speaking fluent French, and hob knobbing with political celebrities like Henry Clay.

Ironically her many suitors include Stephen A. Douglas, currently a Justice on the Illinois Supreme Court, and later Lincoln’s principle opponent during the run-up to the Civil War.  

But Mary chooses Abe, saying that she wants to “marry a man who is certain to become the U.S. President.” She is 24 and he is 33 at the time.