Chapter 5: The Lincolns’ Family Life in Springfield

1843

The couple begin their life together at the Globe Tavern, a local pub, where they pay $4 a week for rent. This lasts until 1843 when Abe earns enough money to lay down $1500 in cash for a small cottage on an 8^th Street corner lot, which will expand over time as their permanent home.

Eight months after the marriage they have their first child, Robert, named after Mary’s grandfather. “Bob” will survive his siblings and achieve political fame, while often clashing with both parents.

Second son, Eddie, is born in 1846, but he is perpetually sick, and dies in 1850 a month before his fourth birthday. Mary nurses him for 52 days before he succumbs to tuberculosis and is buried in a local churchyard.

Almost immediately Mary is pregnant again and delivers Willie who becomes his father’s lifelong favorite. Most observers consider Willie the smartest and most handsome of the brothers, and, after losing Eddie, Lincoln dotes on him.

The fourth and final child, Tad, arrives in 1853 and is named after Lincoln’s deceased father, Thomas, almost as a form of atonement. He is born with a cleft palette which impairs his speech to the point that schoolmate call him “Stuttering Tad,” and only his family can often decipher his words.

Throughout their time in Springfield, the Lincoln boys are known as “notorious hellions.” Abe is disinclined to rein them in, and while Mary tries, her efforts have little effect.

Mary herself also earns quite a reputation in town. On one hand she is known for her spirited personality and Southern charm. On the other she signals a residual sense of privilege from prior years of wealth and ease. At its worst this turns into petulance, sarcasm and angry outbursts — often directed at live-in housemaids she is able to hire by 1850. Years later, Mary carries this blend of warmth and volatility to the White House.