Mary Lincoln and the Seed Pearls

No question abut it, Mary Lincoln liked nice stuff!

The Well-Born Miss Todd

Miss Mary Todd (1818-1862) was born into what might be called Lexington, Kentucky aristocracy. At birth, she was already 3rd generation Lexingtonian.

The Todds had done well in Kentucky. Her father, Robert Smith Todd, had followed the three traditional professions of a gentleman: planter, lawyer/businessman and legislator. He had a fine plantation a few miles outside the city limits, next door to Kentucky’s favorite son, Henry Clay. They also had a house in town.

When Mary was six, her mother died in childbirth, leaving six little Todds under twelve. Within eighteen months, Robert Todd remarried. His new bride, Betsey Humphreys, came from a family even more pedigreed than the Todds.

While the “first family Todd” was unhappy with their new stepmother, all the niceties of prominence were amply provided, including…