The Lincoln Children: The Boys


Figure 1.--This is an illustration by P.J. Lynch for Rosemary Wells� charming book about his sons--'Lincoln and his Boys'. It shows the Lincoln boys interupting a cabinet meeting. They did just that. In fact they fired their toy (but very real cannon) at the cabinet. I have my doubt about the colorful, check blue pnts here, but as far as I know, unlike the Davis boys, they always wore long pants.

The Lincolns had four children, all sons. Only two of the children survived their father and only one lived to maturity. Eddy was the first to die and we do not know as much about him as the other boys. He died at an early age before the Lincolns were well known. From all accounts it was a tragedy from which their parents never recovered, especially his mother. The two middle boys entered the White House together with their parents. Their antics amused a nation immersed in the tragedy of the Civil War. Their father who was not much of a disciplinarian to begin with, virtually allowed them the run of the White House and to do what they wanted--which included firing their toy cannon at the Cabinet. They were the two most famous presidential boys and they left a trail of destruction and mayhem in their wake. The President for the most part saw it as great fun. The entire nation grieved when Willie tragically died. The loss of another child combined with the assassination of her husband was too much for one woman to bear. Even before he was shot, her husband and agonized over her sanity. Mary also lost Tad. Only Robert survived to adulthood and he and his mother had a strained relationship.

Robert Todd (1843-1926)

Robert was the Lincoln's oldest son. He was never as close to his father as the younger boys. He was a young adult when the Lincolns arrived in Washington, much older than his two younger brothers. He served briefly in the Civil War and studied law at Harvard University, and served as Secretary of War and Ambassador to Great Britain in future Republican administrations. In later life, problems developed between Robert and his mother. He had her briefly committed to an asylum. This cause disagreements within the family. Robert at the end of his life was buried as a veteran in Arlington Cemetery, apart from his parents and brothers.

Eddy (1846-50)

The Lincoln's second son, Eddy was born on March 10, 1846, in the Lincoln home on Eighth and Jackson Streets. He was named after Edward Baker, a friend and political ally of Lincoln's. One authority tells us that, "Both Abraham and Mary only spelled his name Eddy in all letters they ever wrote." [Justin] Eddy only lived to be 3 years and 10 months old. After a long illness he died in the family home (February 1, 1850). Because he died so young, little is known of his still-developing personality, only a few impressions of him have survived. Mrs. Lincoln wrote of an occasion when Robert brought home a kitten. When Eddy "spied it his tenderness broke forth, he made them bring it water, fed it with bread himself, with his own dear hands, he was a delighted little creature over it...." On the day that Lincoln said farewell to the people of Springfield as he left for the White House, he thought of Eddy. Summing up what Springfield had meant to him, he said: "To this place, and the kindness of these people, I owe everything. Here I have lived a quarter of a century and have passed from a young to an old man. Here my children have been born and one is buried."

Willie (1850-62)

The third Lincoln child, Willie, was born on December 21, 1850, in the family home in Springfield. He was named for his Uncle William Wallace, who married Mary Todd Lincoln's sister Frances. Willie was described as being amiable, cheerful, mature for his age, and the son who was the most popular with his playmates. His mother said that Willie "was a very beautiful boy, with a most spiritual expression of face." However, the use of the word "spiritual" here does not mean that he was not ready to join his younger brother Tad in pranks and mischief whenever the occasion presented itself. He was the apple of his father's eye. Willie could do no wrong in his father's eyes. Willie died in the White House on February 20, 1862, at the age of 11, while his father was President. It was one of the saddest events in the White House. His death was a devastating blow to his parents, and it cast a dark shadow over the remaining years of Lincoln's Presidency, already made tragic by the Civil War. Lincoln grieved silently in his son's bedroom for 2 days. Mary wailed for days.

Thomas (1853-71)

Thomas was the Lincoln's youngest child, and as often occurs with the youngest--his father's favorite. Thomas, was born on April 4, 1853, in the Lincoln home in Springfield. He was named after Lincoln's father, Thomas, but, Abraham nicknamed him "Tad," short for "Tadpole," apparently because of his appearance as an infant. Tad was inventive in thinking up mischief and he became rather famous for his pranks, which he often carried out with the help of his older brother Willie. Hampered by a speech impediment, Tad was slow to learn to read and write, and he had trouble communicating with others, but his father could understand Tad perfectly and empathized with the boy's frustrations. Known for his affectionate and impulsive personality, Tad became the focus of Lincoln's attentions after the death of his older brother William Wallace. Tad died on July 15, 1871, at the age of 18, about 6 years after the assassination of his father. His death was a great loss to his mother, because she had depended upon him for love, companionship, and understanding after her husband's assassination.








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Created: 7:55 PM 10/20/2018
Last changed: 7:55 PM 10/20/2018