![]() When Robert was a child and his father was away, a local neighbor boy often would stay at the Lincoln home. Many of her terrors occurred at night, when she feared burglars, and when she was particularly afraid of lightning and thunderstorms. Mary was a high-strung woman and suffered from many fears. When his father was gone Robert was the man of the house he not only did the male chores, but also acted as an anodyne to his mother’s emotionalism. They both loved reading literature and poetry, they took piano lessons together, and shared a skill and interest in the French language, in which both were fluent.ĭuring Robert’s childhood and adolescence, when his father was constantly away from home riding the judicial circuit and making political appearances, Robert acted as his mother’s social and intellectualcompanion, and also in many ways as her protector. Mary and Robert shared many interests and activities in common. Instead, his close companion at home became his mother. While Willie and Tad were best friends, Robert’s natural companion, Eddie, was gone. Two more sons were subsequently born to the Lincolns, Willie and Tad, but Robert, older than his brothers by seven and nine years respectively, was somewhat apart from them. Robert was not only the first-born of the four Lincoln children, but, after the death of his little brother Eddie in 1850, six-year-old Robert became his mother’s constant comfort and companion. The relationship between Mary and her oldest son Robert was, quite simply, one of the closest and most important of Mary’s life. But a previously unknown letter recently has been found in the Library of Congress that adds a little more to the story. I have previously written about Mary and Robert’s relationship in an article included in the wonderful book The Mary Lincoln Enigma, edited by Frank J. The answer is yes, but it took five years. One of the most common questions asked about the relationship between Mary Lincoln and her oldest son Robert is whether they ever reconciled after becoming estranged due to Mary’s commitment to Bellevue Place Sanitarium in 1875. Robert T Lincoln LFA-0092 Mary Lincoln LFA-0496 ![]() Robert Lincoln Writes About The End of His Mother’s Estrangement
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