Mary first visited Springfield in the Spring of 1835.
She and her sisters were reared in Lexington, Kentucky, members of a prominent Kentucky family. Their mother died when Mary was six. One by one the four oldest Todd sisters left home, refugees from a difficult stepmother. Mary's oldest sister, Elizabeth, married Ninian W. Edwards, the son of an Illinois governor, and settled in Springfield. Elizabeth invited each younger sister to join her, in turn, assuming the role of matchmaker. The four Todd sisters, their uncle Dr. John Todd, and their cousin, the dashing John Todd Stuart, were socially prominent and made up part of the aristocracy of early Springfield.

By most accounts, Mary was warmer and more personable than her sisters. None shared her interest in public affairs. They all opposed her marriage to Abraham Lincoln, thinking she was marrying beneath herself.

Elizabeth's matchmaking was more successful for her other sisters. The second oldest, Frances, married William Wallace, a physician and druggist who became the Lincolns' doctor. The youngest, Ann Marie, married Clark M. Smith, a leading Springfield merchant.

Mary had three sisters, an uncle and a cousin who lived within a few blocks of her in Springfield. The sisters formed a female support network during their early years of marriage and child raising. They could be jealous and competitive and would sometimes quarrel. Relations were strained during the Civil War when the Todd family's Kentucky roots created political difficulties for the First Lady and her husband. the rift widened when a conflict arose with Elizabeth's husband over a government position. Nevertheless, family bonds were strong. Elizabeth went to Washington to be with Mary after Willie Lincoln died. In the last years of Mary's life, Elizabeth became her advocate, welcoming Mary back to Springfield to spend her last days in the Edwards' home.

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