Lincoln and Medicine

2. The Lincoln Family, 1843–60

9 c h a p t e r t w o The Lincoln Family, 1843–60 When Abraham Lincoln married Mary Todd on November 4, 1842, he took on new responsibilities for family members, as do most married men. In Lincoln’s case, his relationship with his wife has been studied extensively, if not excessively, from their first meeting to their last words to each other on April 14, 1865. It is important to reiterate that the details of that relationship are important to the topic of this chapter only as they relate to the health of the family members. Mary Ann Todd was born December 13, 1818, in Lexington, Kentucky, the fourth child of Robert Smith and Eliza Parker Todd. Mary’s mother died when Mary was six. After her father remarried less than two years later, neither Mary nor her five full siblings ever got along well with their stepmother, Elizabeth (Betsey) Humphreys, who produced nine additional children.1 Little seems to be known about Mary’s physical health as a child. More attention has been paid to her emotional and mental conditions in light of her later instability. The description by Mary’s cousin Margaret Stuart Woodrow, one of Mary’s best friends as a child, has been quoted often: “She was very highly strung, nervous, impulsive, excitable, having an emotional temperament much like an April day, sunning all over with laughter one moment, the next crying as though her heart would break.” Mary’s mood swings, equally evident in adulthood, have led some to suggest that she was bipolar (manic-depressive).2 Several historians have noted that Mary was not properly disciplined as a 10 | The Lincoln Family, 1843–60 child, a situation also true for many of her siblings. She did not develop self-control but became self-centered and demanding. By the time she went to live with her oldest sister, Elizabeth Edwards, in Springfield, Illinois, in 1839, Mary had also begun to experience the severe headaches or migraines from which she suffered for the rest of her life. She may also have learned how useful illness could be in getting attention and her own way.3 In addition to the common transitions involved in adjusting to being married, Mary faced two extra challenges. She moved from the Edwards home, with servants and society events, to the Globe Tavern, a boardinghouse. Mary immediately became pregnant as well. The shift from society belle to pregnant wife of a rising but still lower-income lawyer was not an easy adjustment for Mary.4 The couple’s first son, Robert Todd Lincoln, called Bob by the family, was born August 1, 1843. Robert evidently took after his mother’s side of the family physically. His father described him when three years old as “‘short and low,’ and I expect always will be.” At that age he talked “plainly,” was “quite smart enough,” and got into mischief. At some point, the young Bob “ate poisonous lime from the Lincoln privy.” Although this was certainly nasty and very upsetting to Mary, it apparently did the boy no lasting damage.5 Perhaps one of the scariest events of Robert’s childhood for the Lincoln family occurred when Robert was bitten by his dog. Apparently the Lincolns feared that the dog had hydrophobia (rabies), for which no effective preventative or treatment then existed. However, Abraham Lincoln did what any loving parent would do to provide the best medical care available. He took Robert all the way to Terre Haute, Indiana, to be treated with a “mad stone.” These rare stones were supposed to draw out the poison. Needless to say, the dog was not really rabid. However, the incident does show the Lincolns as caring parents, as well as the limits of effective treatment at the time.6 Robert’s most obvious medical issue during his childhood was a crossed eye, a situation that led to severe teasing by his schoolmates , who taunted him with the name “Cockeye.” Studies of Robert and the Lincoln family during his childhood mention several different treatments for this apparently hereditary problem. He may have The Lincoln Family, 1843–60 | 11 strengthened the eye by the use of a patch or by peering through a keyhole. It is also possible that he had surgery on the affected eye muscles. Unfortunately, none of the historians who mention these treatments indicate their original sources, so it...