The Madness of Mary Lincoln

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments An author rarely completes any literary endeavor alone, especially not a book of history. First and foremost, I will be forever grateful to the children of Frederic N. Towers: Frederic C. Towers, Judy Reemtsma, and Dorcy Burns. They gave me complete access to the contents of their father’s Lincoln trunk, allowing me to be the first historian to write about Mary Lincoln’s “lost insanity letters.” They didn’t have to do that, but they did, and they gave me great support as well, especially Judy, who provided me with a place to stay on my first trip to New York City. Thank you. Also to James Gordon, relative of Myra Bradwell, who likewise gave me unfettered access to the papers of Myra Pritchard in his private collection, without which the true fate of the lost insanity letters would be only partially known. I never could have made this book as complete as it is without the assistance of Dr. James S. Brust, chair of the department of psychiatry and medical director of the psychiatric unit at San Pedro Peninsula Hospital, San Pedro, California, and coauthor of Where Custer Fell: Photographs of the Little Bighorn Battlefield Then and Now. Dr. Brust helped me understand so many facets of psychiatry in general and as pertain to Mary Lincoln’s case in particular that I can never repay him. He read my entire manuscript and helped me realize just how complex Mary’s mental illness was and how it evolved throughout her lifetime. Dr. Brust also was a great general copyeditor and saved me from many embarrassing mistakes. Dr. Eugene Taylor, Harvard Medical School Lecturer on Psychiatry, senior psychologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, and author of Shadow Culture: Psychology and Spirituality in America, helped me understand Spiritualism, the link between Spiritualism and insanity as perceived in the nineteenth century, and addiction versus psychological dependence. Dr. Dennis Nissim-Sabat, professor of psychology, University of Mary Washington, in Fredericksburg, Virginia, helped me understand certain aspects of the history of psychiatry. More indispensable aid came from my friend Tai Gerhart Edwards, a wonderful historian and my first, best (nonprofessional) editor, whom I met in the history graduate program at George Mason University. Her comxi ments on my manuscript were frustratingly cogent and reliable and made the book ten times better than it would have been without her help. As all historians know, not many people during your research are as critically important as the librarians and archivists at the many repositories you must visit. I received gracious aid from: Kim Bauer, Bryon Andreasen, Jennifer Ericson, and Cheryl Schnirring at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library, Springfield, Illinois; Brian Knight, Seth Bongartz, and the entire staff at Hildene, the Lincoln Family Home, in Manchester, Vermont; Cindy Van Horn and Carolyn Texley at The Lincoln Museum, in Fort Wayne, Indiana; Debbie Vaughan at the Chicago History Museum; Jane Westenfeld at the Pelletier Library, Allegheny College , in Meadville, Pennsylvania; Elizabeth B. Dunn at the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University; the staff at the Rappahannock Regional Library, in Fredericksburg, Virginia, for all their help with my numerous Inter-Library Loan requests; and the staff at the University of Mary Washington, Simpson Library—the best university library I have ever used, without which I could not have accomplished as much research as I did. Numerous distinguished Lincoln scholars also gave me support and encouragement along the journey toward my first book, and I am indeed grateful to them. I can only hope to live up to the standards they have individually and collectively set in the world of Lincoln scholarship : Catherine Clinton, who encouraged me to write this book; Wayne Temple, who gave me great help finding the Illinois lunacy statutes and is simply the most knowledgeable Lincoln scholar I have ever met; Jane L. Friedman, biographer of Myra Bradwell, who helped me on my road to discovery; and the outstanding historians Michael Burlingame, Harold Holzer, Frank J. Williams, Steven L. Carson, John Y. Simon, Michael W. Kauffman, Norbert Hirschhorn, and Rodney Ross. Thanks also to Richard Snow, editor of American Heritage magazine, for accepting my article about Mary’s lost letters, which introduced their discovery to the public, and to Claire Lui, American Heritage research assistant, an indefatigable fact-checker. Thanks to my friends and family: Paul Lewis and the Fredericksburg Athenaeum for their support and for indulging me in my series of lectures on Abraham, Mary, and Robert Lincoln; Aby...