Elizabeth Porter Todd Edwards (13 November 1813 – 22 February 1888) was the sister of

Mary Todd Lincoln Mary Ann Todd Lincoln (December 13, 1818July 16, 1882) served as First Lady of the United States from 1861 until the assassination of her husband, President Abraham Lincoln in 1865. Mary Lincoln was a member of a large and wealthy, slave-owning ...

. She served as Mary's guardian for many years. Mary met

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

in 1839 at Elizabeth Edwards' home, where they later married. In 1875 Elizabeth helped Mary get released from an insane asylum.

Biography

Elizabeth Edwards was born in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

in 1813 to Robert Todd and Elizabeth Parker Todd. She married

Ninian Wirt Edwards Ninian Wirt Edwards (April 15, 1809 – September 2, 1899) was an American politician. Born in Sangamon County, Illinois, Edwards was the son of Ninian Edwards (who served as territorial and state governor of Illinois). He was married to E ...

, the son of a former Illinois governor, in 1832. The Edwards lived in a well-to-do house on Aristocracy Hill in

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat and largest city of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest o ...

. They would host many gatherings of the Springfield gentry, and Elizabeth invited her three sisters, including Mary, to live with her. Mary met Abraham Lincoln in one of the Edwards social gatherings and they married there on November 4, 1842. Elizabeth lived in the White House with her sister Mary for the inauguration. She returned in 1862 to console Mary after the death of her son

Willie Willy or Willie is a masculine, male given name, often a diminutive form of William or Wilhelm, and occasionally a nickname. It may refer to: People Given name or nickname * Willie Aames (born 1960), American actor, television director, and scree ...

. Mary Lincoln is believed to have suffered severe depression during her First Ladyship and after Abraham's death. Her son,

Robert Todd Lincoln Robert Todd Lincoln (August 1, 1843 – July 26, 1926) was an American lawyer, businessman, and politician. He was the eldest son of President Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln. Robert Lincoln became a business lawyer and company presid ...

, committed her to an insane asylum in 1875, over Elizabeth's objections. Mary was released from asylum into Elizabeth's care after a trial. Mary died at Elizabeth's home in 1882. Elizabeth died in 1888 and is buried in

Oak Ridge Cemetery Oak Ridge Cemetery is an American cemetery in Springfield, Illinois. The Lincoln Tomb, where Abraham Lincoln, his wife and all but one of their children lie, is here, as are the graves of other prominent Illinois figures. Thus, it is the second-m ...

in Springfield.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Elizabeth Todd 1813 births 1888 deaths 19th-century American women Burials at Oak Ridge Cemetery People from Lexington, Kentucky People from Springfield, Illinois Spouses of Illinois politicians