Children of Famous Parents: American President Abraham Lincoln

About the children of famous American president Abraham Lincoln, biography of the kids.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S CHILDREN

Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln had 4 boys, only one of whom survived to adulthood. Robert Todd (1843-1926) was an introvert by nature, never comfortable in the glare of publicity that surrounded him much of his life. Many thought he might have become President himself, had he ever sought the office. He was unlike his father in physique and in philosophy; he was a millionaire corporation lawyer and businessman of decidedly conservative views. Personal tragedy dogged him throughout his life: His 3 brothers died, his father was assassinated, his only son died young, and his mother's mental illness eventually forced him to institute a sanity hearing that resulted in her commitment to a sanitarium. He is said to have felt that had he accompanied his parents to Ford Theater on that fatal evening, he might have helped avert his father's assassination. Ironically, 2 years previous to the assassination, Robert had been rescued from a near accident on a train station platform by Edwin Booth, John Wilkes's brother.