By Beth Roberts. On Thursday, February 20, , Abraham and Mary Lincoln were reeling from the death of their second-oldest surviving son, Willie.
He had died from what was likely typhoid fever. Willie had gotten sick in January. They were worried and throughout that evening both Mary and Lincoln left the party to check on him. However, Willie went downhill rapidly after that and on Thursday, Feb. Their youngest son, Tad, had come down with the disease in February, too, and Mary had been caring for both boys. Once Willie died, Mary was inconsolable. Yet I cannot refrain from expressing to you the sincere and deep sympathy I feel for you.
You have been a kind and true friend to me in the midst of the great cares and difficulties by which we have been surrounded during the past few months. Your confidence has upheld me when I should otherwise have felt weak. I wish now only to assure you and your family that I have felt the deepest sympathy in your affliction. Lincoln, whose grief was as great as my own, I could never have smiled again. I thought him a smart boy for his age, so considerate, so manly, his knowledge and good sense far exceeding most boys more advanced in years.
Yet the time comes to all, all must die. He stays mostly at John E. Rolls with his boys who are about the age now that Tad and Willie were when they left for Washington. Your residence here is kept in good order. Tilton has no children to ruin things. You cannot dream of the comfort this gives me. When I thought of my little son in immensity, alone, without his mother to direct him, no one to hold his little hand in loving guidance, it nearly broke my heart.
Phineas D. Gurley Orville H. All rights reserved. Founded by The Lehrman Institute. Please, subscribe or login to access full text content. To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs , and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us. All Rights Reserved. OSO version 0. University Press Scholarship Online.
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