Although courted by his political opponent, Stephen Douglas, Mary Todd chose to marry which future American president?
Mary Todd Lincoln gregarious, with a grasp of politics. Like her family, she was a Whig. Mary began living with her sister Elizabeth Porter Edwards in Springfield, Illinois in October 1839. Elizabeth, married to Ninian W. Edwards, son of a former governor, served as Mary's guardian. Mary was popular among the gentry of Springfield, and though she was courted by the rising young lawyer and Democratic Party politician Stephen A. Douglas and others, she chose Abraham Lincoln, a fellow Whig. Mary Todd married Abraham Lincoln on November 4, 1842, at her sister Elizabeth's home in Springfield, Illinois. She was 23 years old and
Mary Todd Lincoln he was 33 years of age. Their four sons, all born in Springfield, were: Robert and Tad survived to adulthood and the death of their father, and only Robert outlived his mother. Lincoln and Douglas eventually became political rivals in the great Lincoln-Douglas debates for a seat representing Illinois in the United States Senate in 1858. Although Douglas successfully secured the seat when elected by the Illinois legislature, Lincoln became famous for his position on slavery, which generated national support for him. While Lincoln pursued his increasingly successful career as a Springfield lawyer, Mary supervised their growing household. Their house,