In 1844, the couple bought a house in Springfield near Lincoln's law office; Mary kept house with the help of a relative and hired servant.Lincoln was an affectionate husband and father of four sons although, due to his work, he was regularly absent from home. The oldest, Robert Todd Lincoln, was born in 1843 and was Lincoln's only child to live to maturity. Journalist Noah Brooks reported, 'No man ever before made such an impression on his first appeal to a New York audience. 'Historian David Herbert Donald described the speech as a 'superb political move for an unannounced candidate, to appear in one rival's (Seward) own state at an event sponsored by the second rival's (Chase) loyalists, while not mentioning either by name during its delivery'. In response to an inquiry about his ambitions, Lincoln said, 'The taste is in my mouth a little.'
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