The Benton weekly record. [volume] (Benton, Mont.) 1880-1885, 1882-08-03
DE4ATHE OF 1TEs. E4EaC0LN.
a E4ose& Sickness Terminated by II E';,~
tai Stroise esE Paralysis

y
tns StPoise 0t Paralysis
SPRINGFIELD, H., July IG.-M1s Lin
coin, widow of the late President Lincoln,
died i'll this city at s15 O'Clock tonight.
She had been i'll fora long time, and a few
! days ago grew worse. Last evening she
suffered shock of paralysis, and since
/ that time lay in a comatose state until She
/. died. Her son, Robert Lincoln, Secretary
| Of War, will be here on Tuesday morning.
The funeral announcement will be made
later.
Mrs. Lincoln was daughter of Dr.
Todd, and was born near louisville, Ky.
She was a woman of extreme good nature,
a devoted wife, and an atfectionate mother.
She was known by close friends in early
life as ambitious, but it is probable that
she never dreamed of occupying the White
House until events made that result a pos
sibtlity. Not q cultivated woman, and not
fitted by nature to fill a commanding So
cial position, she drew upon herself while
in Washington the savage criticism of po-
litical and other enemies, being in that
respect the most unfortunate Of all the
ladies Of the White House. Itis generally
believed by her friends that her mind was
seriously atfected@by the assassination Of
her husband. She had always been ola
nervous temperament and the terrible
shock consequent upon her husbands
untimely end certainly developed in her
strongly marked symptoms Of insanity,
She was literally weighed down with woe,
and the burden was greatly increased by
the death of her youngest son, Thaddeus,
or '"Tad, !" as he was usually called She
became possessed Of some very peculiar
Whims. Among others was the idea that
she would eventually come to want, and
she could not be shaken in this belief, des-
pite the fact that she had about $50 ,0G0 and
was entirely free from debt Another
queer fancy she had was for accommodating
window curtains. While she. was staying
at hotel in Chicago some years ago, with
out any idea Of ever again living in q house
of her own, she piled up about her room
over sixty pairs Of curtains. She would
90 out in the morning and order carloads
Of dry goods to be semitic her, and the de-
livery OF the merchandise occasioned the
hotel managers and her friends great an
noyance. When it was found that she
persisted in her haIlucinations, some of
her relatives had her taken very quietly to
an asylum, where she was kept for a long
time before inquiring friends learned of her
whereabouts. One day q newspaper re
porter obtained an interview with her, and
the mournful story which she told pro-
duccd something Of q sensation Judge
and Mrs. BradWell Of Chicago Interested
themselves inner behalf, and in the course"
Of time secured her release
Since her husbands death she has tray
elled q great deal in this country and in
the old world. She has been to Europe
twice, but apparently without benefit to
herself. Her life Of late has been almost
an aimless one, and her frequent journeys,
although undertaken for advertisement,
have not for a moment dispelled the great
shadow which seemed to hang over her.
She returned from Europe the last time on
the same steamer that brought Mile. Bern
hardt to America, and it is related by a
gentleman on board that Mrs. Lincoln was
much affected, on their arrival in New
York harbor, by the attention paid to the
French actress, while she, the widow Of
a martyr President, was neglected by all
save a very few old and intimate friends.
After resting in New York snort time
she went to Springfield, ILL.,, and there, at
the residence Of Mr.. Ninian W. Edwards, /
whose wife is her sister, she passed away.