Mary Todd Lincoln Stayed Post-Assassination

First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln remained in the White House for nearly six weeks after witnessing the assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in 1865. She did not attend his funeral, and President Andrew Johnson allowed her to remain in the executive mansion while she grieved. Shortly before leaving, she wrote to U.S. Senator Charles Sumner that she would depart brokenhearted, with nearly every hope in life crushed. She left Washington with her sons Robert and Tad and settled in Chicago.

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