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Mary Todd Lincoln And Spiritualism

Goucher.edu

In a nation devastated by the Civil War, spiritualism offered grieving families some hope of connecting with lost loved ones. It also gave women another outlet for their energy and influence in a society that sharply limited women’s roles.

Jean H. Baker, author of “Mary Todd Lincoln: A Biography,” visits the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum on Sept. 30 to discuss spiritualism and attempts to contact the dead.

The free event begins at 6 p.m., when Baker will sign copies of the Mary Lincoln biography and “Sisters: The Lives of America’s Suffragists.” Her lecture begins at 6:30 in the museum’s Union Theater.

To make reservations, visit www.presidentlincoln.illinois.gov and click on “special event reservations.” Or call (217) 558-8934.

Her White House years were a time of misery for Mary Lincoln. She endured the death of her son Willie, lost relatives in the war, was vilified in the press and, finally, saw her husband murdered right in front of her.  Aided by mediums, she often sought solace through communion with the spirit-world.

Baker will discuss Mary Lincoln’s pursuit of spiritualism, as well its common role among educated, middle class people of the nineteenth century.