Comments on: Abraham Lincoln’s First and Final Love? William Herndon’s Ann Rutledge

By: Shelley

Shelley — Wed, 08 May 2013 04:40:06 +0000

Maybe he did love Ann. Most people have had more than one love in their life, right? That was never going to be since she died young. Then he met Mary and he loved her. Its so silly and a slap in the face to his wife, to say she was his first and final love. He loved his wife and she had alot to do with his success. It was meant to be, it was in Gods plan. That doesnt mean he didnt love Ann and wouldnt have married her had she lived but would he still have been president, or does that mean he didnt love his wife? Absolutely not, we all have had first loves and some have died, but that doesnt mean they dont love their spouse. As far as Im concerned, this book was wrote to rub salt in his wifes wounds because she was misunderstood and some people are vindictive like that…take it with a grain of salt..no pun intended.

By: Abraham Lincoln Went to Beardstown, But Did He Pick Up Syphilis While He Was There? - From Out of the Top Hat: A Blog from the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 20:12:45 +0000

[...] Herndon claimed to have heard those words from Lincoln’s own lips, but he didn’t specify when he’d heard it. “Old and infirm,” by his own admission, when he wrote the 1891 letter — he died two months later — Herndon sometimes got mixed up about what he’d heard directly from his former partner, what he’d heard from others, and what he’d inferred all by himself. (In 1889, Herndon said Lincoln had told him that he’d left his “heart” buried in Ann Rutledge’s grave; in 1866, Herndon claimed “a friend” had told him that; some evidence suggests he came up with it himself. See my blog post of Nov. 30, 2011.) [...]

By: Abraham Lincoln’s First and Final Love? William Herndon’s Ann Rutledge (part two) - From Out of the Top Hat: A Blog from the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 18:56:46 +0000

[...] Abraham Lincoln’s First and Final Love? William Herndon’s Ann Rutledge (part two) November 30, 2011 David Blanchette No comments var addthis_product = 'wpp-261'; var addthis_config = {"data_track_clickback":true};Part two of a two-part essay. Part one appeared on November 10th. [...]

By: Brad Watson, Miami

Brad Watson, Miami — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 15:33:48 +0000

Lincoln’s love for Ann Rutledge was real, as was his grief at her death. Rutledge’s love for Lincoln was real as well. History is full of ‘what ifs?’ What if Rutledge had lived and married Lincoln, would we have ever heard of Abraham Lincoln? Mary Todd was a huge reason why Lincoln became president! If you could ask Stephen Douglas and John Breckinridge, they would definitely agree with that. How amazing is it that in the most historical 1860 Presidential Election, Mary is married to Lincoln and she had been courted by both Douglas & Breckinridge?!

If anyone is going to visit New Salem, IL, I highly recommend that at the end of your day, take the 5-minute drive to the cemetary where Ann Rutledge is buried. (The tour guides at New Salem will give you the directions.) It’s not easy to find her grave, but if you really want to feel what Lincoln felt, make the pilgrimmage. My girlfriend and I went there in ’09 and she found Ann’s grave right before I was about to give up. It is a lovely spot and I felt some very strong emotions there. Frankly, it was more intense for me there then when we visited Lincoln’s Tomb the next day.

- Brad Watson, Miami
author of ’7 Score & 4 Years Later’

By: Scott Logsdon

Scott Logsdon — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 18:08:44 +0000

I have read the Mariah Vance book and I suspect that some of the stories attributed to her were invented by the woman that wrote the book. I doubt that Lincoln would have told his emotional fragile wife that he had loved another woman. Lincoln may have loved Ann and maybe even planned to marry but it wasn’t the “great romance of the ages.” I have “loved” several woman as various times in my life and probably could have had a good marriage with any, but the circumstances of life led me to my wife and not anyone else. I suspect the same thing with Lincoln. Wm Herndon didn’t like Mary and created the myth of Ann Rutledge. Poor Mary Todd Lincoln has lost to a ghost.

By: DarLing

DarLing — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 00:19:42 +0000

Gee, this is interesting. I mean, it really makes me think in a huge bubble. Sometimes I wonder if he brought her up in front of Mary (his wife) or did he actually love her still even though, he was married to his wife?

By: Robin Gilmore

Robin Gilmore — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 19:57:03 +0000

It wasn’t only William Herndon who said it but Lincoln’s housemaid Mariah Vance in her book…”Lincoln’s Unknown Private Life” She goes into more detail on his distraction with Miss Rutledge.