Abraham Lincoln’s Sons
Illinois Editor Jeriah Bonham recalled visiting Abraham Lincoln in Springfield in the summer of 1860. Mr. Lincoln was at the State Capitol where he normally met with visitors, but this day he was alone with Tad and Willie, who were playing on the floor of the Governor’s office. “‘Tad’ was spinning a top, and Mr. Lincoln, as we came in, had just finished adjusting the string for him so it would give the top greater force when it was whirled off on the floor. He said he was having a little season of relaxation with the boys, which he could not always enjoy now, as so many callers and so much correspondence occupied his time.â€1
Children — his own and others — were a critical part of Mr. Lincoln’s mental relaxation. “Mr. Lincoln was always fond of children,†noted one Illinois friend. “During his earlier years of practice in Springfield his wife would have him put their latest baby in its wagon and wheel it on the street until he had to go to his office. A neighbor called to him one morning: ‘That is pretty business for a lawyer.’ Mr. Lincoln’s quiet reply was: ‘I promised to give him the air; he was so tired and heated.'â€2 Robert was the oldest of four Lincoln boys. The second son, Eddie, died in 1850 before he reached three years, perhaps of diphtheria. Two more boys — Willie and Tad — were born in 1850 and 1853.
http://www.abrahamlincolnsclassroom.org/abraham-lincolns-contemporaries/abraham-lincolns-sons/
