Talk:Mary Todd Lincoln
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Savage conversations
editSavage Conversations by LeAnne Howe could be added to the In Popular Culture section. Anonymous editing as 204.77.137.233 (talk) 17:39, 6 February 2022 (UTC)
Mary "Todd" Lincoln vs. Mary Lincoln
editI think that presidential historian Alexis Coe raises an interesting point that is not addressed in this article anywhere I could find.
In her life, after she married Abraham, Mary never referred to herself as "Mary Todd Lincoln" in her letters. She only signed letters as "Mary Lincoln." or "Mrs. Abraham Lincoln," or "M.L." but she never included "Todd." Some primary source examples of this are these "Unpublished Mary Lincoln Letters" or this 1865 letter "A Letter from Mary Todd Lincoln to Mrs. Anson G. Henry" (the Ford Theatre's page title includes "Todd" but Mrs. Lincoln herself, notably, does not.) The White House Historical Association's page refers to her as "Mary Lincoln" and includes a handwritten letter from Mary to Queen Victoria signed by "Mary Lincoln."
I don't think there needs to be a comprehensive list of every letter she ever wrote to demonstrate that the two names she intended to go by in life were "Mary Todd" before her marriage, and "Mary Lincoln" afterwards. Letters that include a person's own signature serve as better (and primary) sources to indicate what that person's name was than secondary sources where historians choose to refer the individual by a different name for undisclosed reasons.
The page should refer to her as she referred to herself, not editorialize by including her maiden name, when that is not the name she used. I am unsure of any other notable figure that has their maiden name included in the title and body of the article, when they never referred to themselves or asked others to refer to them in that manner. I know that wikipedia articles shouldn't be used as arguments or examplesto change other wikipedia articles, as there are higher standards at play than just what the other articles do alone, but I am going to commit a minor sin here just to show a few instances of this double standard for other articles: "Elizabeth Truman" is referred to as "Bess Truman," the name she went by in life. "Claudia Johnson" is referred to as "Lady Bird Johnson," the name she went by in life. I believe these serve to illustrate the point, but the argument itself stands alone without them - they do not make up the argument entirely.
I welcome any thoughts on this stance. Rmcmullin (talk) 16:48, 23 September 2025 (UTC)
- I think you have a good point, but I can tell you having studied American history that she is almost always referred to as Mary Todd Lincoln in historical sources, and it is the name she is most known by today.
- If "Todd" were dropped from the article (except for maybe a note in the introduction, i.e. "née Todd"), we would need to add a redirect from Mary Todd Lincoln to prevent confusion. Pogueostick (talk) 20:52, 22 June 2026 (UTC)
- "never referred to herself" Potentially interesting trivia, but we are not a quiz show. It does not matter what she called herself, what matters is the name or names used by the available sources for her. Dimadick (talk) 23:17, 22 June 2026 (UTC)