February 20th 1862: William Lincoln dies
On this day in 1862, William Wallace Lincoln, son of President Abraham Lincoln, died aged eleven. Known as ‘Willie’, he died due to illness which was most likely typhoid fever. His brother Tad also became ill, but later recovered, though the illness greatly troubled his family, who feared they would lose another son. Lincoln and his wife Mary Todd were deeply affected by Willie’s death, with President Lincoln not returning to work for three weeks and Mary Todd being so distraught that her husband feared for her sanity. His son’s death occurred in the midst of Lincoln’s presidency, and in the second year of the American Civil War that was prompted by the election of the anti-slavery Republican Lincoln. Despite these personal setbacks, Lincoln successfully oversaw the Union’s victory in the Civil War and the abolition of slavery - leading to him being known as the ‘great emancipator’.
“My poor boy. He was too good for this earth. God has called him home. I know that he is much better off in heaven, but then we loved him so. It is hard, hard to have him die!”
- Lincoln upon his son’s death
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