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Mary never recovered from her husband's death. She was so grief-stricken that she was unable to vacate the White House for two months. Estranged from her family of origin, she went to live in Chicago with her two remaining sons, Robert and Tad. Money became an immediate problem. Although Lincoln had left a sizeable estate, it was tied up in probate for three years. Mary, Robert, and Tad each received an allowance from the estate's executor. It was not enough to live on in expensive Chicago. Robert soon moved into his own lodgings, forcing Mary and Tad to seek cheaper rooms.

Unknown to Robert, Mary was deeply in debt. As First Lady, she had spent freely and lavishly, charging everything. After Lincoln's death, Mary's creditors demanded their money. She decided to sell the expensive gowns she had worn as First Lady. The scheme was unsucessful, and Robert was acutely embarrassed by the publicity. Eventually, Mary told a friend that the debts had all been paid by herself and Robert, probably with money from the estate. They did not want it said that President Lincoln died owing money.

Robert, by now an attorney, married Mary Eunice Harlan in 1868. Mary and Tad attended the ceremony before departing for Europe. They were away three years. Tad attended a German boarding school while his mother traveled.

The birth of a granddaughter helped lure Mary back to America in 1871. But eighteen-year-old Tad died soon after their return, of pulmonary edema and possibly tuberculosis. Mary was inconsolable. She refused to live in Robert's home after a disagreement with his wife. Her increasingly erratic behavior caused Robert to take action. A jury declared her insane in 1875, and she was committed indefinitely to a mental hospital in Batavia, Illinois. However, sympathetic and influential friends helped secure Mary's release after only four months. Another jury found her to be sane, and she went to live with her sister Elizabeth in Springfield. Mary never forgave Robert for his part in having her declared insane. She wrote him a furious letter demanding the return of every gift she had ever given to him and his wife.

After another period of traveling in Europe, Mary returned to Springfield in 1880. Robert visited her at her sister's home, bringing his oldest daughter. Mary received them, although it is doubtful that Robert ever asked for her forgiveness, and highly certain that she never gave it. She died of a stroke in 1882.

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15y ago

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