Mary Eunice Harlan

Mary Harlan Lincoln ( Harlan; September 25, 1846 – March 31, 1937) was the daughter of United States Senator James Harlan and the wife of Robert Todd Lincoln. Life and family The eldest child of James Harlan and Ann Eliza Peck, Mary Eunice Harlan was born in Iowa City, Iowa on September 25, 1846. The only one of James Harlan's children to live to adulthood, she was raised in Mount Pleasant, Iowa and Washington, D.C. She was educated in Mount Pleasant and at Madame Smith's Finishing School in Washington. In addition to learning French, dancing and deportment, Mary Harlan received training in music and became an accomplished harpist. Robert Lincoln noticed the teenaged Mary in 1864 and began to court her. She had also come to the attention of Robert's mother Mary Lincoln, who approved and attempted to play matchmaker. President Abraham Lincoln became aware of his wife's activities and aided her by asking Senator Harlan to escort Mrs. Lincoln to Lincoln's 1865 presidential inaugural, enabling Robert to escort Mary Harlan. In order to keep their courtship secret, Robert Lincoln often used the assistance of his friend Edgar Welles to meet Mary Harlan at the home of Edgar's father Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles. Their marriage was delayed by the assassination of Robert's father and the subsequent mourning period. Marriage and children Robert Todd Lincoln and Mary Eunice Harlan were married on September 24, 1868. They had two daughters and one son: