Tad Lincoln

Thomas "Tad" Lincoln (April 4, 1853 – July 15, 1871) was the fourth and youngest son of the 16th President of the United States Abraham Lincoln and his wife Mary Todd Lincoln. Early life and education Thomas Lincoln was born on April 4, 1853, the fourth son of Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd. His three elder brothers were Robert (1843–1926), Edward (1846–1850), and William (1850–1862). Named after his paternal grandfather Thomas Lincoln, he was soon nicknamed "Tad" by his father, for his small body and large head, and because he wiggled like a tadpole as an infant. Tad's first name has occasionally been erroneously recorded as Thaddeus. Tad was born with a form of cleft lip and palate, which caused him speech problems throughout his life. He had a lisp and delivered his words rapidly and unintelligibly. Often only those close to Lincoln were able to understand him. For example, he called his father's bodyguard, William H. Crook, "Took," and his father "Papa Day" instead of "Papa Dear." The cleft palate contributed to uneven teeth; he had such difficulty chewing food that his meals were specially prepared. Lincoln and his brother Willie were considered "notorious hellions" during the period they lived in Springfield. William Herndon, Abraham Lincoln's law partner, wrote about the times Lincoln would bring the boys to work with him in Illinois: "The boys were absolutely unrestrained in their amusement.  If they pulled down all the books from the shelves, bent the points of all the pens, overturned inkstands, scattered law papers over the floor or threw the pencils into the spittoon, it never disturbed the serenity of their father’s good nature."