"House of Abraham" by Stephen Berry

 

"House of Abraham" by Stephen Berry came out a decade and a half ago, and I am almost embarrassed to say that it has taken me this long to get around to reading it.  This is a great book, and a must read for anyone interested in Abe and his relationship to the very complicated Todd family.

I have spent a lot of time reading up on the Lincolns and Todds, and I have visited many of the sites associated with them (heck, most of the Todds are buried a short distance from my home)....  but this book really showed me some new aspects to the relationship.

I am very familiar with (and fascinated by) the relationship of Mary and Abe to brother in law (and Confederate General) Benjamin Hardin Helm, but the family's relationship to some of the other siblings and their spouses is also complex.  The fact that almost all of them had some sort of connection not just to Lincoln, but also to the CSA really makes this story interesting.

Berry does a great job of introducing the family members, and talking about their places in the Todd family, in the Civil War, and in history in general.  He tells about their interactions and he lets you know what happened to them after the Civil War.  His writing is easy to follow and has a very nice flow.

There were siblings of Mary Lincoln at the inauguration of Jefferson Davis.  Others served in the Confederate army.  One brother dies while serving the in CSA at Shiloh (I have visited the spot) and one sibling put in charge of Yankee prisoners gets into trouble for abusing them, including a corpse.

I took notes while reading it, and this is definatley a volume on the Lincolns/Todds that will always be on my shelf.