The Emancipation Day Celebration Website

Charleston reenactor Joyce P. Browning will be bringing Mary Todd Lincoln to vivid life as part of the 2010 Gallia County Emancipation Celebration. "To know Mary Lincoln is to love Mary Lincoln," noted Browning, who considers it an honor to portray one of the most famous first ladies of American history. The real life Mary Lincoln was a Kentucky native, just like her famed husband. However, where Abe Lincoln had humble beginnings, Mary Todd came from a society family in Lexington, Ky., which was known as "The Athens of the West" in the days of the covered wagon. She was the daughter of Robert Smith Todd and Eliza Parker Todd, who were slaveholders. In 1839, Mary Todd moved to Springfield, Ill., where she was courted by the rising young layer and political star Stephen A. Douglas. However, she was more interested in Douglas's lower-status rival and fellow lawyer, Abe Lincoln. Abe Lincoln and Mary Todd were married on November 4, 1842. Mary Todd Lincoln supported her husband as he campaigned during the election, finally becoming United States President in November 1860. Following Lincoln's election, 11 southern states seceded from the Union. Many upper-class Kentuckians from Mrs. Lincoln's social upbringing supported the Southern cause. Former President James Buchanan, a bachelor, seldom used the White House for formal functions and the home was in shabby condition. Mary Todd Lincoln decided to renovate the White House at public expense at the same time as public spending was increasing to fight the Civil War. Newspapers controlled by the Democratic Party subjected her and the Lincoln administration to scathing criticism. She was reviled by Yankees who saw her as a southern sympathizer due to her family’s southern ties. She was viewed with scorn in the south as a traitor. Browning says Mary Lincoln was unjustly criticized in her day because of slander campaigns by William Herndon, who did what he could after President Lincoln's assassination to destroy her in print. "The public believed him since he was Mr. Lincoln's law partner," Browning said. "Many others joined him for various reasons." Browning said this makes her more focused on bringing the truth about Mary Lincoln to life in her portrayal. She has performed as Mary Lincoln at many different venues in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Maryland, Nebraska, North Carolina and Virginia.