Lincoln the Husband – Arriving in Springfield in 1839, Mary Todd became friends with Abraham Lincoln despite their very different backgrounds. Though both born in Kentucky, Lincoln grew up in a one-room log cabin and had barely one year of formal education. Todd, whose family claimed ownership of Black people, was born into wealth and enjoyed many years of private education. The young couple courted in 1840 but separated the following year. Eventually, the couple reconciled in secret and decided to be married on November 4, 1842. Together, they built a life with four children soon to follow. While Victorian ideals of womanhood stressed the virtues of women who had no identity beyond that of wife and mother, Mary had to contend with what those roles meant on a national stage in the White House. She struggled to deal with competing demands and societal expectations that rendered her visible and subject to criticism.