LENOX, Mass. — Louise Levy, local Chesterwood tour guide and a lifelong student of Abraham Lincoln history will talk about the life of Mary Todd Lincoln and how she went from western belle to frugal housewife to First Lady of the United States. 

 

A tea will be served after her presentation.

 

Mary Todd Lincoln went from western belle to frugal housewife to First Lady of the United States, enduring grief, war and illness along the way. She learned to manage her own household, consulting the latest ladies' magazines and cookbooks, while her husband was gone for months at a time riding the circuit as an aspiring lawyer and politician. As a girl she predicted she would someday marry the President of the United States, and she did everything she could to help get her husband elected.  

 

Learn the stories of people close to the Lincolns, including Elizabeth Keckly, a former slave who served as Mary Lincoln's dressmaker; Elmer Ellsworth, the first Union soldier killed during the Civil War; as well as the Todd Family, a clan as divided as the nation itself. Hear how their allegiances and actions affected the Lincolns in the White House. Our speaker will also touch upon the Spiritualist Movement that was gaining popularity at the time and how Mary Todd Lincoln sought comfort, reaching out to her loved ones through séances and mediums. And how Robert Todd Lincoln stepped in to navigate the family legacy through the Gilded Age, including having Mary briefly committed in a sanatorium for the insane, and how a female attorney/activist stepped in to help her regain her freedom.  

 

The tea will include recipes based on Miss Leslie's Instructions for Cookery as well as other Civil War era treats, including some of Abraham Lincoln's favorites.

 

Levy is a 1990 graduate of Syracuse University with a BA in art history. She grew up in New Jersey and has made the northwest corner of Connecticut her home for over 30 years. Levy has been a tour guide at Chesterwood for years and gives specialty talks there. Her talks range from cemetery symbolism to the civil rights movement. She has a lifelong fascination with Abraham Lincoln and loves to read anything she can on him and his life. She likes to spend her spare time either hiking in the woods or visiting museums and historic sites. 

 

Tickets are $30 for members and with advance reservation; $35 day of; $22 for students 22 and under. Reservations are strongly encouraged as seats are limited. Walk-ins accommodated as space allows. For reservations visit https://gildedage.org/events/ or call us at (413) 637-3206. Please note that all tickets are nonrefundable and non-exchangeable. The historical mansion is located at 104 Walker Street in Lenox.

 

The summer series of Tea & Talks is sponsored by the Dobbins Foundation.