March 03, 2025

Episode 160 Lincoln’s Rebel Relatives: When Family Stood on Opposing Sides

33 minutes

Explore the surprising family ties that connected Abraham Lincoln to the Confederacy. While Lincoln fought to preserve the Union, his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, had siblings who sided with the South—raising suspicions about her loyalty. Discover how these family divisions reflected the greater turmoil of a nation at war and uncover the personal struggles of the Todds and the political challenges they created for President Lincoln during the Civil War.

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Episode Sources

Berry, Stephen. House of Abraham: Lincoln and the Todds, a Family Divided by War. Houghton Mifflin, 2007.

Susannah J. Ural (2/26/2025) The War In Their Words: I Do Not Think of Peace. HistoryNet Retrieved from https://www.historynet.com/war-words-not-peace/.

Gaton, K.B. (2010). Family Divided: The Todd Sisters Living in Selma During The American Civil War.University of Georgia.

"Find a Grave", database, Find a Grave (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 3 February 2025), memorial page for Nathaniel Henry Rhodes Dawson (1829-189)

"Find a Grave", database, Find a Grave (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 3 February 2025), memorial page for Elodie Breck Todd Dawson (1840-1877)

"Find a Grave", database, Find a Grave (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 3 February 2025), memorial page for Martha Todd White (1833-1868)

Life in Civil War America. National Park Service, Civil War Service. Retrieved from https://npshistory.com/publications/civil_war_series/4/sec1.htm

Scots in the American Civil War. James and Alexander Campbell: Brother against Brother at Secessionville. Retrieved from https://www.acwscots.co.uk/campbell.htm

Feinauer, J.J. (4/20/2015) Brother against brother: The legacy of divided families during the civil war. Daily American. Retrieved from https://www.dailyamerican.com/story/lifestyle/family/2015/04/10/brother-against-brother-the-legacy-of-divided-families-during-the-civil-wa/116323338/

Episode Music

Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

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By Shannon Ballard

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