Todd, Robert S.

Born: 1791-02-25 Lexington, Kentucky

Died: 1849-07-17 Frankfort, Kentucky

Flourished:

Todd was educated at Transylvania University, gained admission to the bar in 1811, and served in the War of 1812. He married Eliza Ann Parker in November, 1812. They had seven children, including Mary Todd Lincoln, who married Abraham Lincoln in November, 1842. After Eliza Todd died, Robert Todd married Elizabeth “Betsey” Humphreys on November 1, 1826. He amassed a personal fortune as a merchant, manufacturer, and slaveholder. He was president of Lexington's Branch of the Bank of Kentucky, served as a Whig in the Kentucky General Assembly, and was active in Whig politics throughout his life.

Gravestone, Lexington Cemetery, Lexington, KY; William H. Townsend, Lincoln and His Wife’s Home Town (Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1929), 44-48, 78; Jean H. Baker, Mary Todd Lincoln: A Biography (New York: W. W. Norton, 1987), 1-32 passim.