Mary Lincoln was put in a mental hospital
A Chicago court deemed Mary Lincoln, his 56-year-old widow, crazy and confined her to a mental facility ten years after Abraham Lincoln's murder. She arrived to Bellevue Place, a luxurious, private sanitarium in the Fox River Valley, on May 20, 1875. Less than four months after she made the earnest attempt to get herself released, her sister Elizabeth took over her care in Springfield.
Mary Lincoln's frequent and erratic mood swings may have been caused by bipolar disorder, which was unheard of at the time. She fell into a profound despair as a result of all the awful losses that she experienced. Lincoln's lone surviving son committed his mother to a mental facility to assist her. She only stayed there for a few months, but that was enough for her to make the decision that she would never again speak with her son.
Robert could easily see his mother because Bellevue Place was only a 90-minute train journey from Chicago. He said, "My mother is, I suppose, under as good care and as happily situated as possible under the circumstances," to reassure Sally and probably himself. Robert was misled into believing that his mother was "happier in every aspect, in her freedom from care and excitement, than she has been in ten years," however. Instead, authors Justin and Linda Turner penned this "Robert tried to understand his mother's mental anguish while wishing for the best and intending the best. She may have appeared calm, but her mind was churning with plans to get her released."
Mary was able to hasten the release from her indefinite detention with the aid of attorneys James and Myra Bradwell. Mary Lincoln is no more insane than I am, Myra remarked to a reporter from a Chicago newspaper. On September 11, 1875, Mary was discharged from Bellevue Place and placed in the care of Ninian and Elizabeth Edwards. In a Chicago court, Mary was formally deemed sane on June 15, 1876.
