Newly discovered letter from Mary Todd Lincoln shows rare side of former first lady, expert says

A newly discovered letter written by former first lady Mary Todd Lincoln shows a side of her that is rarely seen, an author and historical documents expert told FOX Business.

The letter is addressed to George Harrington; his descendants would have found it in their family archives.

At the time, Harrington was deputy secretary of the Treasury.

In the letter, Ms. Lincoln was trying to find a job at the Treasury Department for a woman, something Nathan Raab told FOX Business was very unusual for a woman in that time period.

“It’s remarkable to see her working in the context of government during the Civil War, working to get women involved in the war effort and in government as we fought against the Confederacy,” Raab said during of a telephone interview about Mrs. Lincoln.

Raab is chairman of The Raab Collection, a company that sells historical documents, and is the author of “The Hunt for History.”

He lives in Philadelphia.

The Raab Collection sells Lincoln’s letter for $15,000.

The letter is believed to date from 1864.

In the letter, Mary Todd Lincoln asks Harrington if she can suggest a new person to hire for a Treasury position because the original person “has not acted with dignity.”

“I am sure this will be a matter of no importance to you, and your obedience will satisfy me,” Mrs. Lincoln wrote.

The person mentioned in the letter is unknown; it’s also unclear whether the person has ever been hired by Treasury, Raab told FOX Business.

“I think it’s more from the perspective of here she is, behind the scenes, working on behalf of women, plural,” he said.

“This shows that she had a philosophy of helping to employ women in the war effort and in her husband’s administration.”

Additionally, the letter runs counter to the notion that Mrs. Lincoln was distant and uncaring, Raab said.

“There is something warm and touching about this letter,” he said.

“It brings out a side of her that I’m not sure I realized,” he said.

Normally, “we see Mary Todd Lincoln through the lens of Abraham,” Raab said.

This letter, he said, “gives its own point of view.”

“And we can see what she was doing, not just her comments about what the president was doing,” Raab said.