
Tad Lincoln had just turned twelve when his father was assassinated. If Abraham Lincoln had been lenient before, he now became indulgent. Congressmen, cabinet members and other officials would sometimes find Tad asleep on Lincoln’s sofa, or under his desk. Lincoln kept the boy close by, allowing him the run of his office. It was also impossible for the inconsolable Mary to “mother” her also-grieving son, so Lincoln himself, the grieving father, stepped into the breach, and became Tad’s new best friend. If he ever had “pals” later in his life, it went unrecorded. Tad not only lost his brother and best friend, but he would never see his beloved playmates again. Mary, in her excessive grief, could not bear reminders of her dead son and banished the Taft boys from the White House. And those innocent adventures were arguably Tad’s happiest memories.Ī year later, eleven-year-old Willie died of typhoid fever, and Tad’s tragedy began. While staff members grumbled about the usual lack of discipline associated with little boys at play, President and Mrs. Horatio Taft, Washington matron with two sons exactly the same age as Willie and Tad, and four fellows became inseparable. Since they were the first “First Family” to have young children, the permissive Lincolns gave the boys the run of the place. When the Lincolns moved into the White House, Tad was not quite eight.

The President kept his youngest son with him as much as possible. Now in his middle forties, with more time on his hands, Lincoln was truly able to discover the joys of being a father to little boys.Ībraham Lincoln became Tad’s best friend after Willie died. Abraham Lincoln had established himself as a fairly prominent attorney when the younger boys were growing up. Little Eddie had died years earlier, and Willie, older by two-and-a-half-years, would become his best friend and boon companion. But Tad Lincoln had a sunny, mischievous temperament, and was clearly not retarded, so his lenient parents encouraged him to be a boy as long as possible.īy Tad’s earliest memory, his brother Robert, older by ten years, was away at prep school. He also showed symptoms of what today might be classified as some youthful dyslexia, coupled with attention deficit. It wasn’t fixable in 1853, so Tad had a serious speech defect, making him hard to understand. Whether or not birthing difficulties were responsible, Tad was born with a cleft palate, something routinely repaired today. It was a difficult birth, with hours of labor, requiring two doctors to attend.

Thomas Lincoln, nicknamed Tad from the start, was the fourth and last child born to Abraham and Mary Lincoln. In an obituary, John Hay affectionately referred to him as “Little Tad.Tad Lincoln spent one happy year in the White House. The cause of death has been variously referred to as tuberculosis, a pleuristic attack, pneumonia, or congestive heart failure. Tad Lincoln's death was caused by pneumonia.On Saturday morning, July 15, 1871, Lincoln died at the age of 18 at the Clifton House hotel in Chicago.

He was the youngest of four boys and was named after his paternal grandfather. He was born with the name, Thomas and got his nickname, Tad from his father due to him looking like a tadpole with his large head and small body.

He was born with a cleft lip and palate which led to speech problems throughout his life. Son of US President Abraham Lincoln and Mary Lincoln who was known as a notorious child while in the White House. What was the cause of death? Below is all you want to know regarding the death of Tad Lincoln and more! Biography - A Short Wiki The family member Tad Lincoln passed away at age 18, this age of death has to be considered saddening.
