An artist's composite picture, based upon a photograph taken as the historic building was being razed, reveals a famous Lexington, Kentucky house - the birthplace of Mary Todd Lincoln.It was a fine two-story red brick edifice, which stood on the north side of West Short Street, immediately west of the St. Paul Catholic Church. The site is now occupied by the Parish House since the original building was torn down years ago.

Mary's home, a nine-room residence with an ell in the rear, was erected by young Robert Smith Todd about 1813 on a lot belonging to the estate of Major Robert Parker, adjoining on the left his mother-in-law's house, which sat back some distance from the street and had a large front yard.

Robert S. Todd, while a private in the Fifth Regiment, Kentucky Volunteers, was married to Miss Eliza Parker on November 26, 1812, in the home of "Widow" Parker. In their new dwelling the young couple went to housekeeping, and here most of their seven children were born, including Mary Todd, future wife of Abraham Lincoln. She arrived on December 13, 1818, and was named Mary Ann for Mrs. Todd's only sister. When young Mary was fourteen years old, the Todd family moved )in may of 1832) to a commodius two-story red brick residence on West Main Street, still standing near the viaduct.

 

Left: Mary Todd Lincoln ca. 1846. From a daguerreotype. Right: The girlhood home of Mary Todd Lincoln from 1832 to 1839 located in Lexington, Kentucky. The home is now an historic site open to the public (Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM

 

Robert S. Todd, son of General Levi Todd, one of Lexington's original settlers, was a prosperous banker, lawyer, one-time sheriff of Fayette County, statesman and proprietor of a large family grocery on Cheapside.Levi Todd, brother of Mary Todd, lived in the old house on Short Street for a number of years, as did the well-known ante-bellum Lexington architect John McMurtry who was referred to as "an undertaker of buildings."

The old Robert S. Todd residence was sold to the Catholic Church, and for a while it was the residence of Father Barry, rector of St. Paul, and other priests. In the mid-1880s, this historic structure was razed by Albert Howard, Lexington contractor and builder, who salvaged the bricks and most of the building materials, including the stairway, windows, doors, and the inside woodwork and floors. These articles were used to erect the present two-story red brick gatehouse at the Calvary Cemetery on West Main Street at the city limits. This gatehouse - opposite the Lexington Cemetery - is currently used as the office and residence ofr the superintendent of the Calvary Cemetery.

Because her grandmother, the widow Elizabeth R. Porter, had a fine, big, front yard and lived next door, Mary Ann Todd often played there. Lloyd Ostendorf, art editor of the Lincoln Herald, has drawn young Mary Ann playing at her grandmother's in 1830. This beautiful old residence still stands in Lexington on West Short Street, although Mary's birthplace has disappeared. When you are in Lexington, visit this spot for a true feeling of that period. It is within walking distance of the courthouse.

Young Mary Todd playing at her grandmother's house in Lexington, Kentucky. Drawing by Lloyd Ostendorf

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