Mary Lincoln Beckwith
Encyclopedia
Mary Lincoln "Peggy" Beckwith (August 22, 1898 – July 10, 1975) was a prominent descendant of Abraham Lincoln
. She was one of the last two descendants (great-grandchildren) of Abraham Lincoln, along with her
brother Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith
.
Beckwith was born to Jessie Harlan Lincoln
and Warren Beckwith on August 22, 1898, in Mount Pleasant, Iowa
. She got the nickname
“Peggy” from her grandfather Robert Todd Lincoln
, who described her hair as "flying in the sun" when he wrote to his Aunt Emile Todd Helm.
Raised with her brother at Hildene
, the family estate in Vermont, she later grew up in Washington, D.C., and was said to have become "a squat, fair-haired, blue-eyed, chain smoker who golfed and dabbled in oil painting and sculpture."
Peggy was apparently a lesbian, and later in life became an eccentric recluse at Hildene, which she inherited following the death of her grandmother, Mary Harlan Lincoln. Never married, she died on July 10, 1975 at around 2:15 a.m. at Rutland Hospital in Rutland, Vermont. She had requested that her ashes be spread over her estate; this request was granted and there was no funeral or memorial service held. Upon her death, her brother Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith became the last living descendant of Abraham Lincoln.
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
. She was one of the last two descendants (great-grandchildren) of Abraham Lincoln, along with her
brother Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith
Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith
Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith was the great-grandson of Abraham Lincoln. In 1975, he became the last undisputed descendant of Lincoln when his sister, "Peggy" Beckwith, died without children.-Biography:...
.
Beckwith was born to Jessie Harlan Lincoln
Jessie Harlan Lincoln
Jessie Harlan Lincoln was the second daughter of Robert Todd Lincoln, the granddaughter of Abraham Lincoln, and the mother of Mary Lincoln Beckwith and Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith, the last Lincoln descendant.-Early life:...
and Warren Beckwith on August 22, 1898, in Mount Pleasant, Iowa
Mount Pleasant, Iowa
Mount Pleasant is a city in and the county seat of Henry County, Iowa, in the United States. The population was 8,668 in the 2010 census, a decline from 8,751 in the 2000 census. It was founded in 1835 by pioneer Presley Saunders.- History :...
. She got the nickname
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
“Peggy” from her grandfather Robert Todd Lincoln
Robert Todd Lincoln
Robert Todd Lincoln was an American lawyer and Secretary of War, and the first son of President Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln...
, who described her hair as "flying in the sun" when he wrote to his Aunt Emile Todd Helm.
Raised with her brother at Hildene
Hildene
Hildene, The Lincoln Family Home located in Manchester in the U.S. state of Vermont, was the summer home of Robert Todd Lincoln and his wife Mary Harlan Lincoln...
, the family estate in Vermont, she later grew up in Washington, D.C., and was said to have become "a squat, fair-haired, blue-eyed, chain smoker who golfed and dabbled in oil painting and sculpture."
Peggy was apparently a lesbian, and later in life became an eccentric recluse at Hildene, which she inherited following the death of her grandmother, Mary Harlan Lincoln. Never married, she died on July 10, 1975 at around 2:15 a.m. at Rutland Hospital in Rutland, Vermont. She had requested that her ashes be spread over her estate; this request was granted and there was no funeral or memorial service held. Upon her death, her brother Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith became the last living descendant of Abraham Lincoln.