Did you know that Lincoln and Davis were born only a few miles apart in Kentucky, only a year apart?
Likewise, Varina Howell Davis and Mary Todd Lincoln had some similarities in their lives, yet great differences. Both married older men, and both married famous men who became presidents. Both lost children. Varina lost all four sons and only one child (her oldest daughter) outlived her. Mary Lincoln lost three sons, and only one son outlived her.
Both suffered greatly because of their husbands being such public figures. Mary lost Abraham Lincoln to an assassin's bullet. Varina suffered the pain of seeing her husband disgraced and imprisoned.
In her later years though, Mary Lincoln, sadly, had to be institutionalized with a mental condition. Varina, on the other hand, after Jefferson died, sold her home, moved to New York and took a job working for Pulitzer. There she made a new life for herself,and Winnie. She was a survivor in every sense of the word.