The widow of President Abraham Lincoln
, Mary Todd Lincoln, submitted this petition in 1869 to Speaker of the House Schuyler Colfax
for a widow’s pension. After the Civil War, many widows applied to the government for compensation after their husbands were killed while serving in the war. Mrs. Lincoln explained that “my financial means do not permit me to take advantage of the urgent advice given me nor can I live in a style becoming the widow of the Chief Magistrate of a great nation although I live as economically as I possibly can.” Mrs. Lincoln suffered from poor health and was writing from Frankfurt, Germany, after her doctor recommended she try the mineral springs there. In May 1870, Oliver James Dickey
of Pennsylvania introduced H.R. 1950, requesting a pension for Mrs. Lincoln consisting of $3,000 per year. This bill was signed into law in July 1870.