Grave of Ann Rutledge

Ann Rutledge grave marker

  Having attended a funeral this week of my maternal grandmother I was reminded of the pain of loss through death. Abraham Lincoln knew that pain well. He also experienced it very early in life. He lost his mother when he was only nine years old. He also lost a baby brother. Then he lost his sister Sarah. Much has been made of his loss of Ann Rutledge (dear friend and/or lover?). Apparently, the death hit him hard. The marker on her grave is worth reading (see picture). Ms. Rutledge was only in her twenties. It is said that he was so upset about her death that he became suicidal. Some say he laid on her grave and wept. At any rate, he knew the sting of death. Life was hard and often short in those pioneer days. My grandmother lived into her nineties. While it still hurts to experience the loss of someone, it’s at least comforting to know that someone like my grandmother lived a long life. Longevity could not be ascribed to many that Lincoln lost.

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