Tad Lincoln

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Thomas "Tad" Lincoln (April 4, 1853 - July 15, 1871) was the fourth and youngest son of President Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln.

His nickname, "Tad" is short for "Tadpole" because as a child, he had a disproportionately large head. He and his older brother Willie always caused mischief like ringing the bells in the attic of the White House. Out of the two, Tad was more rambunctious than his brother. In February of 1862 his brother Willie died, leaving him with no one to play with. His oldest brother Robert Todd Lincoln was in college.

On April 14, 1865 Tad went to the Grover Theater to see 'Aladdin and the Magic Lamp' when his father was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theater. In 1868 Tad and Mary Todd Lincoln left the country and lived in Europe for two and a half years. They came back in May of 1871, and Tad became ill on the voyage. Later that month Tad's condition grew worse as he started to have difficulty breathing when lying down and had to sleep sitting up in a chair. In early June, Tad grew dangerously ill; he recovered briefly, but by late June he started to weaken again. He suffered from intense pain in his chest, and his body grew thinner. On July 15, 1871 at the age of 18, Tad passed away in the Clifton House in Chicago. The cause of death, though not recorded, was most likely tuberculosis.

The next day funeral services were held for Tad in Robert Lincoln's home in Chicago. Tad's remains were buried in the Lincoln tomb in Springfield, Illinois where Robert accompanied the casket on the train. Mary, however, was too distraught to make the trip. Tad's body was later exhumed and put in Oak Ridge Cemetery to be placed with his father and two of his brothers.