Ann Rutledge

friend of Lincoln

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July 13, 2026

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Ann Rutledge was a friend of Abraham Lincoln. While stories circulated that she was the only woman Lincoln ever loved, historical evidence does not strongly support this claim. Lincoln did grieve with the community at her untimely death in 1835 at the age of 22.123

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Mary Todd Lincoln
…husband’s former law partner, that Ann Rutledge, a family friend who had died in 1835, was the only woman Abraham ever loved, bewildered and saddened her. In 1868 she traveled to Europe with her youngest son and lived for a time in Germany and England.
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…husband’s former law partner, that Ann Rutledge, a family friend who had died in 1835, was the only woman Abraham ever loved, bewildered and saddened her. In 1868 she traveled to Europe with her youngest son and lived for a time in Germany and England.
Read More