Monday, March 26, 2007

Abe's Confederate Kin


Abraham Lincoln isn't the only one in his family who's remembered with a fine memorial. His sister-in-law, Elodie Todd Dawson, has one too.

It stands in Selma's Old Live Oak Cemetery and pays tribute to her southern heritage. She led efforts to raise funds for the Confederate Memorial nearby.

A Kentucky native, Elodie met her husband, Col. N.H.R. Dawson, in Selma while visiting her sister, Martha Todd White. Both were sisters of Lincoln's wife. Martha was accused by the northern press of using a presidential pass to visit Mary Todd Lincoln and smuggle medicine and other needed supplies to the South.

Meanwhile, Col. Dawson was a secessionist leader, head of the Selma Minute Men, captain of the Magnolia Guards and later served as U.S. Commissioner of Education.
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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I really thought I had left a comment on this blog post but I don't see it. I have a list of names of people from the south who were on the southern side during the Civil War. All are relatives of mine and President Lincoln. Some of them were slave owners and I don't know how that set with the president at the time. I have their wills and the sale of their goods. It is all interesting information from long ago.

Abe Lincoln

Janet said...

HI Abe,
Yay! This post finally has a comment! Very interesting about your southern kin...and how neat that you have wills and sales of goods. I am sure there is probably more information around here about your Selma relatives.