Antiquing with Elodie

This year's Selma Pilgrimage guests are invited to Antiquing with Elodie,

 a luncheon in an historic home on Dallas Avenue.The lunches on March 15 and 16

 will include a menu of chicken salad, turkey/ham sandwich or grilled chicken salad.

Elodie (whose fine memorial is in Old Live Oak Cemetery) was  President Abraham Lincoln's 

sister-in-law. Born in Kentucky in 1840, Elodie Breck Todd met her future husband,

  N.H.R. Dawson, while visiting a sister in Selma. It is said that she and her sister

 smuggled medicines and other supplies to the South after visiting Mary Todd Lincoln

 at the White House. Elodie was active in other efforts for the Southern Cause,

 including raising funds for the Confederate monument that stands in the same cemetery.

 She died while only in her 30s, and her husband, who served as a Confederate officer

 and later as U.S. Commissioner of Education, memorialized

 his beloved Elodie with this monument.

Linking to Taphophile Tragics, Our World Tuesday and City Daily Photo Blogs

For the Love of Elodie

The love story of Elodie Todd and Nathaniel Dawson will be a highlight of the Old Live Oak Cemetery tour on Friday and Saturday evenings during Pilgrimage.

Elodie was a half-sister of Mary Todd Lincoln, President Lincoln's wife; and she fell in love with Dawson on a visit to relatives in Selma. Col. Dawson, who had an extensive record of public service in both the state and nation, will join Elodie at their gravesite.

The pretty brunette who plays Elodie is a high school student, and her poise and eloquence create a perfect southern belle in the emerald green dress.

You can read more about the Dawsons and other Pilgrimage events in today's Montgomery Advertiser.

"Ghost" of Elodie Todd Dawson

The "ghosts" of famous Selmians returned to life Friday evening to tell their stories in Part 1 of the Old Live Oak Cemetery Ghost Tour.

Here, the "ghost" of Elodie Todd Dawson tells how her family was divided between North and South during the Civil War and how she spearheaded efforts to erect the cemetery's Confederate Monument after it was over. Mrs. Dawson was the half-sister of Mary Todd Lincoln, making her President Abraham Lincoln's sister-in-law.

To see the fine monument that her husband placed in her memory, click HERE.
Other Friday night ghosts included black educator R.B. Hudson, Alabama's first female State Representative, suffragette Harriet Wilkins, a Confederate soldier and more.

More "ghosts" will rise tonight at 6 p.m. for Part 2 of the Selma Pilgrimage cemetery tour. Pilgrimage celebrates Selma's heritage from its founding in 1820 to present-day history.

More Pilgrimage 2009 pictures can be seen at Selma NOW.

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.