Library of Congress Acquires Letters From Two First Ladies

The library acquired a Martha Washington letter from 1760 and a Mary Todd Lincoln letter from 1865, both now part of its collections.

Updated on Nov. 9, 2026 in Collecting

An aged cream sheet of paper with a fragment of red wax seal rests on a dark wooden table under warm lamplight. — The Library of Congress has acquired a 1760 letter from Martha Washington and an 1865 letter from Mary Todd Lincoln, adding both to its national collections. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

The Library of Congress has acquired two letters written by former First Ladies Martha Washington and Mary Todd Lincoln. The Mary Todd Lincoln letter joins the Mary Todd Lincoln Correspondence collection, which is now available online.

Why it matters

The acquisitions add primary-source material from two First Ladies to a national repository that is accessible to researchers and the public across the country. Letters like these offer direct firsthand records of family life and personal concerns in different eras.

The Martha Washington letter, dated September 29, 1760, was written to Margaret Bolan Green and describes the recovery of her four-year-old daughter Patsy from illness. The Mary Todd Lincoln letter, dated February 15, 1865, was written to Mrs. Caroline R. Wright on stationery bordered by a thin black mourning band.

The players

Library of Congress

The Library of Congress is the national library of the United States, based in Washington, DC, and it houses one of the largest collections of manuscripts and historical documents in the world.

Martha Washington

Martha Washington was the wife of George Washington and served as the first First Lady of the United States.

Mary Todd Lincoln

Mary Todd Lincoln was the wife of President Abraham Lincoln and served as First Lady of the United States during the Civil War.

The details

The Martha Washington letter was purchased through the James Madison Council's Edwin L. Cox Legacy Trust. The Mary Todd Lincoln letter references President Lincoln's second inauguration on March 4, 1865, and mentions work on a painting at the Executive Mansion.

September 29, 1760: Martha Washington writes to Margaret Bolan Green.
February 15, 1865: Mary Todd Lincoln writes to Caroline R. Wright.
March 4, 1865: President Lincoln's second inauguration, referenced in the Lincoln letter.

Legal Context

The acquisitions continue the Library of Congress's long-running practice of building the George Washington Papers, which already contain 11 letters from Martha Washington. The new Lincoln correspondence similarly adds to the Mary Todd Lincoln Correspondence collection that is now accessible online.

Readers can browse the Mary Todd Lincoln Correspondence collection online through the Library of Congress website. The letters are accessible to anyone with an internet connection, without visiting the library in Washington, DC.

The takeaway

Primary-source letters from historical figures remain available to the public through national archives. Anyone interested in American history can view digitized correspondence without needing to travel to Washington, DC.