'Last Years of Mary Todd Lincoln' Feb. 9 in Naperville

During her lifetime, Mary Todd Lincoln was often misunderstood and criticized. Time has not been kind to the 16th First Lady of the United States, but Donna Daniels wants to set the record straight. Daniels will be performing the first-person presentation, “The Last Years of Mary Todd Lincoln,” for the History Speaks Lecture Series from 4-5 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 9 at Naper Settlement's Century Memorial Chapel, 523 S. Webster St., Naperville.

Daniels, who has been portraying Mary Todd Lincoln since 1988 said, “Her name has gotten such as bad reputation through the years. When you say ‘Mary Lincoln,' many people will say she was crazy. They don't think about what made her that way.”

Three of Lincoln's four children died before they reached adulthood and her husband was shot in front of her and died the next day.

“No woman should be expected to handle that and not have some type of emotional breakdown,” Daniels said.

In 1871, after the death of her third son, Tad, Mary Lincoln's surviving son, Robert, thought his mother was behaving erratically. He had her committed to Bellevue Place in Batavia, Ill., where she stayed for four months.

“I grew up in the Batavia area and graduated from Batavia High School,” Daniels said. “I knew that Bellevue was there and that she had spent time there. When I started researching her life, I was very interested to find that she came from a very well-to-do family. She was well educated, her father had allowed her to become interested in politics and encouraged her to develop her own opinions and voice those opinions. She was a woman ahead of her time.”

The script of “The Last Years of Mary Todd Lincoln” was commissioned by the Batavia Historical Society in 1990. Daniels received unprecedented access to the medical records at Bellevue, which helped her write the script with an emphasis on Mary Lincoln's time at the sanitarium.

“Mary Lincoln has received a bad reputation from history, but this presentation is your opportunity to hear her side of the story,” Daniels said.

Daniels has been portraying Mary Lincoln for over 25 years shortly after her husband, Max, was recruited to be Abraham Lincoln for a children's play because of his close resemblance to the 16th president. She said one thing led to another and now the couple has become two of the foremost Lincoln impersonators in the nation. They are past vice-presidents of the National Association of Lincoln Presenters and have performed at the Lincoln Home Visitor Center in Springfield, Ill., and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. Because of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, they have been performing throughout the state.

“If anyone told us years ago we could make a living portraying dead people, we would have told them they were crazy,” Daniels said. “They are very real to us and are close personal friends. I never imagined it would turn into something like this. We find it very rewarding and fulfilling.”

History Speaks advance tickets are $6 adult, $5 student, youth and Naperville Heritage Society Sustaining members. On the day of the presentation, tickets are $7 adult, $6 student, youth and Naperville Heritage Society Sustaining members. Reservations are recommended. Call (630) 420-6010 or visit www.napersettlement.com.