Meet the Todd sisters May 10

Vachel Lindsay Home welcomes expert on Mary Todd Lincoln and her sisters

[May 02, 2014]  SPRINGFIELD — The lively Todd sisters made quite a splash when they arrived in Springfield from their native Kentucky. They energized the frontier city's social scene and married promising young men, including a future president.

Erika Holst, curator at historic Edwards Place, will tell the full story of "The Todd Sisters of Aristocracy Hill" on May 10 at the Vachel Lindsay Home State Historic Site.

She will introduce her audience to Elizabeth, the eldest sister; Fanny; who wound up spending 63 years in Springfield; Ann, the youngest; and Mary, who wed a rough-looking country lawyer named Abraham Lincoln.

The doors open at 9:30 a.m. for this free "Saturday Mornings at 603" event. Holst speaks at 10 a.m. Coffee and rolls will be served, and the historic home — which was once owned by Ann Todd Smith and her husband — will be open for tours.

The Vachel Lindsay Home State Historic Site, operated by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The home, at 603 S. Fifth St. in Springfield, was built about 1850. Poet, author and artist Nicholas Vachel Lindsay was born there in 1879 and died there in 1931.

For more information, visit www.vachellindsay.org.

[Text from file received from the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency]