A letter by Abraham Lincoln addressed to his first fiancee, Mary Owens, is valued in excess of $125,000 at Heritage Auctions.
The lot dates to December 13, 1836 and was sent from Vandalia, Illinois - where Lincoln was attending the opening of the state legislature.
 Abraham Lincoln was engaged to a Mary Owens in 1836-1837 |
Lincoln and Owens had agreed to marry in early 1836, although by August 1837 the wedding was off.
In this disarmingly intimate letter we see a different side to the future president.
There are tangible signs of his lifelong struggle with depression, as well as his awkwardness with women.
Lincoln writes: "…the longer I can avoid the mortification of looking in the Post Office for your letter and not finding it, the better…
"I really cannot endure the thought of staying here ten weeks. Write back as soon as you get this, and if possible say something that will please me, for really I have not been pleased since I left you.
"This letter is so dry and stupid that I am ashamed to send it, but with my present feelings I can not do any better."
Owens later rejected Lincoln's offer of marriage, an experience that he found mortifying.
He would go on to marry a woman named Mary Todd.
We have fragments from Lincoln's bedroom in Springfield, Illinois for sale.
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