22. Mary’s Family Did Not Support Her Relationship With Abraham
Abraham and Mary started courting by 1840 after Mary had ended her relationship with Abraham’s future rival, Stephen Douglas. The couple would become engaged, but after several months, Abraham would end the engagement because of Mary’s family and friends.
While not all of Abraham’s friends approved of Mary, her family despised Abraham. Mary’s family said that Abraham could not support the lifestyle Mary was used to. Her sister also told her that their relationship would never last. They were too different people who could never be happy as man and wife.