Lincoln's youngest son​

 

Thomas "Tad" Lincoln, the fourth son of Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd, was born on April 4, 1853. His three elder brothers were Robert, Edward, and William.

 

Named after his paternal grandfather, he was given the nickname "Tad" Lincoln because of his small body and large head, and because he wiggled like a tadpole as an infant.

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Childhood

 

Tad was born with a cleft palate that gave him a lisp and dental impairments that made it almost impossible for him to eat solid food.

 

Easily distracted, full of energy and highly emotional, he did not focus on academics.

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He was rambunctious (he was said to have often interrupted meetings, once sprayed dignitaries with a fire hose and even tried to sell some of the first couple’s clothing on the White House lawn at a “yard sale.”

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Tad's reaction to his father's assassination

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Young Tad was not at Ford’s Theater the night his father was assassinated. However, he was nearby at another theater watching Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp with his tutor.

 

Minutes into the show, a theater official burst down the aisle, shouting that the president had been shot. The stunned silence was soon broken by the sobs of a young  boy crying, “They’ve killed him, they've killed him.” It is reported that Tad's mood decreased immensely after his father's assassination.

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Fake death and children

 

Tad did not die in 1871 after contracting a cold while traveling home from Europe with his tutor. 

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He was moved for safety to Libya where he married and had children, one of whom was named George S. Patton.