April 23, 1863---A seance at the White House

APRIL 23, 1863:         

Mary Todd Lincoln hosts one of many séances held at the White House during her husband’s Administration. A seance was a fashionable form of entertainment in the mid-19^th Century, particularly in wartorn America where people wanted reassurance that their departed loved ones were well. According to all reports, a spirit pulled Edwin M. Stanton’s beard.