[Ads-l] Mary Todd, and Tod, and God, and quote magnet

Stephen Goranson 00001dd3d6fc15d3-dmarc-request at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Mon May 18 18:23:48 UTC 2026


The New Yorker today, May 25 p.59/2, on Mary Todd Lincoln:

"The Todd family was so important in Lexington that Abraham Lincoln may (or
may not) have remarked, "God spells his name with one D, but the Todds
spell theirs with two."

But
"Abraham Lincoln, who it will be remembered, married a Miss Todd, on
meeting Governor Tod of Ohio [1862-1864], asked him how it happened he
spelled his name T-o-d, instead of T-o-d-d like all the other Todds he had
ever known. "Well," said the Governor, "I've noticed that God spells his
name with one d, and I calculate what's good enough for God is good enough
for me."

sg
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89060742525&seq=74

The Semi-centennial celebration of the introduction of freemasonry in
Minnesota, and of the organization of St. Paul Lodge, no. 3, A.F. & A.M.
p. 44

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org


More information about the Ads-l mailing list