Mary Todd Lincoln's Uncle, David Todd-- Part 2: Missouri and a Whig

In 1819, President James Monroe appointed him territorial circuit judge of northern Missouri.    When Boone County, Missouri, separated from Howard County, Todd was one of the citizens who purchased land on which Columbia was laid out in 1818-1819.

When Missouri became a state in 1821, Governor Alexander McNair appointed Todd  state circuit judge, a position he held until 1837.

In the summer of 1840, Mary Todd traveled to Columbia, Missouri, and visited with her uncle, David Todd.  While there, she became good friends with the judge's daughter, Ann.  This was also the year in which Mary became engaged to Abraham Lincoln.

He was an ardent Whig, serving as a delegate to the Whig National Convention that selected William Henry Harrison, Todd's commanding officer during the War of 1812,  for president in 1840.

In 1850, he was practicing law in Boone County and owned real estate valued at $3,500.

--Brock-Perry