It might not have been an epic breakup, but for the man who would go on to become one of America’s greatest presidents, the split was awkward. In 1831, Lincoln, then in his early 20s, moved to New Salem, Illinois. There, he became enamored with a young woman named Ann Rutledge, who got sick and died in 1935. Later, a local married woman with whom the broken-hearted Lincoln was acquainted, Elizabeth Abell, told him she’d convince her sister, Mary Owens, to come to Illinois if Lincoln would promise to tie the knot with her. Lincoln had briefly met the Kentucky-based Owens a few years earlier while she was visiting her sister and found her attractive. After the future president jokingly said yes to Abell’s offer, Owens arrived in town under the assumption she was betrothed, and Lincoln realized he’d made a mistake. Determined to keep his word, though, Honest Abe didn’t break off the engagement. However, the future 16th U.S. president, who moved to Springfield, Illinois, in 1937 to work as a lawyer, did write to Owens to let her know she wouldn’t like the state capital. Lincoln’s accidental engagement subsequently unraveled, and in 1839 he met Mary Todd at a dance in Springfield. The two wed in 1842.
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