Sarah Bernhardt, Mary Todd Lincoln and Sarah’s Milliner

Did you know Sarah Bernhardt saved Mary Todd Lincoln’s life? They say that truth is stranger than fiction and at times, it really is. An actor robbed her husband, President Lincoln, of his life and an actress saved hers. It all came to pass on a voyage from Europe to the United States. Bernhardt and her entourage were on the same ship as Abraham Lincoln’s widow. And Bernhardt and Mrs. Lincoln were both on deck when a storm rose up. Mrs. Lincoln lost her balance and would have tumbled down a flight of stairs if Bernhardt had not caught her in the nick of time.

Mary Todd Lincoln Sarah Bernhardt

I recounted this story in a video that was recorded at the Cable Television Network in Ann Arbor. Well, once you are on the Internet, there is no telling who will see you or learn about what you are doing. And as luck would have it, Mark Sidenberg, a gentleman living in California, saw it and contacted me.

He told me his great-grandmother, Ella Friedland, had been Sarah Bernhardt’s hatmaker. She and her daughter, Mark’s grandmother, accompanied Sarah Bernhardt on board a ship to America when the grande dame of the theatre was about to embark on one of her tours. Mark also shared that Ella and her daughter were actually with Sarah Bernhardt when she rescued Mary Todd Lincoln!

But wait! There’s more to the story. While on board Ella met Mrs. Lincoln and was befriended by her. Mrs. Lincoln knew that Ella, who spoke three languages fluently (Yiddish, French and English), was making the trip to the America to start a new life. When immigration officers came on board before passengers were allowed to disembark at Ellis Island, Mrs. Lincoln vouched for her. She even invited Ella and her daughter to come to Springfield with her.

Ella Friedland and her daughter went with Mrs. Lincoln and stayed with the Edwards,  her sister and brother-in-law’s home in Springfield for two days. They then proceeded to Chicago and later Los Angeles where they became permanent residents.