When Sumner wasn’t home with George, he was busy entertaining the First Lady, Mary Todd Lincoln. Along with her cousin, she had come to Boston to visit her son Robert Lincoln, who was a student at Harvard. “Everything [was] arranged for a charming reception at the Revere House [by Senator Charles Sumner], dining and drives, and we met many of the most distinguished men of Boston and Harvard,” Mary’s cousin fondly recalled. By being so hospitable, Sumner sparked a friendship with the First Lady that would blossom in the years to come.
