A piece of Christmas Eve trivia

It's Christmas Eve, one of my favourite nights of the year. My parents often had friends and family visiting, especially after I moved out of the house. I have fond memories of nights when Ian (my brother), Lynn (my sister) and I woke up in the wee hours of the morning waiting for it to be late enough to get up. Now it's my turn to wait for kids to fall asleep before quietly playing Santa.

Instead of the usual Christmasy comments, though, I'll just mention an interesting piece of trivia. It was 20 years ago today that the last descendant of Abraham Lincoln died.

Of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln's four children, only Robert Todd Lincoln reached adulthood. Robert and his wife Mary had three children, Mary, Abraham and Jessie.

Mary married Charles Isham, and they had a single child, Lincoln Isham. Lincoln Isham married, but had no children. Lincoln Isham, Abraham Lincoln's great grandson died in 1971.

Abraham "Jack" Lincoln II had no children.

Jessie Harlan Lincoln married Warren Beckwith in 1897. They had two children, both of whom were Abraham Lincoln's great-grandchildren: Mary Lincoln Beckwith and Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith. Neither had children of their own. Mary Beckwith died in 1975. Robert Beckwith, the last living descendant of Abraham Lincoln, died on December 24, 1985.

So, there you have it. A little Christmas trivia. Don't let it be said that Designated Import isn't educational!