Doyle,
Thank you for this thread. I did not know much about General Helms before. He was married to Emily, Mary's half sister I find out. Mr. Lincoln offered him a commision as a major in the Federal army. I think that the Todd family did indeed own slaves tho I am not sure how many. I like you don't know if Mary herself owned any as she was rather young when she moved to Springfield to live with her sister Elizabeth who was the wife of Ninian Edwards who was the son of the senior Ninian Edwars who was once governor of the Illinois territory and also a governor of the State of Illinois. Her husband was among other things, Illinois Attorney General, a member of the Illinois House, a state Senator and Superintendent of Public Instruction. Quite a plateful for one man, don't you think.
As for Mary herself, she liked the social life in Springfield as well as in Washington. Probably something she grew up with. As you say, she did not get along very well with her stepmother. I think that may have been the reason she moved to Springfield in the first place. Just my opinion. She lived with her sister in her later years and was living with her when she died. I like you am not sure when her father gave up his slaves but I would think it was after the war. He himself was not in rebellion and the only slaves that were emcipated as you know were those who were owned by those who were. I could be wrong, but I think that the confiscation act only applied to those in rebellion against the Federal government.
Poor Mary had some real emotional problems in her later years, loosing her sons and then her husband.
I have often thought that part of her problem was her upbringing. Just a guess but I can see where it would work on a person to know that their family had at one time owned other human beings. Know what I mean.
Anyway, thats my thoughts on the subject.
Frank