Evidence Withheld in the Dickinson-Todd Lawsuit

In the 1897 suit Lavinia Dickinson brought against David and Mabel Loomis Todd over the deeding of property to Mrs. Todd, the lawyers for the plaintiff withheld from the court proceedings an unsigned note from Mabel Loomis Todd sent to Austin Dickinson that would have introduced into the trial the matter of Mrs. Todd’s twelve-year affair with Emily Dickinson’s brother. For some reason, they chose not to introduce it as evidence. Eventually the court returned the note to the Dickinsons. It survived at the Evergreens until the late 1970s, at which time it was copied by the author of this article. Shortly thereafter Mrs. Todd’s note disappeared from the cabinet containing Martha Dickinson Bianchi’s files. Since it was never found, it is speculated that the note was destroyed.