herndon, lincoln's law partner and biographer, attests to the depth of lincoln's love for ann rutledge. an anonymous poem about suicide published locally three years after her death is widely attributed to lincoln. in contrast, his courting of mary owens was diffident. in 1837, lincoln wrote to her from springfield to give her an opportunity to break off their relationship. lincoln wrote to a friend in 1838: "i knew she was oversize, but now she appeared a fair match for falstaff".