 These emotional crises were mitigated somewhat by the maturity and management skills of Mittie's elder daughter, Bamie, who stepped into a leadership role at a young age, especially when her father, "Thee," was out of town in Washington, visiting Lincoln and lobbying Congress for programs to support the northern troops in the field and their families back home.Thee, a Northerner himself, left his conflicted home situation to serve for the Union cause, acting as an Allotment Commissioner for New York and traveling to persuade soldiers to send a percentage of their wages to their families.During her children's education, the family traveled to Europe, predominantly spending time in England, France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, and Germany from May 1869 to May 1870, then on a second trip, an extended boat trip down the Nile, a trip through the Holy Land, and on to Vienna, Germany and France from October 1872 to November 1873.