Author Archives: Feather Schwartz Foster

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About Feather Schwartz Foster

Feather Schwartz Foster is an author-historian who has made more than 500 appearances discussing presidential history. She teaches adult education at the Christopher Wren Association (affiliated with William and; Mary College), and adult Education programs at Christopher Newport University. She has been a guest on the C-SPAN "First Ladies" program. She has written five books.

Harriet Hanks, Lincoln’s Cousin-Niece

It’s a complicated family line. The Lincoln-Hanks Kinship Abraham Lincoln, as everyone knows, was the son of Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks. Nancy Hanks, Abe’s mother, had an aunt, also named Nancy Hanks, who had an illegitimate son named Dennis, … Continue reading

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Grover Cleveland, Commuter

The Presidency has always come with very nice housing. Free. Presidents’ Residence By the time a President is elected, he is mature, established in a profession, and at least of middle class means. Some of our early POTUSes had magnificent … Continue reading

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Zachary Taylor: Reconciliation

Zachary Taylor was a lifelong soldier – up through the ranks. Colonel Taylor: Commandant In the early 1830s, Colonel Zachary Taylor (1784-1850) was the commandant of Fort Crawford, a small outpost in Priairie-du-Chien, Wisconsin, as the Black Hawk War was … Continue reading

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Theodore Roosevelt: September, 1901

The month had started quietly enough for Theodore Roosevelt and his family. A Family Vacation Theodore Roosevelt, his wife Edith, and their six children were on a rare and well-needed family vacation in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York. … Continue reading

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Robert Lincoln’s Second Father

Robert Lincoln was twenty-one when he became man of the family. Young Mr. Lincoln Abraham Lincoln died intestate: he had not made a will. Thus, by law, his estate would be divided into thirds: a third to his widow, and … Continue reading

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Dolley and Her Sisters: The Merry Wives of Washington

Dolley Payne was the eldest daughter of eight; she had three younger sisters. Dolley Payne: Quaker Daughter John Payne, Dolley’s father was a convert to the Quaker religion, and like many people who choose their faith, was strict in its … Continue reading

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John Tyler Woos MRS. Gardiner

Mr. and Mrs. Tyler 1: On his twenty-third birthday, John Tyler (1790-1861) married Miss Letitia Christian, the daughter of a wealthy pedigreed Virginia family. The courtship was traditional, the marriage bore fruit: eight little Tyler’s made an appearance, seven living … Continue reading

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Abigail Adams, Mater Familias.

Abigail Adams raised four children of her own. She eventually raised nearly a dozen more as part of her extended family. Abigail’s Immediate Family Circle The four children born to John and Abigail Smith Adams were not a stellar bunch. … Continue reading

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George Washington Custis: Man in the Middle

George Washington Parke Custis was remarkable only in relationship to two giants, neither of whom he was actually related to. GW Custis: Fatherless Baby Only weeks after the fourth child and only son of John Parke Custis (1781-1857) was born, … Continue reading

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Grant and Buckner: Three Conversations

U.S. Grant and S.B. Buckner were cadets at West Point. Cadets Grant and Buckner Ulysses S. Grant, class of 1843, and Simon Bolivar Buckner, class of 1844, were both midwesterners of middle-class standing both financially and academically. West Point classes … Continue reading

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