Category Archives: A POTUS-FLOTUS Blog

A blog about US Presidents, First Ladies and assorted other nifty folks!

Ellen Wilson’s Great Sadness

Ellen Axson came from a family prone to severe melancholy. Ellen Axson: Family Caretaker Ellen Axson (1860-1914), was born in Georgia, just as the Civil War was beginning. From earliest childhood, she showed a decided talent for art, but family … Continue reading

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Lincoln’s First General: Winfield Scott

When Abraham Lincoln was a small child, Winfield Scott was already a military commander of stature. Winfield Scott, Virginian Winfield Scott (1786-1866) was born near Petersburg, Virginia to a family of gentry. He attended the College of William and Mary, … Continue reading

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Dolley Madison’s Wednesday Squeezes

It did not start out to be a major event – but it became the benchmark of Washington society for nearly two decades. Washington 1801: Martha Washington and Abigail Adams, were both in their late fifties when they became First … Continue reading

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FIRST DADS: A Book Review

Author Joshua Kendall has whipped up a dandy light-history read! FIRST DADS is filled with stories, tidbits and gossip about our Presidents – and how they stacked up as fathers. Or not. The author begins with an important premise (not … Continue reading

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The White House Nellie Weddings

White House Weddings Before Ulysses S. Grant was even born, there had been weddings in the White House. During James Madison’s administration, Dolley Madison’s widowed sister married her second husband, Thomas Todd. Some years later, James Monroe’s daughter Maria Hester … Continue reading

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Bess Truman’s First Press Conference

Few First Ladies were more reluctant to be in the public eye than Bess Truman. Mrs. Truman becomes FLOTUS Late in the afternoon of April 12, 1945, Bess Truman (1885-1982) received a phone call from her husband. There was a … Continue reading

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The Jackson-Hayes-Clinton Connection

Losing a father as a boy is not unusual. Losing a father before you are born is VERY unusual. Posthumous Children Posthumous children, those whose fathers die before the child is born is rare – even in an age when … Continue reading

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The Death of Warren Harding

With the possible exception of John F. Kennedy, no president’s death generated more  speculation and controversies than that of Warren G. Harding. The President Dies On August 2, 1923, the country was stunned when the news came over the telegraph … Continue reading

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James Buchanan and the Prince of Wales

Albert Edward, Prince of Wales had always been a concern to his parents, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. The Prince and his Parents Prince Bertie, as his family called him, was a genial, warm-hearted and pleasure-loving fellow, and would remain … Continue reading

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Calvin Coolidge and Hell

In 1920, the office of Vice President was considered a geopolitical accommodation, thus inconsequential. Calvin Coolidge, Vice Presidential Candidate Few vice presidential resumes were more inconsequential than that of Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933). Born in Vermont, he graduated Amherst College and … Continue reading

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