Category Archives: Nifty History People

Wilmer McLean: A Plague on Both His Houses

Wilmer McLean is one of those oddities of the Civil War, where truth is sometimes stranger than fiction. Wilmer McLean was a Virginia wholesale grocer, who at age 39 married a well-to-do widow with two children and a moderate plantation … 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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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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Lincoln’s General’s Wives: A Book Review

The American Civil War created powerful generals with powerful and sometimes peculiar personalities. In a remarkably intelligent and readable quadography, author Candice Shy Hooper has brought to life four interesting(ish) women who were thrust into a spotlight(ish) because of the … 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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Abraham Lincoln and His Father-in-Law

Abraham Lincoln never had a chance to spend serious time with Robert Smith Todd, his father-in-law, but there was a solid bond nevertheless. Miss Mary Todd, Bride When Abraham Lincoln married Miss Mary Todd, he was nearly thirty-three. She was … Continue reading

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Martha Washington: The White House Portrait

The huge portrait of Martha Washington that balances the famous Gilbert Stuart painting of her husband, was painted more than seventy five years after her death. White House Portraits Before photography had advanced sufficiently to achieve artistic popularity, a portrait … Continue reading

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Alice Hathaway Lee: The First Mrs. TR

Few people know it, but Theodore Roosevelt was married twice. He was married at twenty-two. Three years later, his wife died in childbirth. Theodore Roosevelt: Suitor Theodore Roosevelt was home-schooled or privately tutored for most of his youth, partly because … Continue reading

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VP Charlie Curtis and His Data Base

Charles Curtis is one of our most obscure Vice Presidents, known only for being part  Indian, as they used to call it, and he was proud of it. Charlie the Kaw Charles Curtis (1860-1936) was a Kansan, born as the … Continue reading

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Jefferson Davis at Twilight

For a man with lifelong poor health, Jefferson Davis managed to live till eighty-one. The Three Careers of Jefferson Davis Jefferson Davis (1808-1889) was a quintessential Southerner of the early nineteenth century: one who easily and capably gravitated into three … Continue reading

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