Tag Archives: First Ladies

Julia Tyler: Fashionista

About five years before becoming a First Lady, a nineteen-year-old Julia Gardiner was featured in an actual advertising promotion. Miss Julia Gardiner Julia Gardiner was pretty, socially prominent, and very very rich.  Her father, Senator David Gardiner, was a “Gardiner … Continue reading

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Mrs. Adams Goes to Paris

Abigail Adams had never been farther from home than Boston, when her husband sent for her to come to Paris. The Separations of Abigail and John Adams When the Adamses married in 1764, John Adams was a struggling attorney, riding … Continue reading

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The Polarizing Mrs. Lincoln

  Mrs. Lincoln is never viewed in neutral.  You either love her or hate her. Some historians evaluate Mary Todd Lincoln as a termagant who made Lincoln’s life a misery.  Some claim she is one of the most misunderstood characters … Continue reading

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The Washington Courtship

Was it a love match?  Or merely a partnership of mutual convenience? The Wealthy Widow Custis Martha Dandridge had married an old man.  She was seventeen; Daniel Parke Custis was past thirty-five.  But it had been a marriage of true … Continue reading

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Mary and Robert Lincoln: A Family Tragedy

The Widow Mary would have a tenuous and tragic relationship with her son Robert Lincoln for the remaining years of her life. The Family Situation Abraham Lincoln died without a will, thus his estate would be shared equally by Mary, … Continue reading

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Nellie Taft’s Lonely Dinner

 Helen Herron Taft (1861-1943) did not have a long time to enjoy wearing her stylish Edwardian gowns on the magnificent occasions she had been planning for decades.  Only three months into William Howard Taft’s presidency, she collapsed from a stroke. Mrs. … Continue reading

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First Ladies of Indisposition

Between 1849 and 1857, the three First Ladies of the United States were, in their individual ways, indisposed in the true meaning of the word: they did not have the disposition to perform the highly visible social duties that were … Continue reading

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Dolley Madison Saves Washington: Part II

Within hours after Dolley Madison “rescued” the portrait of George Washington, British Redcoats marched in and torched the city. The British Invade Washington Politicians and military personnel alike were surprised when the British Army targeted Washington, DC. In 1814 the … Continue reading

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DOLLEY MADISON SAVES WASHINGTON: PART I

 In the old days, every school child knew that First Lady Dolley Madison saved the portrait of George Washington from the approaching British Army. Fact? Legend? The War of 1812:  Target Washington The War of 1812, the second war between … Continue reading

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