Tag Archives: First Ladies

Dusting Off Franklin Pierce

The Basic Pierce Facts Franklin Pierce (1804-69), Democrat from New Hampshire, was a dark horse nominee, elected President in 1852. It took 49 Ballots to put him on the ballot, which was an exhausting exercise for the convention attendees. Few … Continue reading

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John and Abigail Adams: Mourning Alone

Late Fall, 1776 John Adams, following a momentous time in Philadelphia, promoting, drafting and approving the Declaration of Independence, requested and was granted some leave of Congress to attend to his family and business in Massachusetts. John had been away … Continue reading

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The Inauguration of Theodore Roosevelt 1901

Vice President Theodore Roosevelt had a quiet, somber inaugural. The Sad Circumstances Vice President Theodore Roosevelt was taking a rare family vacation at a resort in New York’s Adirondack Mountains when news came that President William McKinley had been shot … Continue reading

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Abigail Adams and The Misdirected Tea

Tea was expensive. Very expensive!! The Colonists and Tea By the time of the Boston Tea Party, tea itself was one of the most expensive commodities traded between Great Britain and her American colonies. It was more than just a … Continue reading

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John Quincy and Louisa Adams: The Rouge Story

John Quincy Adams was twenty-nine when he married. His bride was twenty-three. Bride and Groom By the time John Quincy Adams was eighteen and ready to enter Harvard, he was already the most cosmopolitan young man in the country. As … Continue reading

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General Grant’s Last Escort

Serving as a pallbearer is the most unselfish “good deed” someone can do for another. The deceased can never return the favor.  The Great General Ulysses S. Grant was not born to anything even remotely connected with fame or renown … Continue reading

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Aaron Burr and the Madisons

Despite historical innuendos, Aaron Burr was not a suitor for Dolley Payne’s hand. The Promising Burr Aaron Burr (1756-1836) had a childhood mix of tragedy and blessings. His NJ family was reasonably prosperous; his grandfather was the well-known Puritan preacher … Continue reading

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Ida McKinley’s Inaugural Trousseau

Every First Lady is entitled to some new clothes for the inauguration! Clothes Make the Woman… Of course it helps if you are good looking. It helps even more, if you have money. Martha Washington in her late fifties was … Continue reading

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Dolley Madison: Medium Payne

The Promise of Payne Payne Todd had no memory of his natural father who died in a yellow fever epidemic when his toddler son was a year old. Aside from the fact that his mother remarried a year later to … Continue reading

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Civil War Divas: Mary & Julia Part II

After the initial “how-do,” Mary Lincoln and Julia Grant did not meet again for a year. Mary Lincoln: 1864-5 Mary Lincoln took a long time to emerge from her deep grief over her son Willie’s death in early 1862. Custom … Continue reading

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