Tag Archives: history

Grover Cleveland’s Scandal: “Where’s My Pa?”

Presidential candidate Grover Cleveland was accused of fathering an illegitimate child.   It was true.  Maybe. Grover Cleveland: The Bachelor Candidate Grover Cleveland (1837-1908) was a forty-seven year old bachelor when the Democrats chose him as their presidential candidate in 1884. … Continue reading

Posted in A POTUS-FLOTUS Blog, Grover Cleveland, Nifty History People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ethel Roosevelt: TR’s Other Little Girl

All Theodore Roosevelt’s children had some of his qualities, but Ethel was more like her mother than any of them.   Ethel Carow Roosevelt, The Second Daughter Ethel Roosevelt (1891-1977) was seven years younger than her half-sister Alice, and surrounded … Continue reading

Posted in Nifty History People, Theodore Roosevelt | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

VP Hannibal Hamlin, Coast Guard Private

Hannibal Hamlin was Vice President during Abraham Lincoln’s first term. He was a decent man, lost to history. Vice President Hamlin, The Background Hannibal Hamlin, from Maine, was a likeable and respected attorney, a pleasant but far from stellar United … Continue reading

Posted in American Civil War, Nifty History People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Louisa Adams and the Jackson Ball

In 1824, James Monroe, our last Founding Father(ish) was retiring. His Cabinet was a virtual nursery for a new generation poised to take over. The Players and the Playing Field: 1824 Leading the field for the election of 1824, was … Continue reading

Posted in A POTUS-FLOTUS Blog, John Quincy Adams | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Robert T. Lincoln: Witness to Assassinations

When Robert Lincoln was nearly sixty, he vowed never again to meet a President of the United States. He was a prominent man with an iconic name. Meeting and greeting Presidents was a given. But he let it be known … Continue reading

Posted in A POTUS-FLOTUS Blog, Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, Nifty History People, William McKinley | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Dr. Jonathan Letterman and Civil War Medicine

Evacuating the wounded from the battlefield could take days at the start of the American Civil War. The Letterman System Dr. Jonathan Letterman (1824-72) was an army surgeon who came from a distinguished medical family. During the 1850s, he was … Continue reading

Posted in American Civil War, Nifty History People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Washington Dancing Classes

Dancing was a vital social skill in colonial times.   Children were taught at an early age. Martha and George Washington: Dancers George Washington was considered an excellent dancer by all who knew him, and he enjoyed it even into his … Continue reading

Posted in A POTUS-FLOTUS Blog, George Washington | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Presidential Stepping Stone

More than half our Presidents have been lawyers, at least by discipline. Whether they liked it or not, and even whether they actively “practiced law” is something else. POTUSes Reading Law In the “olden days,” one did not need a … Continue reading

Posted in A POTUS-FLOTUS Blog | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Florence Harding and The Veterans

After World War I, thousands of wounded soldiers were crowding into Washington hospitals. Florence Harding would be a regular visitor. Florence Kling Harding: Lonely Wife Florence Harding never had a strong maternal instinct. An early and disastrous elopement left her … Continue reading

Posted in A POTUS-FLOTUS Blog, Warren G. Harding | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Abraham Lincoln, Father Abraham

There is no question that Abraham Lincoln loved his wife and children dearly, but was he a “family man” by nature? Lincoln: The Family Child Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) was born to a hard-working, but essentially poor family. By his own … Continue reading

Posted in A POTUS-FLOTUS Blog, Abraham Lincoln | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment