Tag Archives: Presidential wives

Lucretia Garfield: The 6-Month FLOTUS

Posted on August 1, 2022 by Feather Foster

Crete Lucretia “Crete” Rudolph Garfield (1832-1918) was a well educated young woman. She was sent first to the Geauga Eclectic (similar to a prep school), followed by attending Hiram College, today part of Case-Western Reserve in Ohio. She had known … Continue reading →

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John Adams: Four Months in the White House

Posted on July 12, 2022 by Feather Foster

On November 1, 1800, 65-year-old President John Adams took up residence in the unfinished Executive Mansion in Washington, DC, only a few days before the quadrennial election. The White House…  …was neither “white” (it was sandstone), nor would it be … Continue reading →

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The Lincolns: A Tale of Two Stepmothers

Posted on June 28, 2022 by Feather Foster

Among the many commonalities between Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd was the sad memory of being motherless at an early age. Abraham Lincoln: Semi-orphaned at Nine Nancy Hanks Lincoln died of the milk sickness, said to be from poisonous grasses … Continue reading →

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Frances Cleveland: Saturday

Posted on April 11, 2022 by Feather Foster

Frances Folsom Cleveland was only 21 when she became First Lady. The Young FLOTUS-To-Be Frances Folsom (1864-1947) was the total antithesis of her husband, sitting President Grover Cleveland. She was young (he was 49), slim and trim (he weighed in … Continue reading →

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Bess Truman and The Airplane

Posted on July 1, 2019 by Feather Foster

Few First Ladies were as reluctant as Bess Truman. Bess: The Reluctant Everything Bess Wallace (1885-1982) was considered outgoing and personable all the way through high school. She was a good student, an excellent athlete (a rarity at the turn … Continue reading →

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The Private Sorrow of Eliza McCardle Johnson

Posted on June 24, 2019 by Feather Foster

  First Lady Eliza McCardle Johnson. Quick Bio on Eliza Eliza McCardle (1810-1876) was Tennessee-born and an only child. While most of the American First Ladies were middle-class gentry, if not out-and-out well-to-do, Eliza was likely the poorest of the … Continue reading →

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Florence Harding And The Knife in her Back

Posted on June 3, 2019 by Feather Foster

Warren Harding’s wife was difficult, but his paramours were no picnics either! Warren the Romeo Most citizens of Marion, Ohio in the late-1880s considered Warren Gamaleil Harding one of the handsomest young men in town, plus affable and easy-to-like. When … Continue reading →

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Franklin and Eleanor: The Chasm

Posted on April 29, 2019 by Feather Foster

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a 5th cousin to Eleanor Roosevelt. The Commonalities of Childhood Descended from Dutch ancestors slightly post-Mayflower, both Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelts were New York Knickerbockers, an aristocratic old-line status. Both Franklin (1882-1945) and Eleanor (1883-1961) came … Continue reading →

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Dolley Madison’s Son Payne Todd: The Final Blow

Posted on April 15, 2019 by Feather Foster

Dolley Madison’s son, Payne Todd, had always been a disappointment. Payne Todd in Brief Dolley Madison (1768-1849) had been married to John Todd, a Quaker lawyer, for three years. Then he died, leaving her with a two-year-old son. When she … Continue reading →

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Nellie Taft Writes Her Memoirs

Posted on April 8, 2019 by Feather Foster

This is a sad story with a delayed happier ending. Nellie: Discovering the Ambition Helen (Nellie) Herron (1861-1943) was smart as a whip, and as ambitious as Caesar. She had the ambition to want things, and the ambition to work … Continue reading →

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