Memorials of Sarah Childress Polk, wife of the eleventh president of the United States

Front matter

BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME EROM THE

SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND

THE GIFT OF

Prefatory Note

MANY sketches and articles concerning Mrs. Polk were written during the long period of her appearance in public, and also in the years when she lived in comparative seclusion. It is deemed fitting, however, that a more full and connected account of her life should now be given, not only to those who were her familiar friends and acquaintance, but to the many others in all parts of the country who, through a long period of years have looked up to her as a type of true womanhood. For this labor of love the writers have had abundant opportunity, in the course of a long acquaintance, to observe minutely her life, character, and methods of thought in weekly visits made to Polk Place, which for more than thirty years were interrupted only by sickness or by occasional absence from the city, together with free access to all the materials necessary to make up the present narratiye.

Mrs. Polk's example of womanly purity and dignity is a valuable legacy to the country. Her modesty, her self-control, her unpretentious devi PREFATORY NOTE.

meanor in the highest station, her jealous care for the rights and feelings of others, her unfailing respect for the simple yet grand institutions of the country, and her unbroken reverence for all things sacred, are models worthy of imitation by all her countrywomen.

In endeavoring to set forth a simple, yet faithful and true semblance of Mrs. Polk, nothing has been said that did not seem to add to the delineation. Many apparently trifling incidents have been put in as touches to give tone and softening and roundness to the picture, which might otherwise appear bare or crude. The bits of history and biography interspersed in the narrative also seemed heedful as a proper background to the portrait.

Contents

PREFATORY NOTE

Chapter I

Birth and Parentage. — At School in Nashville. — Moravian School at Salem, North CaroHna. — The Journey there. — Romantic Scenery. — Customs at that Old School. — Suddenly called Home i

CHAPTER U.

Mr. Polk. — His Ancestors. — Elected to the Legislature.

— Courtship and Marriage. — Aaron V. Brown. — Festivities after the Wedding. — Columbia, the future Home of Mrs. Polk. — Her Mother. — The Lafayette Ball in Nashville in 1825. — The Tickets to the Fete.

— Mr. and Mrs. Polk present 13

CHAPTER in.

Mr. Polk's Character and Profession. — Elected to Congress. — Mrs. Polk's First Visit to Washington. — Forest Trees and Mountain Scenery. — How Members of Congress lived at the Capital in Early Days. — Mrs. Adams. — Return Home. — Back again. — Fourteen

Vlii CONTENTS.

FAGS

Years in Washington. — Different Routes. — Incident.

— Letter from Mr. Polk to his Wife. — The Meteoric Display in 1833. — The Artist Earle. — First Portrait of Mrs. Polk. — Currency. — Mrs. Polk's Ideas about Specie and Paper Money -23

CHAPTER IV.

Mrs. Polk unites with the Church. — How to keep Politicians away on Sunday. — Companions of Mrs. Polk.

— Notable Women. — New Year's Calls. — The Black Hawk War. — South Carolina Nullification. — Mrs. Polk's Idea of Propriety. — Never attended a Horse Race. — Mr. Polk's Influence over his Wife. — Leader of the Jackson Party in the House. — Elected Speaker of the House of Representatives. — Mrs. Seaton. — Mrs. Polk's Discretion. — Franklin Pierce. — Gales and Seaton. — Leaving Washington. — Mrs. Polk and Members of the Supreme Court. — Poem by Judge Story . 41

CHAPTER V.

At Home again. — Exciting Campaign for Governor. — Mr. Polk elected. — Judge Guild's Account of a Political Love Feast. — Mrs. Polk's Neighbors. — The Capitol of Tennessee. — Entertaining the General Assembly. — Mr. Polk defeated for Governor. — Mrs. Polk's Aid to her Husband. — Trip to Mississippi. — Visit from Ex-President Van Buren. — Another Canvass. — Dr. J G. M. Ramsey. — Again defeated by Governor Jones 57

CHAPTER VI.

Mr. Polk elected President. — How he received the News. — The Contest in Tennessee. — His Friends

CONTENTS. ix rejoicing. — Anecdote of Mrs. Polk. — Last Interview with General Jackson. — Journey to Washington.— Welcome all along the Route. — Col. V. K. Stevenson. — Incident at the Relay House. — Mr. Polk chooses his Cabinet. — The Inauguration. — A National Fan. — The Bible on which the Oath was taken. — Inauguration Ball. — The New Mistress of the White House. — The President refuses all Gifts of Value. — John C. Calhoun tendered the Mission to England. — Reasons for declining told to Mrs. Polk. — Ladies of the Diplomatic Circle. — Attending Church. — Dancing discontinued at the White House.

— The Effect. — Mrs. Madison and Mrs. Polk. — Weekly Receptions. — Mrs. Polk lightening her Husband's Labors. — Letter from Associate Justice Catron.

— Reflections of the President on his Fiftieth Birthday. — Observance of the Sabbath 73

CHAPTER VII.

Mrs. Polk on the Declaration of Independence. — Reception on the 4th of July, 1846. — Mrs. Polk's Consideration for an aged and humble Visitor. — Flowers scarce. — Mrs. Polk declines to take them from Patent Office Grounds. — Her Hospitality at the White House.

— Mr. Polk's Letter to his Mother on Christmas Day.

— Tour in the Northern and Eastern States. — Mrs. Polk returns to Tennessee. — The President's Letter to his Wife about the Trip. — Postscript by Hon. James Buchanan. — Decision to settle down in Nashville. — Home purchased. — Illness of Mrs. Polk. — Dining at the White House, and some of the Ladies present. — Comments on the Table by a Visitor. — Col. Thomas H. Benton. — Mrs. Polk's Answer. — Anecdotes of Daniel Webster and Henry Clay, at the

X CONTENTS.

PAGE

Dinner Table. — Hon. Charles J. IngersoU's Solicitude for the Health of the President. — Close of the Mexican War. — Notes from Mrs. Polk to her Husband. — Healy paints Mrs. Polk's Portrait. — Gas introduced into the White House. — Letter from the President to his Mother. — An Acrostic. — Tribute from Mrs. Ann S. Stephens to Mrs. Polk. — Last Reception at the White House. — Last State Dinner. — Farewell to Mrs. Polk. — Last Sunday at Church 97

CHAPTER VIII.

Departure from Washington. — Reception at the Capital of Virginia. — Arrival at Wilmington. — Charleston. — Savannah. — The Chatham Artillery. — Macon. — Columbus. — Montgomery. — Unique Reception at Mobile. — New Orleans. — Hasty Leave on Account of Cholera, — Illness of Mr. Polk. — Detained at Smithland. — Arrival at Nashville. — Visits to Relatives in Murfreesborough and Columbia. — Settled at Nashville 125

CHAPTER IX.

Polk Place. — Furniture and Pictures. — Portrait of Hernando Cortez. — General Worth. — Portraits of distinguished Men. — Inaugural Addresses. — Books and Canes. — Mr. Polk taken 111. — Provision for his Wife's Comfort. — Attention of Friends to the Ex-President. — His Physicians. — Bishop Otey. — Rev. Dr. Edgar. — Received into the Methodist Church by Rev. Mr. McFerrin. — The End.-— The Funeral and the Sermon. — Impressions in Early Life by a Sermon at a Camp-Meeting. — Sympathy for the Bereaved Wife. — Letter from Hon. William L. Marcy of New York. — Removal of the Remains from the

PAGE

CONTENTS.

City Cemetery to the Tomb at Polk Place. — The Tomb and Inscription. — Extract from Mr. Polk's WiU

CHAPTER X.

A Child at Polk Place. — Marriage of Miss Sallie Polk Jetton to Mr. George W. Fall. — Miss Saidee Fall. — Mrs. Polk changes her Church Membership from Columbia to Nashville. ^ — Visits of the General Assembly and other Bodies. — Bishops Green and Otey. — Contributions to the Tennessee Historical Society . .159

CHAPTER XL

The Civil War. — The Federal Army enters Nashville. — Mrs. Polk "At Home." — Visit of Major General Buell and other notable Commanders. — Witty Reply of a Colored Man. — General Thomas. — General Grant. — General Sherman. — General Lytle. — Valuables deposited at Polk Place for Safe Keeping. — Mrs. Polk's Financial Losses. — Eloquent Speech of Col. Bailie Peyton 167

CHAFfER Xn.

Visit of the General Assembly. — Senator Gibson. — Col. Robert I. Chester. — National Association of Teachers. — General Eaton. — Ex-Governor Foote. — The National Centennial at Philadelphia. — Mrs. Polk declines courteous Invitations to be present. — She loves her Home. — Her active Mind. — American Association for the Advancement of Science. — Professor Newcomb's beautiful Introduction. — Dr. J. Berrien Lindsley replies. — National Association of Fire ai CONTENTS.

Engineers. — Ex-President Hayes and Wife. — Secretary Evarts and Daughters. — Col. Wade Hampton. — Tliey visit Col. E. W. Cole and Wife. — General S. F. Carey of Ohio. — Judge Hoadley and Charles O'Conor. — Centennial of the City of Nashville. —Honors to Mrs. Polk. — Call of Senator Bayard and Daughters and Senator Gorman. — Letter from Rev. Dr. F. W. E. Peschau of Wilmington. — Extract from his Address before the Historical Society of North Carolina, concerning Mrs. Polk. — His poetic Tribute. — Mrs, Polk's Reverence. — Hon. Simon Cameron. — Pen- Portrait of Mrs. Polk. — Dr. Gross. — Governor Crittenden and Party. — Interview of a Banner Reporter,

— Old Campaigns. — New England Press Association,

— Speech of Rev. F. S. Hatch

CHAPTER XIII.

— Hon. Samuel J. Randall and Wife. — • Rev. Dr. Henry M. Field. — Senator Sherman. — Hon. George Bancroft. — Polk Place. — Mr. Bancroft visits many Places of Interest. — Speech to the Tennessee Historical Society. — Ex-President Cleveland and Wife. — W. C. T. U. — Miss Frances E. Willard and others. — The Sculptor Valentine. — The Evangelist Sayford. — Thomas Nelson Page. — Mrs. Juliana Hayes. — Miss Anna T. Ballentine. — Bible presented. — Mrs. Naomi Hays Moore. — The Polk Escutcheon. — Mrs. Polk opens the Centennial Exposition at Cincinnati from Polk Place. — Her Humility. — Distinguished New Yorkers. — Dr. Field and Mr. Bancroft. — Healy's Portrait of Mr. Polk copied by Miss ZoUicoffer. — The Scotch-Irish Congress. — Col. A. K. McClure and Wife.

— Librarians from the New England States. — Ohio

CONTENTS. xiii

PAGE

Editors. — American Medical Association. — Ex-Governor Emory of Massachusetts. — Rev. Mr. Miller of Princeton. — Professor A. P. Bourland and the Peabody Normal School 203

CHAPTER XIV.

Portrait for the White House. — Portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Polk. — The Ex-President's Watch. — Watch of General Washington and General Lee. — Pension to Mrs. Polk. — Ex-Governor Aaron V. Brown. — Sonnet by Ben D. House. — Anecdote of Associate Justice Catron. — Fourscore Years. — Birthday remembered by Friends. — Fading away. — Ladies' Religious Parlor Meetings. — Mrs. Polk's Comments. — A notable old Sermon on Duelling. — Mrs. Polk's Love of talking about her Husband. — Applications for small Favors. — Her Interest in Public Affairs 231

CHAPTER XV.

Mrs. Madison and Mrs. Polk. — Holding OiBce in the Olden Time. — Log Cabin where Mr. Polk was born.

— Mrs. Polk's Love of the Scriptures. — Her Moderate Eating. — She attends Church. — Anecdote of M. de Bodisco. — Francis Scott Key. — Invitation to the Marriage of President Cleveland. — Incident of early Married Life. — Saidee goes to Europe. — Women Workers.

— Rev. Dr. Riddle. — Dr. Rubey. — A costly Fan. — Mrs. J. R. Brown's Account of an Incident in 1844. — Eighty-sixth Birthday. — Letter from Mr. Bancroft. — Mrs. Polk declines giving Recommendations. — Sonnet. — Early Friends. — Various Remarks of Mrs. Polk. — Anecdote. — Eighty-seven. — Rev. Dr. Whitsitt. — Mrs. Ex-Governor Perry. — Judge Lea's New

XIV CONTENTS.

PAGE

Year's Greeting. — Visit to his Father in the Thirties.

— Mayor of Nashville. — Incidents. — Illness of Mrs. Polk. — Marriage of Miss Fall 249

CHAPTER XVI.

Growing feebler. — Illness. — Last Words. — The End.

— Tolling of Bells. — Flags at Half-Mast. — General Mourning in the City. — Telegrams. — The City Papers. — Funeral on Sunday Morning. — The Entombment. — Letters from Friends. — The Inscription on the Tomb. — Letter from Miss Frances E. Willard . 271

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Page Portrait of Mrs. Polk Frontispiece

The Inauguration Fan 86

The President and Mrs. Polk 99

Fac-simile of one of Mrs. Polk's Letters . 116

Portrait of Mrs. Polk n8

Portrait of Ex-President Polk 141

Portrait of Hernando Cortez 143

Portrait of Mrs. Polk 233

Fac-simile of Letter of George Bancroft . . 262

SCHOOL DAYS.

SARAH CHILDRESS POLK.

QARAH CHILDRESS was bom in Rutherford *^ County, Tennessee, on the 4th of September, 1803, in the country home of her parents, Joel and Ehzabeth Childress. Her mother was a Whitsitt, and belonged to a large family, well known in this and other States. Mr. and Mrs. Childress were among the early settlers of Middle Tennessee, and were persons of high standing in those days, when character was esteemed for its intrinsic merit, and when the vision of the people was less confused with the glare of place and power and wealth than now.

Mr. Childress was a successful man of business, and possessed uncommon sagacity and rare energy and enterprise. His family lived in the ease which a competency gives. Their dwelling was a " wooden

2 BIRTH AND PARENTAGE.

frame," but it was as good and comfortable as any country house at that time. In speaking of her parents, Mrs. Polk often said : " At that early day, they had limited advantages for education, but were enterprising and industrious, and acquired means and property, and educated their children." She also expressed the thought that they were fully equal to the people of the present age, who are better instructed and more widely informed ; inasmuch as in making good use of all the aids at hand, their minds were as much strengthened, and their judgment as true and unbiassed, and they accomplished in reality as much as those who now work with'the help of a wider knowledge and experience. They gave to their sons and daughters not only the material benefit of wealth, but the more substantial and precious possession of an excellent education, the heritage of a good name, and high moral character.

Murfreesborough, the county seat, was about two miles distant. It had, at that time, only a Presbyterian church, a tavern, and a few stores and shops. As is usual in small towns, the tavern was not very attractive, and Mr. Childress often asked his friends who were staying in Murfreesborough to spend the night at his house. Among those who were frequently the recipients of his thoughtful hospitality

BIRTH AND PARENTAGE. 3

were Judge Felix Grundy, Judge Overton, Mr. Trimble, and other lawyers and men of reputation. One year Judge Crabb was his guest during the entire term of the court, and Mrs. Crabb was also there a part of the time. When they returned to Nashville they took with them Mr. Childress's two daughters, that the little girls might enjoy a visit to another town.

Canon Farrar says : " Anecdotes of infancy, incidents of childhood, indications of future greatness in boyish years, are a very rare phenomenon in ancient literature." Sarah Childress's early youth was passed in tranquillity and happiness. It was like the easy and blissful life of him concerning whom King Solomon wrote : " He shall not much remember the days of his life ; because God answereth him in the joy of his heart."

There were at that time a few good schools for boys in Tennessee, but the education of girls was left to the wisdom of their parents, and to the few teachers that attempted the work here and there. In various parts of the country there was still found the fast-fading remnant of that false and injurious opinion, once almost universal, that a girl does not need a thorough education. It was thought that all learning above the necessary attainments of reading, writing, and the first principles of arithmetic,

4 EARLY SCHOOL DAYS.

was absolutely hurtful, disqualifying her for the obvious duties of her station, — the care of the household. For a short time the two girls, Sarah and her sister Susan, went with their brothers to the common school. Subsequently their parents engaged the services of Mr. Samuel P. Black, the principal of the Murfreesborough Academy, a school for boys. He gave them lessons in the afternoon, when the exercises of the Academy were over for the day. They used the blackboard, and maps and globes, and were thoroughly drilled in the difficult beginnings of learning.

When Sarah was twelve or thirteen years old she and her sister were sent to Nashville, to attend the private school of Mr. Abercrombie, a noted teacher of that day. They also took lessons on the piano from his daughter. This was a rare accomplishment for that early time, the facilities for which gave a peculiar reputation to the school.

General Jackson was then living in Nashville. He was in the zenith of his military glory, and his adopted city rejoiced in the lustre reflected upon her by this distinguished citizen. The little pupils were boarding in the family of Colonel Butler, one of his staff officers, and so saw him frequently. Mrs. Polk remembered distinctly a very brilliant ball in the General's house, at which she was a guest.

EARLY SCHOOL DAYS. 5

An elderly lady who a few years since appealed to Mrs. Polk for sympathy in her desire that the simplicity and plain dressing of olden times should be restored, was surprised by the reply that she had never practised the severe plainness of which the lady spoke ; that from her earliest recollection she had been dressed in silks and satins of delicate texture, in beautiful designs and colors, and had never known, even in childhood, what it was to be simply clothed, or to long for splendor of raiment, having always possessed it. She did not believe that the apparel in old times was plainer than it is now, but that the means to possess this luxury were then limited to fewer individuals.

After a year or two spent in home study and private lessons, and when Sarah was about fifteen years old, she was sent with her sister to the Moravian Female Academy in Salem, North Carolina. Mr. and Mrs. Childress desired their daughters to have the advantage of a large school, not only in its more comprehensive course of study, but in that deeper, keener, intellectual quickening that comes from fellowship in culture.

The little town of Salem was founded by the Society of the United Brethren, about the middle of the eighteenth century, under the direction of Count Zinzendorf, from whom it received its name, meaning "peace." The " quaint, quiet, green old town" lies a thousand feet above the level of the sea, in an undulating, beautifully wooded country. " From the more elevated points, not remote from this unique town, the Pilot Mountain may be seen, with its castellated peak, rising three hundred feet above the shoulders of the mountain, and bearing a striking resemblance to an antiquated Gothic castle, such as greets the eye on the Rhine; and still beyond, on a clear day, the practised eye can detect the steel-blue rim of the remoter mountain ranges that form such a conspicuous feature in Western North Carolina. There still the old town of Salem stands, with its antique dwellings, tile roofs, low eaves, and cramped little attics, unchanged in many of its aspects amid all the changes that have occurred around it. There it stands, with its primitive customs, its peculiar religious services, its pious Moravian Brethren, its benevolent institutions." ^

Here stood the Female Academy, a healthful and peculiarly suitable retreat for the calm and studious life of young girls. Under the charge of this religious society, of acknowledged piety and elevation of character, the great usefulness and success of the Salem Academy were assured, 1 Rev. J. E. Edwards.

THE ACADEMY AT SALEM. J

as its nine long decades have proved. Many of its pupils had braved the toils and dangers of a long journey to share in its advantages. " The only uniform worn by the pupils in this old Moravian school was a neat and closely fitting lace cap. It was a striking feature. Sweet, ruddy faces peered out from the quilted borders of this handsome and decidedly tasteful piece of headgear. That of the larger girls was trimmed with white ribbon, the smaller girls with pink. It was a beautiful spectacle on Examination-Day, as the annual closing day of the session was called, to see one hundred and fifty or two hundred girls, dressed in white, with flowing sashes and flaunting ribbons, and each attired with the tidy cap, marching in procession from the Academy to the church." 1

Upon their starting, Mr. Childress gave to each of his daughters a French gold coin, a louis d'or, worth about four dollars and eighty-four cents, as a parting gift. This piece of money, so likely to find its way speedily into other hands, Mrs. Polk preserved through many years and vicissitudes, until the end of her Hfe, and it is now a muchprized relic.

The young girls traversed the hundreds of miles 1 Eev. J. E. Edwards.

between Murfreesborough and Salem on horseback, escorted by their elder brother, Anderson Childress, and attended by a trusty man-servant who carried their portmanteaus on his horse. He belonged to a class no longer in existence. In the domestic economy of those times, which the vast changes wrought in the last thirty-odd years have consigned to the past, among the slaves of every rich man there could be found some intelligent and faithful ones who possessed the implicit confidence of their master and friend.

Such a trip in these days of swift and easy travel, more than seventy years afterward, would seem like a series of romantic adventures. But it would be a romance from which the exciting element of danger was eliminated, leaving it gently stirring and thoroughly agreeable. Far different were the circumstances forty or fifty years still earlier, when the pioneers of Middle Tennessee, dauntless and heroic, were journeying through this wilderness to the land which loomed before their prophetic eyes like an enchanting mirage, blooming as a garden of roses, remote in time, not space. Then they were shadowed by the Indians, and often assaulted, suffering the severest privations and hardships. It was not so with our young travellers, who had nothing to fear from the rude and cruel warriors of the forest, and to whose youthful and inexperienced fancy, the cool, green shades on either side of the road suggested only pleasant visions of noonday rest and refreshment.

No views are more varied and picturesque than those through which their way was taken. It lay over a rolling country, with charming views of hill and dale; and through woods thickly peopled with the descendants of the ancient families of oak, beech, hickory, walnut, cedar, wild-cherry, willow, and many others radiant in rustling garments of every shade of green, and with branches bending to the whisperings of the wind. There was the stir *of many kinds of animal life; the hum of insects ; the clear, sweet notes of birds flitting hither and thither in gleaming plumage; the soft beauty of sky ; and the indescribable variety and charm which nature bestows in the favored climate of Tennessee and North Carolina. The forests were already decking themselves in color when our little travellers rode through them. After riding all day some friendly farmhouse would give them shelter and rest, and the knowledge of a domestic life entirely new to them. They crossed the broad, beautiful, majestic Holston, now the Tennessee river; the wild, picturesque French Broad, which the Indians called the Tahkeeostee river; and other streams, smaller but not less pleasing in their gracefulness.

An entirely new and different life awaited Sarah and her sister in their transient home in the Salem Academy. The hush and method of a large school, the lessons learned with the stimulus of the small world of students, the pleasant walks and talks with many new friends, congenial and beloved, the daily services for prayer and divine guidance, all helped to mould the growing character of Sarah Childress. On Sunday morning, the girls met in their respective class-rooms to receive what was called Bible instruction. A verse from Scripture to be memorized had been assigned the previous Sunday, and it was expected that the chapter from which that verse was taken would be read by the pupils in their rooms during the week. After the recitation by each one in turn, the entire chapter was read aloud and commented on by the teacher.

In after years one of the teachers wrote as follows: " Let us recall some of our own peculiar and particular enjoyments. As the end of the year drew near, busy hands and heads were occupied in preparing for the Christmas times, — the decorations, the dialogues, all having reference to the

THE ACADEifY AT SALEM. n

babe in Bethlehem's manger, whose birth we were commemorating. Then came the old year's closing meeting, held in our Academy Chapel, followed by the watch-meeting at midnight in the church, which we attended with the Salem congregation, and a few hours later the New Years sermon in the morning."

While at school in Salem, Sarah did a little piece of needle-work which she fortunately kept during all the succeeding years. It is the picture of a tomb gleaming white through the foliage of surrounding trees, and is worked in chenille on a white satin ground. It is skilfully and delicately done, the different shades of green, brown, and yellow blending naturally. In later life Mrs. Polk herself called attention to a resemblance which struck us as having in it something prophetic. It bears a remarkable likeness to the tomb in the garden on the east of the house, in full view of her chamber window, which for more than forty years was the reminder of her joys and sorrows, and which became, as the months glided by, her daily reminder of the blissful reunion awaiting her in the near future.

These tranquil days of study, of girlish dreamings and anticipations, came suddenly to an end. Sarah and her sister were called home by the illness and death of their father. They did not return to the Academy, and Sarah occupied herself with the duties of home and social life, and with the sacred charge of helping to comfort her mother.

Mr. Childress left a good estate to his family.

HOME LIFE AND MARRIAGE.

Chapter II. 1820-1825

'' H ^HERE were many friends and admirers who -*■ sought the companionship and a share in the sunny society of Mrs. Childress's household. Among them was James Knox Polk, whose ancestors came to America from the north of Ireland, early in the eighteenth century. Their name was originally Pollock, but the wearing action of pronunciation reduced it in the course of time to Poll'k, and finally to the present name. Mr. Polk was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, November 2, 1795, and came to Tennessee with his father's family in early life. He was a practitioner of the law, and at that time principal clerk in the senatorial branch of the legislature, which met at Murfreesborough, then the capital of the State. In the public estimation he was a young man of mark, and very soon after was elected to the legislature to represent Maury County, the place of his residence, and was subsequently chosen by Governor

Carroll as one of his staff officers. He was then about twenty-seven years old ; very youthful in appearance, but with a fine presence, though not commanding in stature. With quiet manners, he was still courteous and dignified. His own high self-respect and unswerving rectitude were shown in the respect he habitually paid to the rights and feelings of others. These sterling qualities attained their full development when in the succeeding years of power they had ample room to expand, and their strength and beneficence were so often apparent.

The beauty and magnetic presence of the young girl, whose worth, dignity, and modest reserve, tempered by the graces of playful wit and ready repartee, formed so striking a counterpart or complement to his own character, made an indelible impression upon the young lawyer. His labors at the Court House where the legislature convened, were charmingly alternated with visits to Miss Childress. His attentions were favorably received and ended in an engagement of marriage. He laughingly said to her that had he remained the clerk of the legislature she would never have consented to marry him !

In 1880 Capt. John W. Childress, a nephew of Mrs. Polk's, presented to the Tennessee Historical Society the original license issued by the clerk of the County Court of Rutherford County, authorizing the celebration of the marriage relation between James Knox Polk and Sarah Childress. On Thursday evening, the ist of January, 1824, the marriage ceremony was performed by the Rev. Dr. Henderson, pastor of the Presbyterian church.

A numerous company of guests did honor to the occasion, and it was, as a great-granddaughter of Mrs. Childress says, "a large country wedding." One of that merry gathering, Mrs. Daniel Graham, who was Miss Maria Mclver, and at whose nuptials Mrs. Polk had been a bridesmaid, lived to see the young bride attain the age of eighty-two years. The bride and groom were attended by four young couples, among whom were Aaron V. Brown and Lucius J. Polk. The history of the former bears such a resemblance to that of Mr. Polk, that it was singularly fitting he should be one of the next and best friends on this occasion. They were both graduates of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and were partners in the practice of the law. Mr. Brown was often a member of the Tennessee legislature, and a representative in Congress five or six years, until 1845, when he was elected Governor of Tennessee. In 1857 he was Postmaster- General in the Cabinet of President Buchanan. In various parts of the country he was frequently mentioned as a candidate for the presidency. His life.