The ladies of the White house; or, In the home of the presidents. Being a complete history of the social and domestic lives of the presidents from Washington to the present time

Front matter

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Preface

The Ladies of the White House have had no biographers. The custom of the Republic, which relegates back to private life those who have served it, has made it difficult to gather much of stirring interest concerning the women who have made the social history of the different administrations. From privacy they came, to privacy they were returned, and the world took little cognizance of them beyond noting the entertainments they gave, and the success that attended their dinners and receptions.

In the historical works of the age — even in the biographies of the Presidents themselves — not much has been said of women, who, for the most part, were powerful adjuncts to their popularity, and exerted great influence over their lives. The most that has been written of them heretofore were descriptions in the daily papers of the appearance of the lady of the White House on some public occasion, and with this the world has been content until now. We have had a hundred years of domestic honor in the White House — a hundred years which has added much to the glory of the country abroad, and it is but fitting that women, who have held the highest social and semi-official position in the nation, should be made historic subjects. No better time than the present could be found for filling this serious gap in general American history. The moral influence that has been exerted by the untarnished reputations and high social qualities of the women who have successively filled the position of Hostess of the Presidents’ House, cannot be estimated. Without the effective and intelligent aid they rendered, no administration would have been satisfactory ; and though the political historian may ignore such service, the right-thinking, honorable men or women of this country have a higher appreciation of the services rendered by these ladies, who were the power behind the throne, equal in social influence to the throne itself, and a historical work bearing upon their lives is a valuable contribution to the nation’s official history.

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PREFACE.

Such a one is now offered to the people of this countr}c It is a complete work, comprising a biograpliical sketch of every President’s wife and hostess of the Executive Mansion from Mrs. Washington down to Mrs. Garfield.

The information contained in the volume has never been compiled in any other form, and there are many historical facts of a most interesting nature for the first tim^e presented to the public. The book contains the portraits of the wives of the Presidents, and of the ladies who presided over the Mansion during the administrations of unmarried Presidents. At a time when the women of this country are commanding the attention of the civilized world by reason of their higher education, superior mental attributes, and exalted social status, such a book is of exceptional value.

The mechanical execution of the work will commend itself to all lovers of excellence in book-making. Nothing has been left undone that would make it worthy of the ladies whose records it contains. The unusual attractions of the theme, the style in which it is published, and the place in the country’s history which such a book fills, conspire to render it a work which the public and private libraries of this country cannot afford to be without ; they cannot be called complete without a copy of the Ladies of the White House.”

ILLUSTRATIONS,

MARTHA WASHINGTON ( Vignette)

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DOROTHY B. MADISON

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LOUISA CATHARINE ADAMS

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MRS. MARTIN VAN BUREN

ANGET.TCA VAN BUREN

MRS. JAMES K. POLK i<

FIARRTET T.ANE

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MRS. ABRAH.AM LINCOLN

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MRS. ANDREW JOHNSON

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MRS. ULYSSES S. GRANT

NELLIE GRANT SARTORIS

ELIZA BALLOU GARFIELD .

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MOUNT VERNON

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MONTICF.T.T.O

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MONTPELIER

FIRST RESIDENCE OF ANDREW JACKSON

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HERMITAGE ,

WHEATLAND

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HOME OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN AT SPRINGFIELD

MENTOR

MARTHA WASHINGTON.

Personal appearance of Mrs. Custis — Introduced to Colonel Washington — Traditions relating to their first interview — The body-servant’s long wait for his master’s appearance — His orders to put up the horses for the night — The wooing of* the soldier lover — Returns from the seat of government to offer himself — Engagement — Marriage — The wedding at tlie White House ” — The Virginia home of the bride — A most joyous and happy event — The girlhood of Martha Dandridge — The belle of Williamsburg — Her first marriage — Death of her eldest son~Colonel Custis — His fine character and romantic nature — Happy married life with him — Left v/ith two children — She manages her estate after her husband’s death — Residence near her father’s home — Twenty-six years old when she becomes Mrs, Washington — Had never knovm care or poverty — Her high social position — Removal to Mount Vernon — Again the mistress of a wealthy planter’s home — Often with Washington in Williamsburg while he was a member of the Legislature— Her life a happy one — Washington’s great consideration for her — Only letter preserved that was written by him to her — Mrs. Washington before her death destroyed all her letters — This one overlooked — His assurance that he is unwilling to part with her and their children, at the time that he is made Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army — His only unhappiness due to her loneliness — Urges her to be content, and not complain of what he could not avoid — Makes his will in her favor, and hopes that his “ dear Patsy ” is pleased with its provisions — Her visits to him — Travels in her private carriage lo his head-quarters each year — The servants vdsh his return home — Washington anxious about her, and after her arrival sent letters of thanks to all who had been attentive to her — The officers glad to see her— * Once insulted in Philadelphia through party bitterness — Sensitive to her husband’s fair fame— Mrs. Washington not fond of dress — The spinning-wheels and looms in her house — Washington’s inaugural suit the handiwork of his household — She wears a simple russet gown and white handkerchief about her neck” to a bail given in her honor — Two of her dresses woven from the ravelings of brown silk stockings and old crimson chair-covers — Washington’s return to Mount Vernon — called again from his retirement — Mrs. Washington’s crowning glory — Some other attributes — Her life an interesting one, veiwed historically — Mrs. Washington not much of a reader — A good daughter and mother, but not a notable housekeeper — Her husband the manager of the establishment— The children governed by him — A source of regret that he had nc

Contents

sons and daughters — His countrymen glad that there was no parental tie to divert him from his public service — Death of Miss Custis — John Parke Custis with General Washington — His young wife and children at Mount Vernon — Mrs. Washington at Valley Forge during the winter of 1777-78 — Death of her son — General Washington adopts her two grandchildren, and returns to Mount Vernon with the mourners — Mrs. Washington’s first reception as wife of the Chief Magistrate — Pleased with her lofty position — The levees held at the Republican Court — The residence of the President in New York — The etiquette of the mansion — Mrs. Washington’s views on the subject of her elevation — A letter to a friend, in which her philosophy is shown — Removal of seat of government to Philadelphia — Letter of the Rev. Ashbel Green — Mrs. Washington again at Mount Vernon — The President rents a house in Market street between Fifth and Sixth, and furnishes it handsomely — Return of the President and Mrs. Washington from Mount Vernon — Congress assembles —

Mrs. Washington’s drawing-rooms held on Friday evenings — Early hours for retiring — She tells her company that her husband retired at “ ten” and she followed very soon afterward — Stiffness and formality of the drawing-rooms — How Mrs. Washington received — No handshaking in those days — The grandchildren of Mrs. Washington — Mrs. Robert Morris receives with Mrs. Washington — The Marchioness d’Yuro — The first levee in Philadelphia the most brilliant occasion of the kind ever known in this country — Recollections of Mrs. Binney — Mrs. Washington’s punctuality in returning calls — Her manners easy and pleasant — Makes tea and coffee for an English guest — Her plain cap and gray hairs, as described by this visitor — Return to Mount Vernon — The old life resumed — Washington lays out the future capital — The “ White House ” named in honor of the former home of his wife — The building afterward partly burned by the British — Anecdote of “obstinate” David Burns — “What would Washington have been if he hadn’t married the Widow Custis? ” — Mount Vernon thronged with visitors — Closing years of Washington’s life — His death in 1799 — Grief of Mrs. Washington — Refuses to be comforted-;— Never re-enters the chamber in which he died — Congress passes resolutions of respect and condolence — Entreats Mrs. Washington’s consent to the interment of the remains in Washington— She gives reluctant consent to the request — Remains interred at Mount Vernon, where they are now — Mrs. Washington’s resemblance to her husband — Pier dependence upon his guidance and love — Her appearance at this time — Serene of countenance — A devoted Christian — His death a fatal blow — Her death two and a-half years later — Their bodies side by side —

Visit of Lafayette to Mount Vernon in 1826 — Visit of Albert Prince of Wales, in i860, in company with President Buchanan — Description of the place as it appeared before its restoration 39