The Poor Widow Dolley
Dolley had spent twenty years in Washington at the pinnacle of society during those early days of Jefferson's and Madison's presidencies...
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Frances Cleveland, Secret White House Bride
Frances Folsom, at twenty-one, married grouchy, grumpy Grover Cleveland, age 49, in the White House! - It Was The Best Kept White House Secret.
The Mary and Robert Lincoln Tragedy
Mary Lincoln would have a tenuous and tragic relationship with her son Robert Lincoln for the rest of her life. When Abraham Lincoln died he left no will, thus his estate would be shared equally by Mary, his wife, and his two remaining sons, Robert and Tad, a minor. Robert, only twenty-one, was now the [...]
The Elopment of John and Julia Tyler
John Tyler was unique in his day or in any day. He was the First Vice President-to-President, the First President to remarry, and the President with the most children – fourteen. The Rose of Long IslandLong Island born and bred Julia Gardiner was very pretty, very cultured, very charming, and very very rich. A nineteen-year-old Julia [...]
George and Martha: A Like-a-Lot Match
George Washington and Martha Custis were introduced by mutual acquaintances. Both were unquestionably in the market, so to speak, for marriage, and their courtship was brief
Rating First Lady Mary Lincoln
Few First Ladies have generated such wild-swinging opinions as Mary Lincoln. She is viewed either as a termagant that made Lincoln’s life a misery – or one of the most misunderstood characters who ever lived.
The Inaugural Ball
Ever wonder how the Inaugural Ball got started? It was Dolley. Dolley Madison. The inaugurations of George Washington, both in New York City and Philadelphia had been solemn affairs. No government of the “we the people” type had ever been attempted before, and far from rejoicing, the mood was somber and, in the Biblical sense, awesome. [...]
