For Lack of a Mrs. President

 

By Cindy Regnier

 So far, the United States has not elected a woman president. Until and if that happens, the role of First Lady is delegated to the president’s wife. Does the First Lady have responsibilities? Absolutely. The role has changed greatly over the years since Martha Washington became the first, First Lady, but it has always been an important one. Traditionally, she directs the social affairs of the White House, serves as advocate of her husband and creates an image for other America women to follow – a role model if you will. In more recent times First Ladies have managed campaigns to promote change in social issues, champion benevolent causes, and even oversee the day-to-day business of the White House. In addition, and never to be undermined is the influence they have over their husbands. But what if the President has no wife? It’s happened more often than you might think. Each time, another woman stepped up to fill the role.
 

 Martha Jefferson Randolph:   

 

Thomas Jefferson was a widower when he was sworn into office. Sometimes cabinet members wives filled in but it wasn’t until Jefferson’s daughter Martha Jefferson Randolph joined him in Washington that a Jefferson first lady was recognized. “Patsy,” as her father called her acted as Jefferson’s social coordinator and welcomed guests at presidential receptions. In 1806, she also gave birth to a son named James—the first child to be born in the White House.

 

 Emily Donelson: 

 
Andrew Jackson’s wife Rachel died of a heart attack in December 1828, just a few months before his inauguration. The role of first lady fell to Emily Donelson, Mrs. Jackson’s 21-year-old niece. Donelson presided over numerous presidential parties and helped assist in a luxurious renovation of the White House. She served in this capacity until the so-called “Petticoat Affair and ostracizing of the Secretary of War’s spouse Margaret “Peggy” Eaton, but that’s a story for another day.

 

 

Angelica Singleton Van Buren: 

Angelica took over the duties of first lady in 1838, just a few weeks after her marriage to the son of widower President Martin Van Buren. Though barely 21, the South Carolina socialite proved a natural in the role, winning praise for her elegant teas, dinner parties and balls. Unfortunately. she is remembered for her faux pas when she tried to recreate some of Europe’s court customs at the White House, including receiving guests while seated on a platform. That did not go over well with Van Buren or his critics.

 

 Priscilla Cooper Tyler

A former stage actress and the wife of one of John Tyler’s sons, Priscilla stepped into the role of presidential hostess when first lady Letitia Tyler was sidelined by a stroke and continued in the role after Letitia's death. Among other accomplishments, she initiated a tradition of hosting Marine Band concerts on the White House lawn.

 

 

Harriet Lane

The niece of James Buchanan—America’s only lifelong bachelor president—Lane took up residence in the White House in 1857 and was greatly admired. Women copied her inauguration gown and she inspired everything from baby names to popular songs. by redecorating the White House and hosting popular dinner parties. Like many modern first ladies, she also adopted an outreach project by working to improve the conditions on Indian reservations.

 Martha Johnson Patterson

Andrew Johnson’s wife Eliza was so publicity shy and sickly that she designated most of her duties to her eldest daughter, Martha Johnson Patterson. Along with managing the president’s social receptions, Martha installed milk cows on the White House lawn and helped lead a tasteful redecoration of the mansion’s interior. She was also responsible for compiling several paintings of past presidents into a portrait gallery.

 

Mary Arthur McElroy

Mary Arthur McElroy became “First Lady” in 1881, after her brother, widower Chester A. Arthur, became president due to the assassination of James A. Garfield. She claimed to be “absolutely unfamiliar with the customs and formalities” of the White House, but the middle-aged mother of four became known for her New Year’s parties and open-house dinner receptions

 

 Rose Cleveland

President Grover Cleveland’s sister Rose or “Libbie,” as she was known, set aside her own pursuits and moved to Washington to become White House hostess. People liked her for the most part due to her charm and wit, but political schmoozing was not her strong point. She once confessed to fighting boredom at presidential receptions by conjugating Greek verbs in her head. When Grover Cleveland later married 21-year-old Frances Folsom in 1886, Rose relegated the role to her new sister-in-law.

 

 Margaret Wilson

Woodrow Wilson’s daughter Margaret, assumed the role of White House hostess after her mother’s death in 1914. The 28-year-old only held the post for a few months, but she didn’t take well to the social demands. When her father became engaged to his second wife Edith in 1915, Margaret embarked on a career as a singer.

 And there you have it. The First Lady is not always the president’s wife. Nonetheless, it is an important role that must be filled. Had you ever heard of these nine ladies that made an impact on America history?

 Rand isn't looking for love. He'd ridden that trail. What he needs is a wife to care for his orphan nieces. Desperate, he places an advertisement and hopes for the best.

Fleeing her employer who would use her to further his unlawful acts, hiding herself on a Kansas cattle ranch seems like the perfect escape to Carly.

But its sanctuary comes with a husband. While marrying a man she doesn't know or love means sacrificing her dreams, it's better than being caught by the law.

Or is it?

Marrying the President of the United States

By Tiffany Amber Stockton

Last month, the story of how my great-grandfather came to be sending clams and oysters to the White House during President Wilson's presidency received featured recognition here.

If you missed last month's post, you can view it here: http://www.hhhistory.com/2016/07/clams-and-oysters-in-white-house.html.

This month, I'll be delving further into my great-grandfather's 1st cousin by marriage, Edith Bolling Galt, the woman responsible for my White House connections. *grins*

EDITH BOLLING GALT WILSON -- 1st Lady and Washington Elite Society member

Edith
Bolling
Galt
Wilson

Edith Bolling Galt Wilson

I grew up hearing stories of my great-grandfather's 1st cousin and how I was loosely connected to United States "royalty." So much of that part of my family seemed like nothing more than an entertaining bedtime story. That is, until I went to college with a minor in history and became an author of historical fiction just six years after graduation. Details left out or forgotten in my childhood mind became somewhat of a passion for me.

It wasn't until recently, with the research associated with the series I'm pitching that's set on Chincoteague Island, that I realized just how fascinating my family history is on my mother's side of the family. My father's might be fascinating as well but with so many deaths during World War I and the Influenza Epidemic, specifics and details are quite difficult to find. I won't give up, though. For now, it's the family history I can research a bit more easily.

Galt & Bro. Jewelers

Edith Bolling was a descendant of Virginia aristocracy, so it's only natural that she remained immersed in elite society, wherever her life took her. She was born the 7th of 11th children in Wytheville in 1872. Her life intersected with my family history in 1895 when she visited one of her married sisters in Washington and met a businessman named Norman Galt (my great-grandfather's 1st cousin), who was the current owner of Galt & Bro. Jewelers, established in 1802.

Edith and Norman married in 1896 and she lived happily for 12 years. In 1908, Norman died unexpectedly, but Edith Galt chose a fantastic manager who operated the family's jewelry firm with financial success, giving her a good dose of added business sense which would serve her well for what was to come. Her shrewd decision is what helped that business continue serving the elite members of Washington society and politicians for 200 years, leading it to be Washington's oldest established business in the District.

President Woodrow Wilson &
Edith Bolling Galt Wilson

Edith & Woodrow Wilson
Valentine depiction

By a quirk of fate and a chain of friendships, Edith met the bereaved President Wilson in 1914, just 8 months after his beloved wife's passing. The president was still mourning profoundly for his first wife, but he took an instant liking to Edith, and that soon changed to love. Unlike Wilson's first wife who was shy and avoided politics, Edith shared Wilson's passion, leading to a whirlwind courtship and marriage. When he proposed, he said "in this place, time is not measured by weeks, or months, or years, but by deep human experiences..." They were married privately on December 18, 1915, at her home.

Remember, I mentioned above how Edith was descended from Virginia aristocracy? Well, that family legacy, upbringing, and culture prepared her quite well for the role of hostess as the new First Lady. Unfortunately, the war in Europe overshadowed just about everything else. Edith jumped right in and became a true helpmate to the President, working hard to keep him fit under tremendous strain.

President Woodrow Wilson

When a stroke left the President partly paralyzed in September 1919, this is where Edith stepped into her chosen role as First Lady and gained unusual significance through her hard work and support of her husband. Legend has labeled Edith as a "secret president" or even the "first woman to run the U.S. government." But according to Edith, considered her work as her "stewardship."

Edith Galt Wilson walking confidently
with her husband and security detail

She didn't try to control the executive branch, initiate programs, or make major decisions. She merely took over many routine duties and details, selected matters for her husband's attention, and let everything else go to the heads of departments or remain in abeyance. Everything she did was in full partnership with her husband, and it was done out of her deep and abiding love for him. I can only imagine how I'd handle such a responsibility! That oft-spoken inspirational quote, "God doesn't call the qualified; He qualifies the called" runs through my mind right now. Oh, to have been able to sit down and talk with Edith after her time as First Lady passed.

In 1921, the Wilsons retired to a comfortable home in Washington, where he died three years later. A highly respected figure in the society of the capital, Mrs. Wilson lived on to ride in President Kennedy's inaugural parade. She died later in 1961: on December 28, the anniversary of her famous husband's birth.

front face of $10 gold coin

rear face of $10 gold coin

I mentioned this last month, but as I featured Edith more thoroughly this month, I felt it bore mentioning again.

There was a $10 gold coin struck in the U.S. Mint at West Point commemorating Edith Wilson's time as First Lady. It was released in 2013, but uncirculated. The front is a replica of a sculpting done of Edith, and the back symbolizes Edith's support of President Wilson following his stroke. Her hand is resting atop his as he holds his cane.

I just love the symbolism of that image depicted. It would be an amazing keepsake to add to my heirloom and legacy collection, wouldn't you agree? With my 40th birthday coming in just 3 weeks, I'm going to try hard to find it for a birthday present. Will update you in next month's post.


NOW IT'S YOUR TURN:

* Do you have anything that has been passed down to you along the family line from generation to generation? What is it, and why is it so special?

* What would YOU have done in Edith's shoes as First Lady with the President partly paralyzed following a stroke?

* Select one unique fact from the post above that stood out to you and share why it appealed to you.

Leave answers to these questions or any comments on the post below. Next month, I'll be returning to the stories and history on Chincoteague Island. Come back on the 9th of September to find out more.

---

BIO

Tiffany Amber Stockton has been crafting and embellishing stories since childhood, when she was accused of having a very active imagination and cited with talking entirely too much. Today, she has honed those childhood skills to become an author and speaker who has partnered with Nerium International in the anti-aging and personal development industry, helping others become their best from the inside out.

She lives with her husband and fellow author, Stuart Vaughn Stockton, in Colorado. They have one girl and one boy, and a Retriever mix named Roxie. She has sold twenty (21) books so far and is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn.

Martha Washington

Our First First Lady  of the United States
by Martha Rogers

February is the month for President’s Day to celebrate the births of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.  In connection with that, today I want to honor our first First Lady, Martha Custis Washington. Although the title was not coined until after her death, she is still considered to be the first First Lady. Martha Washington was called “Lady Washington.”

Martha Dandridge Custis Washington was born on June 13, 1731 in Virginia. She was raised and educated with a great deal of emphasis on the skills she would need to run a household as well as the basics of reading, writing and math. She married a wealthy plantation owner, Daniel Parke Custis in 1749. They had four children, and upon his death in 1757, Martha inherited his estate.

Later she met George Washington at a cotillion in Williamsburg, Virginia, and

they were wed in 1759. To the left is a picture of Martha as a young woman. George owned a plantation in Mount Vernon, Virginia where she moved with her children, John, Frances, Daniel and Martha.

During the Revolutionary War, she often traveled to where he was encamped and spent time with him. After the war, when he was elected the first President if the United States, she followed him to New York and then to Philadelphia to serve as the First Lady. Although she actually preferred privacy, she was well known for the social events held at the beautiful mansion on the Potomac and later at the one she lavishly furnished in New York. People came to refer to it as “The Palace.”  However, she and George did have different views about entertaining.

Martha was often accused of being prejudiced and partial to the Federalist party to the extent of snubbing the Democrats to entertain esteemed Federalists. She was criticized for her actions, and one statesman, Albert Gallatin is quoted as saying, “She is Mrs. President, not of the United States, but of a faction.” Another critic said, “Without the tact to conceal her prejudices, she was a grudging hostess to all but her own circle.” On the other hand, the President held his once-a-week official dinners for as many as the table would hold. His dinner parties were described as being in a very handsome style and friendly to all.

She looked to Europe for inspiration in setting standards for her official affairs, and she developed a friendship with Abigail Adams. 
Even when not entertaining, she set standards in her household by her attire.

She also held slaves in her household and did not emancipate them with her death. Instead, she bequeathed one of them to her grandson, George Washington Parke Custis. Her dower slaves were reverted to the Custis estate and divided among the heirs.

She experienced tremendous loss with the deaths of two of her children: Patsy died from epilepsy during her teens and Jack succumbed to "camp fever" while enlisted in the military. Her health, which had always been precarious, declined even more after George’s death in 1799, two years after the end of his term. She took ill in 1802 and died on May 22 at the age of 70. She is entombed at Mount Vernon with her husband. 

My sister and I visited Mount Vernon a number of times both when we lived there when I was in eighth grade and again when we traveled there together. Everyone approached the house from the back as the front faces the Potomac River. Long lines form in the back as people wait their turns to visit the house. I happen to like the front better than the back.

In 1902, the United States Postal Service honored her as the first American woman to be featured on a stamp. A second stamp was issued in her honor in 1923, and a third one in 1938. She was also featured on a dollar bill in 1886 and with George Washington in 1896.

Our first First Lady had quite a history, yet most people can’t tell you much about her. She did not stand out like Dolly Madison, but she did make her mark on the position of First Lady of the United States of America.   

Martha Rogers is a free-lance writer and writes a weekly devotional for ACFW. Martha and her husband Rex live in Houston where they enjoy spending time with their grandchildren.  A former English and Home Economics teacher, Martha loves to cook and experimenting with recipes and loves scrapbooking when she has time. She has written three series, Winds Across the Prairie and Seasons of the Heart and The Homeward Journey. Her new contemporary series, Love in the Bayou City of Houston and novella, Christmas Blessing are now available on Amazon. A new novella, Garden of Love will be released later this month.  

Find Martha at:  www.marthawrogers.com

When There's No First Lady

by Susan Page Davis

     The President of the United States must host many functions, and social events go smoother if he has a gracious hostess at his side.

     In addition to being the wife and mother of the family, the First Lady is expected to decorate with good taste and to entertain flawlessly. In modern times, she is also expected to give support to her husband through public appearances and to support charitable or social causes. 

     But what’s a chief executive to do if he’s a widower—or even worse, a bachelor?

     What happens when there’s no First Lady?

     He asks someone else to fill that role, of course, usually a relative, but sometimes a close friend.

     Thomas Jefferson was the first president to have that problem. He was widowed nineteen years before he took the oath of office as president. His marriage had produced six children, only two of whom—Martha and Mary—lived to adulthood. 

     Martha, known as Patsy, red-haired like her father, married Thomas Mann Randolph, Jr.

Martha Jefferson Randolph

Mary, whose nickname was Molly, married John Wayles Eppes. Both acted as hostesses for Thomas Jefferson during the winter season of 1802-03. 

     Molly died in 1804, but Patsy returned to the White House the following year to act as hostess. Her eighth child, James Madison Randolph was the first child to be born there.

     When his daughters were not available to help him out, President Jefferson relied on Dolley Madison, whose husband was at that time Secretary of State, to act as hostess at White House functions. This was good practice for Dolley’s later duties as First Lady.

Emily Donelson

     Andrew Jackson’s wife, Rachel, died a few months before her husband took office in 1829. While he was in the White House, Emily Donelson, the wife of Rachel’s nephew Andrew Donelson, served as hostess in the executive mansion. Emily had one child at the time of the inauguration and gave birth to three more in the White House.

Angelica Singleton Van Buren

    




      Martin Van Buren was a widower with four sons when he became president. After his son Abraham married Angelica Singleton, she began receiving guests at White House functions with her father-in-law.

      

Harriet Lane

  

   James Buchanan became president at age 65, and he was a bachelor. His niece and legal ward, Harriet Lane, took over the duties of First Lady at the age of 26. Lovely, clever, and poised, she made a wonderful hostess in the pre-Civil War years.

  





   Chester A. Arthur, who took office in 1881, had been widowed a year before. He did not have an official hostess, but his younger sister, Mary Arthur McElroy, went with him to Washington to take care of his young daughter, Nellie, and her own two daughters. Mary sometimes stood in receiving lines with her brother, but she was never in the spotlight. The Arthur administration was the only one that never had a First Lady or a designated surrogate.

     Of course, if you are a bachelor president, as was Grover Cleveland, you can take a more creative way to fill the vacancy and marry a woman who will become the First Lady. 

     When he was first elected, Cleveland’s younger sister Rose acted as his hostess. But when Cleveland became the first—and only—president to be married in the White House, his bride took over her duties with alacrity. Frances Folsom Cleveland was 21, and Grover was 48 when they married. 
     
 

Frances Folsom Cleveland

    Frances was known as a charming young woman who enjoyed her social responsibilities. During Cleveland’s second term, she gave birth to their second and third daughters in the White House. After Grover Cleveland’s death in 1908, she became the first First Lady to remarry, when she wed Thomas Preston.
     This is only a glimpse of some women who performed social duties at the White House when there was no official First Lady. There is much more to their lives, of course, but today we honor them for standing in the gap. 

    Leave a comment and your contact information for a chance to win one of Susan’s historical novels: Lady Anne’s Quest, A Lady in the Making, Love Finds You in Prince Edward Island, or The Outlaw Takes a Bride. The winner may choose either an e-book, a paperback, or a large print, hardcover copy of one of these books, or an audio book of The Outlaw Takes a Bride. If more than twenty enter, two winners will be chosen. The drawing will be held Aug. 29.

  

  Susan Page Davis is the author of more than sixty published novels. She’s always interested in the unusual happenings of the past. She’s a two-time winner of the Inspirational Readers’ Choice Award, and also a winner of the Carol Award and the Will Rogers Medallion, and a finalist in the WILLA Awards and the More Than Magic Contest. Visit her website at: www.susanpagedavis.com .

Mary Todd Lincoln...White House Hostess

A Much Maligned First Lady

 by Martha Rogers

The years she served as hostess to White House functions were known as “The Tragic Years” because of the Civil War. Poor Mary had three strikes against her because of Harriet Lane, Buchanan’s niece who served as hostess during his years as President.

In contrast to Harriet’s blonde beauty and social skills, Mary Todd came across as short, dumpy, and plain. Based on her background from the Midwestern prairies, Social Washington assumed Mary would have a lot to learn. The harder Mary tired, the more Washington society resisted her.

However Mary was not your typical prairie wife. She came from a respected Kentucky family, and in normal times might have been a happier hostess. She was well-qualified to serve as hostess with all the Southern hospitality with which she had been raised.

Below is a picture of her home in Kentucky.

These were not normal times with storm clouds of impending war hanging over Washington. Many southerners living in Washington of course had sympathies with the South and closed their houses to return to their Southern roots.

Mary Todd Lincoln fought an uphill battle to prove that she had the taste and style expected of a First Lady. She often went to extravagant lengths to establish her gentility to skeptics. She spent large sums of money on clothing to impress Washington society.

 

Just as she became more accepted and successful, her son Willie died in 1862. From then on, everything she did was misunderstood, and in the public’s eyes, she could do no right.

To the left is a China doll made in her image sometime later.

Because of her southern roots, rumors ran rampant that she was actually a Confederate spy. The talk became so vicious that Lincoln himself had to address an investigating committee and assure them of her loyalty to the Union cause.

Her response to the charges gave insight to her bitterness toward the Confederates. “Why should I sympathize with the rebels? They would hang my husband tomorrow if it was in their power.” 

Hints of treason were only one of the many crosses she had to bear as First Lady. A semi-breakdown followed the death of her son. Then when she witnessed her husband’s assassination, her grip on sanity loosened even more and gave way completely a while later.

Mary Todd Lincoln, in the face of constant criticism, bravely tried to carry on the official functions of the White House. 

Of all the actresses who have played the part of Mary Todd in many movies, Sally Field came closest to looking more like the First Lady. Her make-up and the costumes gave her a very close resemblance to Mary Todd.

So much more has been written about Mary Todd Lincoln and most of is a sad account of her days after the White House when she had an abject fear of poverty and began losing her sanity to the point that her son had her committed to an asylum in May of 1875. Mary Lincoln was released into the custody of her sister in Springfield in 1876. Mrs. Lincoln spent the next four years traveling throughout Europe then returned home to live with her sister after a fall which left Mary with a spinal cord injury that confined her to the house. Her death came on July 16, 1882 at the age of 63. She is buried in the Lincoln Tomb in the Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield next to her husband.   

 It's Go Texan! time here in Houston. 

  Martha Rogers is a free-lance writer and was named Writer of the Year at the Texas Christian Writers Conference in 2009 and writes a weekly devotional for ACFW. Martha and her husband Rex live in Houston where they enjoy spending time with their grandchildren.  A former English and Home Economics teacher, Martha loves to cook and experimenting with recipes and loves scrapbooking when she has time. She has written three series, Winds Across the Prairie and Seasons of the Heart and The Homeward Journey. Book three in that series, Love Never Fails, released in November, 2014.

Learn more about Martha www.marthwrogers.com

Manfred and Sally’s daughter Molly Logan finishes school and returns to her home to teach school. She has new and innovative ideas that are accepted only because people have known Molly since she was a child. When old friends of her parents come for a visit, with their son, Stefan Elliot, Molly is attracted to the young man, but all he is interested in is talking about his position in the army and how he’s home on furlough because of an injury. Their beliefs about war and the military have them at odds with one another. When he leaves to rejoin his regiment, Molly is both relieved and saddened. When her grandmother falls ill and passes away, Molly returns to Louisiana with her family. While there she meets Stefan again who has returned home because of a disfiguring injury in a battle. With the help of her father and uncle, Stefan is persuaded to come back to Stoney Creek and work on the ranch for her uncle, Micah Gordon. Once they return, it is up to Molly to bring him back from depression to depend on God and find love knows no limitations.

First Lady

The Monroe Social Doctrine
by Martha Rogers

Elizabeth Monroe occupied the White House following the days of Dolley Madison. No two women could be so different in their approach to entertaining.

Aloof and reserved, Elizabeth offered hospitality only when she chose to be hostess. The contrast between the Madison and Monroe administrations was enormous and dramatic. Both James and Elizabeth let it be known right away that the open door policy of the Madison regime would no longer be.  People had to be invited before they were welcomed as official visitors.

James and Dolley Madison never returned to the White House after it burned. James and Elizabeth Monroe took residence in 1817, months after the inauguration. Since most of the furniture had been destroyed, the task of replacement fell to the Monroes.

 

Since James Monroe had spent so many years in France, everything chosen for the White House bore the feeling, elegance and majesty of the French. The dining room is the most luxurious example of their choices. Most dominant in the room was its thirteen-foot-long carved bronze centerpiece for the state dining table. It consisted of seven main parts with mythological figures and detachable pedestals, garlands, vases, and candle holders.  In addition, Elizabeth selected a gilded porcelain table service and dessert service with gold-plated spoons.

Although Elizabeth Monroe showed great courage in her convictions, she suffered for it as Washington society snubbed her during half of eight years in office. When she did invite guests for dinner, it was a superb dinner in, of course, the French style.

Despite her aloof personality, she was an attractive woman who dressed in elegant style. Her is one of the gowns she wore for European Court during one of her husband's many trips to Europe.

Because Elizabeth decided not to return calls and declined to make customary first calls, arguing that calling upon the First Lady was fine, but to return calls was time consuming and not in keeping with her position. Her break was a clean one, and to this day First Ladies do not return calls.

In spite of the snubbing and general dislike for her, the “Monroe look” is preserved and still exists today.

Because of her Virginia roots, many of the foods served during her time were Southern in nature. Her home at Oak Hill served as the source for many of the recipes served at White House functions during the Monroe administration. 

Martha Rogers is a free-lance writer and the author of the Winds Across the Prairie and Seasons of the Heart series as well as the novella, Key to Her Heart in River Walk Christmas and Not on the Menu in Sugar and Grits. Love Stays True, the first book in her third series, The Homeward Journey, is now available. She was named Writer of the Year at the Texas Christian Writers Conference in 2009 and is a member of ACFW and writes the weekly Verse of the Week for the ACFW Loop. In addition to fiction, Martha has contributed to compilations by Wayne Holmes, Debra White-Smith and Karen O’ Connor as well as various devotion books. Martha is a frequent speaker for writing workshops and the Texas Christian Writers Conference. She is a retired teacher and lives in Houston with her husband, Rex. Their favorite pastime is spending time with their nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren