White House Weddings: Lynda Bird Johnson

Lynda Bird Johnson became the eighth child of a sitting president to marry in the White House, on December 9, 1967, when she was 23.

The Johnson Family in the Oval Office. Public Domain

The elder of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s two daughters, Lynda caught the bouquet thrown by younger sister Luci at her August, 1966 wedding, making her “the next to wed,” but the media was already keeping a close eye on Lynda’s romantic relationships. She had previously dated actor George Hamilton and was engaged to Bernard Rosenbach before she met Charles S. Robb. 

Robb, 28, was a military aide at the White House and a Captain in the U. S. Marine Corps. He was scheduled to serve in Vietnam, so the wedding was arranged so the couple would have a little time together before he left. 

Preparations were noted by the press, and taxpayers wondered who’d foot the bill for the wedding, but the President is said to have joked that he would have to take out a substantial loan to pay for the nuptials. Lynda presented her seven bridesmaids with a bird-shaped gold pin inscribed "Lynda 12967," and Robb gave his groomsmen a gold cufflinks.

The wedding! Public Domain

The ceremony was held at 4 p.m. in the East Room, which was decorated with topiaries and red ribbon. Bishop Gerald Nicholas McAllister officiated in front of a wall screen of seasonal evergreens and lit white candles. The bride wore a $1200 long-sleeved, high-necked gown designed by Geoffrey Beene, with no lace—quite different from the wedding dress worn by Lynda’s sister Luci at her wedding a year and a half previously. Lynda’s veil was long, and she carried a bouquet of white flowers.

Her seven bridesmaids wore long-sleeved, seasonally-red velvet gowns, but the color might also have been chosen because the bride liked the painting “Red Boy” by Francisco de Goya—the color of the bridesmaid gowns became known as “Goya Red.” Matching velvet bows with streamers were pinned in the bridesmaids’ hair and they carried bouquets of matching red flowers. (Photos are copyright protected, by they really were lovely. Click here.)

After the ceremony, the bride and groom left under a saber arch formed by six Marine captains. The wedding party followed, and they all adjourned upstairs for photos. The 650 guests were asked to leave the East Room for a short time so the space could be “flipped” for the reception. Staff set up tables and a dais for the orchestra. Once ready, the room was re-opened and guests were welcomed back in for cocktails before the buffet was served. (Supposedly, the champagne bill alone was $5000.)

The couple returned, received guests, enjoyed their meal, cut the cake (a pound cake flavored with lemon and mace), and had their first dance. Music was provided by the Peter Duchin Orchestra, including a song written for the wedding called "It's Always Lynda." 

Later, Lynda changed into a going away outfit and she and Robb left the reception, flying off in a helicopter.

The Johnsons with daughters and grandchildren, Christmas Eve, 1968. Lynda is on the far right. Public Domain

Robb served with distinction in Vietnam, and became a lawyer when he returned. In 1978, he became Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, and in 1982, Governor of Virginia. Later, he served two terms as Virginia’s US Senator.

Chuck Robb while US Senator. Public Domain

Meanwhile, Lynda chaired the President’s Advisory Committee for Women during the Carter Administration, working to promote equality for women. She later became chair of the Reading is Fundamental Board, America’s largest organization promoting children’s literacy, and worked as a contributing editor to Ladies Home Journal, as well as serving in her parents’ foundations.

Lynda Robb with former President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalyn Carter. Public Domain

The couple had three daughters, Lucinda (b. 1968), Catherine (b. 1970) and Jennifer (b. 1978), and reside today in Virginia.

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BIO: Susanne Dietze began writing love stories in high school, casting her friends in the starring roles. Today, she's the award-winning author of over a dozen historical romances who's seen her work on the ECPA and Publisher's Weekly Bestseller Lists for Inspirational Fiction. Married to a pastor and the mom of two, Susanne lives in California and enjoys fancy-schmancy tea parties, genealogy, the beach, and curling up on the couch with a costume drama and a plate of nachos. You can learn more about her and her books, including mail-order twist My Heart Belongs in Ruby City, Idaho: Rebecca's Plight, on her website, www.susannedietze.com. 

White House Weddings: Elizabeth Tyler

The third wedding of a president's child in the White House was held January 31, 1842, uniting eighteen-year-old Elizabeth “Lizzie” Tyler, daughter of President John Tyler, and attorney William N. Waller.

Lizzie's mother, Letitia, had suffered a paralyzing stroke in 1839, so Lizzie and her sister Letitia accompanied her to Washington D.C., helping care for her and serving as hostesses in the White House. Lizzie was apparently a pretty young lady, and at some point she accepted a proposal from William, an old friend from home in Williamsburg, Virginia.

At the time of the wedding, the political climate was rough, to say the least. William Henry Harrison had been elected president in 1840, with John Tyler as his Vice President, but in April of 1841, just a month after being sworn in, Harrison died. John Tyler became president, and immediately moved into the White House, setting precedent for future successions.

Bureau of Engraving portrait of John Tyler. Public Domain

It didn't take long for Tyler to reveal himself to be of a different mind than Harrison on some issues, and he vetoed some of his own party's bills. Most of his cabinet resigned, he was expelled from his Whig party, and he was dubbed His Accidency. 

He was so unpopular that Congress forced him to pay all of his expenses out of his own funds. For two nights in August of 1841, a mob surrounded the White House with torches, burning him in effigy, to protest his veto of a bank bill. 

Therefore, when Elizabeth married, it is little surprise that Tyler invited many political figures, friend and foe, to the wedding as a show of friendship. Cabinet members and diplomats came, and there were so many guests the wedding had to be held in the East Room (previous White House weddings had been held in the smaller Blue Room).

The Rev. William Hawley of St. John’s Episcopal Church officiated, but other details about the ceremony are scarce. The largest surprise of the day was the public appearance of Letitia, the ill First lady, who was helped down stairs for the event. 

Portrait of Letitia Tyler, artist unknown. Public Domain.

The family surely treasured this event, for Letitia became the first First Lady to die in the White House, passing away in September of that year, apparently clutching a rose in her hands. Where mobs had crowded the White House in protest, crowds now gathered to mourn the First Lady. Her funeral was held at the White House, and she lay in state in the East Room where Lizzie and William had married months before.

Lizzie was not at all pleased when her widowed father remarried Julia Gardiner a few short months later, but she came to accept her new stepmother.

Elizabeth and William resided in Virginia after their wedding and had four or five children (depending on the source), sons sons who grew to adulthood and fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War (one of whom married CSA President Jefferson Davis' sister) and a daughter who died in infancy. 

Sadly, Elizabeth died in 1850 after giving birth to son Robert. She was just 27, and now rests in the Waller Cemetery in Williamsburg, Virginia.

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BIO: Susanne Dietze began writing love stories in high school, casting her friends in the starring roles. Today, she's the award-winning author of over a dozen historical romances who's seen her work on the ECPA and Publisher's Weekly Bestseller Lists for Inspirational Fiction. Married to a pastor and the mom of two, Susanne lives in California and enjoys fancy-schmancy tea parties, genealogy, the beach, and curling up on the couch with a costume drama and a plate of nachos. Her most recent novel is mail-order bride mix-up story My Heart Belongs in Ruby City, Idaho: Rebecca's Plight.

White House Weddings: Nellie Wilson

Eleanor "Nellie" Wilson, youngest daughter of President Woodrow and Ellen Wilson, first met businessman William Gibbs McAdoo when her father was governor of New Jersey. 

Eleanor Wilson, circa 1910. Public Domain

McAdoo was a widower and a leader in the Democratic party, and on this occasion of their first meeting, probably in 1912, he stayed overnight at the mansion. In the morning, he needed to catch an early morning train. Nellie, who was around 22, was tasked with seeing him off, and she was so nervous that she spilled the cream at breakfast...and almost spilled McAdoo's coffee.

He didn't seem to mind, because at some point while he worked on her father's presidential campaign, he began pursuing Nellie. And no one much noticed, least of all her family.

Perhaps they didn't expect the two to make a match, because Nellie had many young suitors, and McAdoo was a fifty-year-old grandfather with seven children. 

William McAdoo. Public Domain

Supposedly, one evening McAdoo called at the White House. As the butler announced him, President Wilson began to rise, until the butler finished his sentence: "for Miss Eleanor."

The cat was out of the bag. When Nellie's sister Jessie got married in the White House, Nellie pulled McAdoo into the empty Blue Room and taught him to Fox Trot. In January of 1914, he proposed, but she turned him down.

He didn't give up, and his next proposal was accepted. 

The First Lady's health was failing, Nellie's sister had wed at the White House just six months earlier, and the groom's children were not enthusiastic about their father's remarriage, so the wedding held on May 7, 1914 was a small affair in the Blue Room (where she'd taught him to Fox Trot).

The bride, Nellie Wilson. Public Domain, wikimedia commons

McAdoo offered to resign his cabinet post when he married Nellie, but President Wilson kept him on. Immediately, Nellie was a cabinet member's wife and was followed relentlessly by the press. Despite such pressures, the couple seemed happy and welcomed two daughters, Ellen and Mary.

He left the post in 1918 to open a law firm, moved the family to California, and continued to be active in politics, running for president in 1920 and again in 1924, when he became the Democratic party's nominee. He lost, but decided to run for US Senate, and won, serving from 1933-1938.

Nellie was happy in California, and she did not enjoy spending time in Washington. By this time in their marriage, the couple lived apart for much of the year.

In 1934, he and Nellie divorced in what the Chicago Tribune called "a surprise" with the decree based on mental cruelty. Two months after the separation was finalized, the 71-year old McAdoo married a 26-yr old nurse. He died six years later of a heart attack and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Nellie worked on a biography of her father, The Woodrow Wilsons, served as a consultant on the biopic "Wilson" in 1944, and lived quietly. In 1965, she suffered a brain hemorrhage. She died two years later at age 77 in her California home and is buried in Santa Barbara.

***


BIO: Susanne Dietze began writing love stories in high school, casting her friends in the starring roles. Today, she's the award-winning author of over a dozen historical romances who's seen her work on the ECPA and Publisher's Weekly Bestseller Lists for Inspirational Fiction. Married to a pastor and the mom of two, Susanne lives in California and enjoys fancy-schmancy tea parties, genealogy, the beach, and curling up on the couch with a costume drama and a plate of nachos. You can learn more about her and her books on her website, susannedietze.com.

Her most recent book is My Heart Belongs in Ruby City, Idaho: Rebecca's Plight.

White House Weddings: Lucy Payne Washington

On, Sunday, March 29, 1812, the first documented wedding held at the White House took place. Lucy Payne Washington, sister of Dolley Madison and sister-in-law of President James Madison, married Supreme Court Justice Thomas Todd.

Lucy Payne Washington

Lucy was born in Virginia to John and Mary Payne, a Quaker couple, sometime between 1769-1778 (sources are contradictory).

Lucy was apparently possessed of a breezy nature and liked to use slang. In her teen years (some sources say she was 15), Lucy met George Steptoe Washington, a nephew of George Washington, who was in Philadelphia studying law. They eloped in 1793 and he brought her back to his Virginia plantation, Harewood (now in West Virginia). 

Lucy's parents broke off their relationship with her because she'd married outside the Society of Friends. They later reconciled, however, and Lucy's mother and her younger children later moved to Harewood to live with Lucy and George. Lucy's sister Dolley, a widow, married the future president, James Madison, in Lucy and George's parlor.

Lucy and George had four sons, three of whom survived to adulthood: Samuel, William, and George. 

Sadly, George died of consumption when he was 37 in 1809, leaving Lucy a widow.

Thomas Todd was born in Virginia in 1765. His legal career took him from Virginia to Kentucky, but in 1807, he was nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Thomas Jefferson. (While Thomas and Dolley's first husband shared the surname Todd, they were not related.)

Supreme Court Justice Thomas Todd, by Matthew Harris Jouett (public domain)

When he met Lucy Payne Washington, Thomas was a widower. His wife Elizabeth passed away after giving birth to five children--one of whom, Charles, eventually became ambassador to Russia.

The wedding seems spontaneous, because Dolley Madison wrote to her father to announce the impending nuptials, saying the event was "unexpected" and caused "distress" to the household, but Dolley preferred him to the "gay flirts" who courted Lucy. In the same letter, Dolley  describes Thomas as "estimable" and "very rich, very handsome."

The White House wedding was held on the State Floor, probably the Blue Room. Lucy was attended by three bridesmaids, Miss Hamilton, Miss Hay, and Dolley. Thomas had three groomsmen, Payne Todd (Dolley's son), John Payne (Lucy and Dolley's brother), and a Mr. Edward Coles.  The Rev. McCormick presided. 

Dolley Madison, public domain

It was probably a small affair, as was the custom at this time. Nevertheless, with Dolley Madison as hostess, the reception was probably lovely and tasteful.

The next day, the couple retreated to his estate in Kentucky. His service as a Supreme Court Justice required him to be in Washington for a few months a year, and Lucy accompanied him, no doubt enjoying visiting family on those occasions.

The couple went on to have three children: William J., Madisonia, and James Madison. 

After only fourteen years of marriage, in 1826, Thomas died. He was 61. He was buried in a family cemetery, but was later re-interred at the State Cemetery in Frankfort.

Lucy lived another twenty years, but she is not buried with Thomas. She was initially buried at Harewood but was later removed, along with the remains of her son Samuel, to be re-interred at nearby Zion Episcopal Church at the request of Samuel's wife Louisa. 

Her tombstone notes that she was the wife of George Steptoe Washington, not Thomas Todd. George, however, is buried in Georgia, where he died.

***

BIO:

Susanne Dietze began writing love stories in high school, casting her friends in the starring roles. Today, she's the award-winning author of a dozen historical romances who's seen her work on the ECPA and Publisher's Weekly Bestseller Lists for Inspirational Fiction. Married to a pastor and the mom of two, Susanne lives in California and enjoys fancy-schmancy tea parties, genealogy, the beach, and curling up on the couch with a costume drama and a plate of nachos. You can learn more about her and her latest release, The Reluctant Guardian (Love Inspired Historical) on her website, www.susannedietze.com.

White House Weddings: Tricia Nixon

The first White House wedding held outdoors was that of Patricia "Tricia" Nixon, 25, to Edward Cox, a 24-year-old Harvard law student, on June 12, 1971.

Public Domain

Two and a half years earlier, Tricia's younger sister Julie married Dwight David Eisenhower II, grandson of President Eisenhower, in a private ceremony in New York shortly after Richard Nixon won the presidency. Although the union blended two famous political families, the ceremony itself was small and intimate.

Many expected Tricia, a private person, to wed in a similar, quiet fashion. Instead, she wed in the White House to public fanfare, and her wedding was televised (you can still watch it on YouTube.)

Tricia's mother, First Lady Pat Nixon, was the one to suggest an outdoor ceremony. White House servants and staffers immediately warned the First Family that it might not be the best idea to hold the wedding outside, because summer weather in Washington DC is unpredictible and often rainy. However, the idea of a wedding in the beautiful Rose Garden was desired, so two weddings were planned: one in the Rose Garden and one in the East Room as a backup. 

Four hundred invitations were sent out (including to former White House Bride, Alice Roosevelt Longworth) and preparations were made. The wedding dress, a pearl and lace-trimmed silk organdy confection with a low neckline that supposedly shocked Pat Nixon, was designed in Boston by Priscilla Kidder, the designer of Julie Nixon's gown. According to Life Magazine, the gown had its own first class airplane seat to make sure it arrived in Washington unscathed. 

Rain fell on the wedding day, and apparently Tricia was given the choice to send guests to the East Room or two wait for a break in the weather. The president asked weather reports from the Air Force and learned the rain should let up around half past four in the afternoon, so Tricia decided to go with her original plan. Right on time, the rain stopped, the staff removed all the plastic coverings from the chairs in the garden, and President Nixon walked his daughter down the aisle. 

from Wikipedia Commons

Afterwards, a buffet was served in the State Dining Room. Among the delicious-sounding offerings were Shrimps in Coconut, Kebobs, Alaskan King Crab, Smoked Salmon, Rolled Roast Beef, Eclairs, and Neopolitans.

The rest of the reception was held in the East Room. The White House pastry chef, Heinz Bender, produced a six-tiered, seven foot tall cake to feed the guests as well as the 600 journalists covering the event. The bottom layer was decorated in sugar turtle doves and the couple's initials, P and E. The flavor: lemon. (The recipe is available here!)

By all accounts, the wedding was a beautiful, elegant affair. Many watched the ceremony on television and enjoyed learning all the details.

Tricia and Ed Cox currently live in New York. Tricia was a stay-at-home mother for their son, Christopher, and she serves on the boards of the Nixon Library, the Richard Nixon Foundation, and several medical research institutions. Ed is a corporate attorney and chairperson of the NY Republican State Committee.

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YOUR TURN: Do you love Tricia's dress as much as I do? It's stunning!

BIO:

Susanne Dietze began writing love stories in high school, casting her friends in the starring roles. Today, she's the award-winning author of almost a dozen historical romances who's seen her work on the ECPA and Publisher's Weekly Bestseller Lists for Inspirational Fiction. Married to a pastor and the mom of two, Susanne lives in California and enjoys fancy-schmancy tea parties, genealogy, the beach, and curling up on the couch with a costume drama and a plate of nachos. 

Her newest release is The Reluctant Guardian.

White House Weddings: Alice Roosevelt

During Theodore Roosevelt's presidency, the White House hosted what is considered the grandest wedding ever held there. It drew media attention and the curiosity of the nation, and the bride was one of America's greatest celebrities: Roosevelt's oldest child, Alice.  

Alice Roosevelt by Frances Benjamin Johnston, 1903. Public Domain 

Alice was born in New York in 1884. Within two days, her mother Alice died of Bright's disease and her paternal grandmother succumbed to typhoid fever. Theodore Roosevelt was so distraught that he insisted no one would ever speak of his wife Alice again. As a result, his daughter was called "Little Lee" instead of Alice, and he left her in the care of his sister, Anna Cowles, aka Auntie Bye.

Roosevelt returned two years later, married his childhood friend Edith Carrow, and reclaimed Alice, but the little girl had a strained relationship with both of them (although Edith nursed Alice through a mild case of polio). Edith reportedly told Alice her mother would have bored Theodore to death had she lived. Perhaps in response to the tension, Theodore spoiled Alice and gave her anything she wanted. She had little education but enjoyed reading and had a sparkling wit.

Alice was 17 in 1901 when her father assumed the presidency after the assassination of President McKinley (when, in her own words, she experienced "sheer rapture" and danced a jig). She was a beauty, she was bold, and the press dubbed her "Princess Alice." At her debut the following year, she wore a gown of pale blue; thereafter, the shade was known as "Princess Alice Blue." Songs were written about her, including "Alice Where Art Thou?"

Alice did not behave like the typical young lady of her time. She smoked, chewed gum, drove a car, placed bets with bookies, kept a pet snake, and went out with men, unchaperoned--all in public.  

Mindful of his daughter's celebrity, President Roosevelt sent Alice on a delegation with Secretary of War Taft to Japan, Hawaii, China, the Philippines, and Korea in 1905. Sailing to Japan, Alice jumped fully clothed into the ship's swimming pool and invited an Ohio congressman, Nicholas Longworth, to jump in with her.

That December, Alice and Nicholas became engaged. Nicholas was 14 years her senior and had a reputation as a drinker and a playboy, but he played the violin and had money. Alice was smitten. 

The wedding on February 17, 1906, was a grand affair. The House of Representatives adjourned for the day. A thousand guests came, fighting for parking spots for their new automobiles. People lined Pennsylvania Avenue for a glimpse of the bride, who was determined to marry in her own way.

The 22-year-old bride wore a blue dress with an 18-ft long train of silver brocade to the East Room Ceremony. She refused bridesmaids, apparently because she didn't wish to be upstaged, and was walked down the aisle by her father. 

Later, she cut the cake with a sword she took from a military aide. When the newlywed couple left the White House, Edith bid her stepdaughter farewell with these words: “I want you to know I am glad to see you leave. You have never been anything but trouble.” 

Wedding postcard, Public Domain

The couple honeymooned in Cuba, where Alice declared the hills her father had conquered as a Rough Rider to be "mildly sloping." A few years later, when Theodore left the White House, Alice buried a voodoo doll of Taft's wife, Nellie, in the front yard. (She was banned from the White House by Taft, as well as by Woodrow Wilson due to her bawdy jokes.)

Alas, Nicholas did not leave his playboy ways behind when he married. Although he eventually became Speaker of the House, politically-minded Alice was disappointed that he supported Taft's re-election. Both parties had extramarital affairs.

Alice kept busy with politics. She opposed the League of Nations and her cousin Franklin Roosevelt. When Alice was 41, she gave birth to a daughter, Paulina, and both Alice and Nicholas knew the baby's father was Idaho senator William Borah. Alice joked that the baby should have been named Deborah, and apparently some of Alice's friends called the baby "Aurora Borah Alice."

Alice on her 43rd birthday with her daughter, Paulina. Public Domain

The Longworths, 1926. Public Domain

While Nicholas claimed Paulina as his own, he died when she was six, in 1931. Alice and Paulina continued to live on Embassy Row in Washington. Nicholas was buried in Cincinnati, but Alice refused to someday be buried alongside him, as it "would be a fate worse than death itself."

Alice continued to stay active politically, but made money by appearing in tobacco advertisements and publishing a candid autobiography. Paulina married, but her husband died when she was 26. She died five years later of an overdose of sleeping pills, leaving a daughter, Joanna, to Alice's care.

Being a grandmother didn't slow Alice, however. She remained a favorite dinner party guest at political events and lived how she wished. On the February 17, 1974 broadcast of the program "60 Minutes" (on what would have been her wedding anniversary), Alice told Eric Sevareid she was a "hedonist."

She died in 1980 at age 96.

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Susanne Dietze began writing love stories in high school, casting her friends in the starring roles. Today, she's the award-winning author of almost a dozen historical romances who's seen her work on the ECPA and Publisher's Weekly Bestseller Lists for Inspirational Fiction. Married to a pastor and the mom of two, Susanne lives in California and enjoys fancy-schmancy tea parties, genealogy, and curling up on the couch with a costume drama and a plate of nachos. You can visit her on her website, www.susannedietze.com

Susanne's latest release is The Rails to Love Collection

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White House Weddings: Jessie Woodrow Wilson

When Woodrow Wilson and his wife Ellen entered the White House in 1913, two of their three daughters were secretly engaged--secret from the press, that is. The Wilson family was known to appreciate their privacy, and they waited several months to announce their daughters' engagements.

Jessie Woodrow Wilson, the middle daughter, was the first to wed, to Francis B. Sayre on November 25, 1913.

Public Domain

Jessie was already an accomplished young woman. She'd graduated from Groucher College in Maryland and spent three years working in a settlement home, where upper- and middle-class volunteers lived alongside low-income families, providing education and daycare as part of a social reformation movement.

Jessie's intended, 28-year old Frances Sayres, was a district attorney (his father helped build the Lehigh Valley Railroad and organized the Bethlehem Iron Works). 

Indeed, the wedding was anticipated to be quiet and intimate, in keeping with the Wilson family's personalities. In advance of the event, the New York Times determined few, if any, celebrities would be in attendance and judged that the cake would be small and "not elaborate." 

However, photographs do not necessarily reveal an informal affair--at least not to modern eyes, where "informal" can mean barefoot on a beach. The number of guests was considered small, as well, topping out at 400. Following the 1906 White House wedding of Alice Roosevelt, however, the first Wilson wedding was judged by a different measure.

The Blue Room was decorated with chrysanthemums and touches of mauve, the bride's favorite color. Scarlet-coated members of the Marine Band offered musical accompaniment to the 4:30 pm ceremony. Bridesmaids wore satin gowns in varying hues of pink over silver petticoats, as well as crowns. 

Sister Margaret served as maid of honor. Seven of Jessie's sorority sisters were invited to the Blue Room ceremony, which was replete with the scarlet-coated Marine Band and a white carpeted-aisle. One of Jessie's sorority sisters reported later that "it was the nicest, most informal and happiest wedding we had ever attended."*

The dress was of ivory satin, trimmed in antique lace. A Maryland newspaper reports the dress was made in New York, and then described the bride's lingerie for her honeymoon as "dainty."

Gifts were not displayed, but included a diamond lavalliere (pendant) from the House of Representatives.

It's unclear whether the party dined on more than cake, but the cake was reported in the news as a masterpiece. A contemporary account describes it as topped by orchids.


Apparently, the cake cost $500 and weighed 135 pounds. Pieces were distributed in white boxes so guests could bring nibbles home and place them under their pillows to dream of their future spouses.

After their honeymoon in Europe, the Sayres moved to Massachusetts where Francis served as the assistant to the president of Williams College. When it came time for their first child to be born in 1915, however, Jessie delivered her son at the White House. 


Two more children followed. Francis Jr. became a pastor and marched with Martin Luther King, Jr., from Selma to Montgomery.

A social activist, Jessie worked on behalf of the YWCA, The League of Women Voters, and the Democratic Party, among other causes. Later, they spent time in Siam (Thailand) where Francis was a legal adviser to the Royal Court.

Sadly, Jessie died in 1933 from complications after surgery. She was 45. Francis remarried Elizabeth Graves and passed away in 1972.

*

BIO: Susanne Dietze began writing love stories in high school, casting her friends in the starring roles. Today, she writes in the hope that her historical romances will encourage and entertain others. A pastor’s wife and mom of two, she loves fancy-schmancy tea parties, travel, and curling up on the couch with a costume drama and a plate of nachos. Susanne is the author of nine new and upcoming historical romances; her latest, For a Song, is in the EPCA and PW Bestselling The Cowboy's Bride Collection from Barbour. You can visit her on her website, www.susannedietze.com.



*http://gammaphibetahistory.org/1913-a-white-house-wedding/
http://mdhistory.net/msa_sc2929/msa_sc2929_scm3540/pdf/msa_sc2929_scm3540-0298.pdf

White House Weddings: John Adams II

During the administration of sixth president John Quincy Adams, the White House was the scene of a messy romantic entanglement which resulted in all three of Adams’ sons falling in love with the same woman, their cousin, Mary Catherine Hellen…and one White House wedding, leaving the two rejected swains devastated.

Mary Catherine Hellen Adams, silhouette

Mary (born in 1806) was the niece of the First Lady Louisa Adams. Orphaned at age 9, Mary and her siblings moved in with their aunt, uncle, and three male cousins, George, John II, and Charles Frances. 

When Mary was thirteen, Aunt Louisa attended one of the receptions for presidential daughter Maria Monroe’s wedding, and found it lacking. She lamented, “I didn’t get a bit of cake and Mary had none to dream on” (referring to the practice of placing a piece of wedding cake under a girl’s pillow so she could dream of her future husband).

Mary didn’t seem to need cake to dream about gentlemen, however. By the time she was fifteen, she was acknowledged to be beautiful and highly flirtatious. She set her sights within the home, however, falling for Charles, youngest son of John Quincy and Louisa. He was a year her senior, and by all accounts a sensible young man.

Naturally, Charles’ heart was broken when Mary’s eye turned to his eldest brother, George. In his grief he called her “one of the most capricious women that were ever formed in a capricious race.” George, an alcoholic with a roving eye, didn’t listen to his youngest brother, and dove headlong into a relationship with Mary. He offered marriage and she accepted, but they determined to wait to marry until George finished his education. He left for Boston to continue his studies, leaving his fiancee in his parents' continued care.

John Adams II, artist unknown, public domain

In 1825, John Quincy Adams was elected president of the United States, and the entire household moved into the White House. Middle son John Adams II came, too, since he’d just been expelled from Harvard for fighting and inciting a student riot.

Meanwhile, Mary was distracted while waiting for George to finish school. John, now his father’s secretary, was a daily presence in her life, and she enjoyed his sarcasm and good looks. If he had a drinking problem like his older brother, he kept it under control. John decided to steal Mary from his brother, and she was quite willing. She broke things off with George and accepted John's proposal. There are hints that their relationship was physical and caused talk.

Louisa Adams did not approve of the match, but felt the amorous couple should be married post haste. She speedily arranged a wedding much like the first White House wedding of a Presidential child, Maria Monroe—except this wedding would provide sufficient cake. On February 28, 1828, they celebrated the wedding of John, now 25, and Mary, 22, in the Elliptical Room, now known as the Blue Room.

Louisa Adams by Gilbert Stuart, Public domain

A reception followed, where the president danced a Virginia reel with his new daughter-in-law.

Neither Charles nor George attended the ceremony. Louisa wrote of the wedding to Charles: “Madame (Mary) is cool easy and indifferent as ever.” And John? He “looks already as if he had all the cares in the world upon his shoulders and my heart tells me that here is much to fear.” Ill from worry about the match, Louisa took to bed for several days.

The bride and bridegroom settled into the White House. Nine months later, their first daughter, Mary Louisa, was born in the White House.

Despite naming their second daughter Georgeanna Frances, for her uncles, neither George nor Charles was quite over the sting of John and Mary’s marriage. George drank heavily, and in 1829, he fell or jumped over a ship’s railing and drowned—accident or suicide, no one is certain.

John went into the flour business after his father left the White House, but failed and, now a heavy drinker, died at age 31. Mary moved in with her in-laws and cared for them until their deaths. Sadly, both her daughters died before she did--one in childhood, and the other as a matron.

And her first love Charles, the youngest son? He married, had several children, and was a success in federal politics.

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BIO: 

Susanne Dietze began writing love stories in high school, casting her friends in the starring roles. Today, she writes in the hope that her historical romances will encourage and entertain others. A pastor’s wife and mom of two, she loves fancy-schmancy tea parties, travel, and curling up on the couch with a costume drama and a plate of nachos. Susanne is the author of nine new and upcoming historical romances; her latest, For a Song, is in the EPCA and PW Bestselling The Cowboy's Bride Collection from Barbour. You can visit her on her website, www.susannedietze.com.

Sources include:

Best Little Stories from the White House by C. Brian Kelly

http://www.whitehouseweddings.com/j-adams-ii.html

White House Weddings: Grover Cleveland

Several weddings have been held at the White House through the decades, but only one was for a sitting president. On June 2, 1886, 49-year old President Grover Cleveland married 21-year old Frances Folsom.

from Harper's Weekly, public domain

Inaugurated for the first time in 1885 (Cleveland was elected twice non-consecutively, as the 22nd and 24th presidents), bachelor Cleveland was the former law partner of Frances’ father, Oscar, and when Frances was born, the 27-year old Cleveland purchased her baby carriage. 

When Frances (or "Frankie") was eleven, Oscar died in a carriage accident. Cleveland took charge of Oscar’s estate and Frances’ education. Behind the scenes, he'd already taken responsibility for an illegitimate child either he or Oscar could have fathered. (This became public knowledge during Cleveland's presidential campaign, when the opposition taunted him with the phrase, "Ma! Ma! Where's my Pa?", although Cleveland financially supported the boy.)

Several acquaintances of Cleveland and Folsom expected him to eventually marry Oscar’s widow.

No one saw his marriage to Frances coming.

Grover Cleveland. Public Domain

Cleveland hadn’t been in office long when Frances, a student at Wells College in New York, paid a social call to the White House along with her mother. 

Frances Cleveland, 1886. Public Domain

Cleveland fell hard for the young lady. He sent her letters and filled her dorm room with flowers. He proposed via letter in the summer of 1885, and she accepted. They kept the engagement a secret from their friends and the press for almost a year; five days before the wedding, in June of 1886, they sent out invitations.

The wedding was held in the Blue Room on the first floor of the White House. Twenty-eight guests attended, which included relatives and members of the Cabinet. Two pastors officiated, one of whom was Cleveland’s brother William, and at the request of the couple, Frances changed her marriage vows. Instead of promising to “honor, love and obey,” she vowed to “honor, love and keep” her husband. The US Marine Band provided music, conducted by John Philip Sousa himself.

Cleveland wore a tuxedo and white tie; Frances wore an ivory satin gown that was apparently so stiff it could stand up by itself. (Later, she altered it to an evening gown so she could wear it again.)

Harper's Weekly, Public Domain

While the wedding may have been small, no expense was spared on decorations. Red begonias, representing fire, filled the hearth. Over the mantel, the letters "C" and "F" were spelled out in an arrangement of pansies. Palms flanked the walls, and the chandelier was decorated with smilax and roses.

It seems every room on the state floor received a floral treatment. The Green and Red Rooms boasted bouquets in vases. Likewise, The East Room was filled with palms set in porcelain jardinieres. The Cross Hall columns were wound with garlands of smilax, greenery, and Union shields made of red, white and blue flowers. Since it was summer, the fireplaces were closed up and the hearths filled with bouquets.

It isn’t clear which room in the White House was the site of the reception--probably the State Dining Room--but the floral displays didn't disappoint there, either. The Monroe plateau covered the table, and a floral ship sailed upon it. 

Guests feasted on a 20-lb salmon and a 25-lb cake. Guests were sent home with boxes of groom cake, a chunk of which is still on display at the Grover Cleveland Birthplace Museum in New Jersey. No extraordinary attempts have been made to preserve it, but the alcohol-soaked fruitcake is nevertheless still around.

Roadside America photographed the cake. Blog article here.

Clearly a small, private affair, the marriage was a matter of great interest. Reporters had been barred from attending the ceremony, but they followed the couple on their honeymoon to Deer Park, Maryland, going so far as to spy on the couple in their room using binoculars.

Engraved announcement of the wedding, sent out afterwards.

The marriage proved happy, and the couple had five children, including the first child born in the White House, second daughter, Esther. (Their first child, Ruth, was born between Cleveland’s presidential terms. A longstanding legend is that Baby Ruth candy bars was named for her, but this is disputed.)

A few other interesting facts about this White House couple?

·         Frances remains the youngest First Lady in US History.

·         The 27-year age difference between the Clevelands is not the greatest age difference between a president and his spouse. That title goes to John Tyler, whose second wife Julia was 30 years his junior.

·         Frances was the first presidential widow to remarry.

First Lady Frances Cleveland by Anders Zorn. Public Domain

When Cleveland died in 1908, Frances raised their young children and remained in Princeton, NJ. Although she married again five years later (to an archaeology professor from her alma mater, Wells University), she chose to be buried beside her first husband.

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Your Turn: The Baby Ruth candy bar may have been named after the Clevelands' daughter, Ruth. What's your favorite candy bar?

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BIO: 

 

Susanne Dietze began writing love stories in high school, casting her friends in the starring roles. Today, she writes in the hope that her historical romances will encourage and entertain others. A pastor’s wife and mom of two, she loves fancy-schmancy tea parties, travel, and curling up on the couch with a costume drama and a plate of nachos. Susanne is the author of nine new and upcoming historical romances; her latest, For a Song, is in the EPCA and PW Bestselling The Cowboy's Bride Collection from Barbour. You can visit her on her website, www.susannedietze.com.