Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1884-12-04
Loves Of the Presidents.

A Washington letter to the Cleveland
Leader contains the following entertain
Ing information about the various Presi-
dents wives and sweethearts:
Martha Shelton, the beautiful wife of
the red-headed and freckled Jefferson.
had been dead nineteen years before her
husband was elected President. Rachel
Donelson, the wife of the hot headed
but courtly, Jackson, had her dresses
made to take her place as mistress of the
Executive Mansion, but died three months
before Old Hickory was inaugurated.
Hannah Hoes, the consort of the foxy
Miss Nancy Van Buren, lay in her grave
seventeen years before jackson made him
successor, and President Harrison died
in office before his wife had come to
Washington.
The Presidents wives now living are
Mrs. Polk, at Nashville; Mrs. John Ty-
Ter, at Richmond; Mrs. Grant, in New
Jersey; Mrs Hayes, in Fremont. and
Mrs. Garfield, in Cleveland. Of these,
the widows s-Mrs Polk, Mrs. Tyler and
Mrs. Garfeld-draw from the Govern
ment pensions Of $5, 900 year.
Mrs Zach Taylor died in Louisiana
during the same administration for which
her husband was elected. She opposed
her husbands being candidate, and
would have nothing to do with the social
life of the capital Abigail Fillmore
died at Wizards Hotel here about one
month after her husband finished his
term. The hard work of the White
House hastened her decease. Mrs. Lincoln
lay i'll at the White House for long time
after her husbands death, and Andrew
Johnson did much of his first executive
business at the treasury department.. Mrs.
Letltia Christian Tyler is the only Presi-
dents wife who has died in the White
House. Martha Washington died two
years after the death of her husband at
Mount Vernon, where Washington died
IN 1899. She shut herself up in an attic
chamber and cut hole in the door for
her cat. She saw no one and lived with
out fire. Abigail Adams health failed
her after she had lived four months in
the White House. She left it and went
back to Massachusetts and died there
aged seventy-four. Dolly Madison was
driven from Washington when the Brit
ish burned the capitol in 1914, but the
shock did not kill her. She returned
here to live after her husbands death.
and she died at seventy seven, in 1S47.
Mrs. John Quincy Adams also lived to
be seventy-seven years of age. She was
married at twenty-five and was born,
educated and married in London. John
Quincy Adams was engaged to her three
years before he married her, and her first
tour after her wedding was to Berlin,
where Mr.. Adams went to serve as min
lster
1t is curious fact that the first three
Presidents married widows The stories
of their courtships abound in romance.
George Washington was a colonel on his
way to Williamsburg, the old capitol of
Virginia, when he was stopped by an
old planter friend and asked to stay
over night. He replied his business
was urgent and stoppage of any kind
was impossible. His friend then cited
the virtues and beauties Of beautiful
widow of twenty-six years in such glow
ing terms that Colonel Washington de-
cided to take dinner and see the para
gon. He was SO delighted that he staid
all night, and on the way back became
engaged to her. This was Madam Gus.
It's, whose maiden name was cambridge.
Jefferson's wife had bee widow
four years when she married him, and
she was only thirty-seven years old at
that time. She was ten years Jefferson's
wife, and in that period had eight chill
dren by him. She died in 1882. 1t is
said that she was much courted, and two
| Of Jefferson's rivals met on her doorstep