Omaha daily bee., 1884-11-20
LOVES oTyHE PRESIDENTS.
How They Courted and Whom They
Married,
Washington Correspondence Of the Cleyelau,

! the rCA=lBAuGu ana lTbChieu OSuSIhOu
had been dead 10 years before her hus.
band was elected president. R'ohe.
DoEelaOu, the wife of the hot.hesded,
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
II years before jackson made him his
successor, and President Harrison died
In office before his wife bad 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-Mrs. Polk, Mrs. Tyler, and
Mrs. Garfeld-draw from the govern
ment pensions of So, 200 a year.
Mrs. Zach Taylor died in Louisiana
during the same administration for which
her husband was elected, She opposed
her husbands being a candidate, and
would have nothing to do with the social
life of the capital, Abigail Fillmore died
at Williard's hotel here about one month
after her husband finished his term. The
hard work of the white house FASTENED
her decease. Mrs. Lincoln lay i'll at the
white house for a long time after her hus.
bands death, and Andrew johnson did
much of his first executive business at
the treasury department. Mrs. Letitia
Christian Tyler is the only presidents
wife who has died in the white house.
Martha Washington died two years after
the death of her husband at Mount Yer.
non, where Washington died in 1899.
She shut herself up in an attic chamber
and cut a hole in the door for her cat.
She saw no one and lived without a fire,
and had sho lived to. day she would have
been deemed slightly crazy. Abigail
Adams health failed her after she had
lived four months In the white house.
She lett it and went back to Massachu-
sets, and died there aged "a. Dolly
Madison was driven from Washington
when the British 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 n, In 1949. Mrs.
John Quincy Adams also lived to be "
years of age. She was married at %,
and was born, educated and married in
London. John Quincy Adams was en-
gagged to her three years before he mar
ried her, and her first tour after the wed
ing was to Berlin, where Mr.. Adams
went to serve as minister.
1t is o 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 capital of
Virginia, when he was stopped by an old
planter friend and asked to stay over
night. He replied his business was ur-
gent and a stoppage of any kind was i'm
possible. His friend then cited the virtues
and beauties of q beautiful widow of 26
years in such glowing terms that Colonel
Washington decided to take dinner and
see tho paragon. He was 80 delighted
that he staid all night, and on Tho way
back became engaged to her. This was
Nine. Gusts, whose maiden name was
Martha cambridge.
Jetfsrson's wife had been a widow four
years when she married Nm, and she was
only 81 years old at that time. She was
ten years Jefferson's wife, and in that
period had six children by him. She died
In 1882. 1t is said that she was much
courted, and Two of Jefferaon's rivals met
on her doorstep a day or two before the
~latter's engagement. They heard sounds
of music within, and soon found that
Jefferson was singing q love song to the
young widow, while she played an accom-
paniment on the harp. They concluded
not to press their suits and left with
their love untold.
Dolly Madison's parents were Virginia
Quakers, who freed their slaves and went
to Philadelphia to live. Here, at 10,
Dolly, a demure Quakeress, married John
Todd, a Quaker lawyer, who died when
In less than a year abe married again, and
this time Mr.. Madison, who was a men,
Der of congress. She was 81 years old
when her husband became president.
Andrew Jackson's wife's first husbands
name Was Robards, and she was only 1G
} ears old when she married him. Rob.
ards was q jealous fellow, and of an ex-
ceedtngly ugly disposition. Rachel Rob
ards separated from him, and got what
both she and jackson thought was a
valid divorce before she was married to
Jackson. She WAS about % years old at
this time and the circumstances OF their
union created nc general remark over the
country. Nevertheless, nearly 40 years
later, during the campaign for the presi,
dency, the matter was dug up and it was
charged that Jackson had married her be-
fore she was legally divorced from Capt..
Robards. The story is too long to re.
peat here. 1t is enough to say that Mrs.
Jackson was cruelty slandered, and that
this was one of the causes of her death.
She was not anxious to come to Wash.
ington and once said to a friends Il
assure you | would rather be a ~doorkeeper
in the house OF my God than dwell in
that palace at Washington Andrew
Jackson dearly loved his wife and there
is a tradition at the White House that he
never went to bed. without taking a
locket holding her picture from his Dos.
ON and %propping it up against his bible
80 that 1t would be the first object upon
which his eyes would rest In the morn
ing, Andrew Jackson was the second
widower president. Jefferson came be-
fore him and after him came Martin Van
Buren,, John Tyler and Chester A,
Arthur.
The only bachelor president the
country has had is James Buchanan, who
respected the woman who Tilted him
when he was a young man too much to
ever marry another.
Martin Van Buren, was a green lawyer
when he married his wife Hannah. She