Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1884-11-28

ldent Arthur's flrSt vile VIII have
been buried five years. Tyler's first
wife was not vet two years dead wher
he took his second. President Ar.
thurs wife was the daughter of a Cap
: tain IIcrndon. He married her, am
r told in Washington in st. Johns
, church. where he now goes every Sun.
day, and in which he has placed me.
4, mortal window to her memory The
{ pew he sits in, it is said, is the same
her family used in the latter days OF
the fifties, and | have a newspaps
paragraph stating that he keeps her
room in his New York mansion in the
: same condition as it was when she left
for her long journey of 1880.
WOMEN WHO DIED TOO SOON.
Mrs. Arthur is by no means the frs,
presidents wife who has died before
her husband has reached the white
house. Martha SHELTON, the beautiful
wife of the red-headed and freckicd
Jefferson, had been dead nineteen
wears before her husband was elected
Rachael Donelson, the wife of the hot
headed bat courtly jackson, had her
dresses made to take her place as mis-
treSs of the executive mansion. but
died before Old Hickory was inaugur-
ated Hannah Hose, the consort o.
the foxy Miss Nancy Van Buren,. laid
in her grave nineteen years btSore
jackson made him his successor, and
President Harrison died in office be-
fore his wife had come to Wash.
Ington.
The presidents wives now living
are Mrs. Polk, at Nashville; Mrs. john
Tyler, at Richmond; Mrs. Grant, at
jersey City; Mrs. Hayes, in Fremont,
and Mrs. Garfield, in Cleveland. OF
these the widows, Mrs. Polk, Mrs. Ty-
lev and Mrs Garfield, draw from the
government pensions of 5000 year.
How THEY DIED.
Mrs. Zack Taylor died in Louisiana
during the same administi alton for
which her husband was elected. She
opposed her husbands being a candi-
date aud would have nothing TO do
with the ungodly life of the capital.
Abigail Fillmore died at Wizards bo-
tel here about one month after her
husband finished his term. The hard
work of the white house FASTENED her
I
white house for long time after her
husbands death, and Andrew John
son did much of his executive business
at the treasury department. Mrs. Lit
iitia Christian Tyler is the only presi
dents wife who has died in the white
honse. Martha Washington died two
wears after the death of her husband,
at Mt. Vernon, 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 fire,
and had she lived to-day
she would have been deemed
slightly crazy. Abigail Adams health
failed her after she bad lived four
months in the white house. She left
il and went back to Massachusetts, and
died there, aged IA. Dolly Madison
was driven from Washington when
| the British burnt the capitol i'm 1914,
but the shock did not kill her. She
returned here TO live after her husband
died, aad she died here in l849, at the
age of II.
Mrs John Quincy Adams also lived
| to be a years of age. She married at
%, and was born, educated and mar
ried in London. John Quincy Adams
was engaged to her three years before
he married her. and their first tour
after her wedding was To Berlin,
where Mr. Adams went to serve a.
minister.
II ia curious fact that the first
| three presidents
MARRIED WIDOWS.
The stories of their courtships abound
in romance. George Washington was
colonel on his way 10 Williamsburg,
the old capital of Virginia, when he
was stopped by au old planter friend
and asked to stop over night. He re-
piled his business was. urgent, and a
stoppage of any kind was impossible.
His rrieud then cited the virtues and
beauties of a beautiful widow Of twen-
ty-siX years who was stopping with
him, in such glowing terms that Col. !
Washington decided to take dinner |
and see the paragon. He was so de-
lighted that he stayed sill night, and
on the way back became engaged to |
her. This was Madame Curtis, |
whose maiden name was Martha Dan
bridge,
Jefferson's wife had been 4 widow |
four years when she married him and
she was only 81 wears old at the time
She was ten wears Jefferson's wife and
in thar period had six children br him
before She died in 1882. II is said that
she was much courted, aud two of
JefIersou's rivals met on the doorstep
day or two before the latter's en-
gagement. They heard sounds of
music within and soon found that
jefferson was singing love song TO
the young widow while she played an
on the harp. They
concluded not to press their SUIT, aud
left with their love untold.
Dolly Madison's parents were Vir-
ginia Quakers, who freed their slaves
and went TO Philadelphia to live. Here
at 10. Dolly, a demure Quskeress,
married John Todt: Quaker lawyer,
who died when she was %, and left her
a pretty widow. In less than . year
she married again, and this time Mr..
Madison. who was member of con-
gress. She was 81 wears old when her
husband became president. just two
years younger than Miss Frelinghuy-
sen is now.
JACKsoN'S WIFE.
Andrew Jackson is the only other ,
president who married a widow. His 4,
wife's first husbands hane was Ro-
cards, and she was only Is years old ,
when she married him. Robards was
a jealous fellow and of an exceedingly
ugly disposition. Rachel Robapds
from him, and got what
Jackson and she thought was a valid
iiyorce before she was married to ,,
Jackson. She was about % years old
It the time, and the circumstances of !
he union created no general remark :.
over the country. Nevertheless al ..
most 40 years after during the CAM
,aign for the presidency, the matter =
vas dug up and it was charged that :,
Jackson had married her before she t.
vas legally divorced from Captain Ro- :.
,ards. The story is too long to repeat
lere. 1t is enough to say that Mrs !,
Jackson was cruelty slandered and :,
hat this was one of the causes OF 7
Ier DEATH She was not anxious to !,
ONE TO Washington, and once said to -
friend: 81 assure YOU | would rather Z
re q doorkeeper in the house of my !,
rod than dwell in that palace in \
Andrew Jackson dearly 4
owed his wife. and there is tradition !.
{ the white house that be never. went .
0 bed without taking q iocket holding q
err picture from his bosom, and prop n
ing il up against his bible so that 1T n
'ould be the first object upon which h
is eyes would rest in the morning.
Andrew Jackson was the second
,idower president. Jefferson came
efore him, aud after that Morlin Van
uren, John Tyler and Chester A. :,
.rthur. ~
The only bachelor president the =
ountry has had was james Buchanan, 3,
no respected the woman who Tilted II