Daily Kennebec journal., 1901-12-10
WIDOWS OF PRESIDENTS.
An Interesting sketch Of the Four
Who Are Now Living.

Four widows of Presidents are now
living. namely. Mrs. Grant, Airs. Car
field. Mrs Harrison and Mrs Nc
Kinlcy.
| Mrs Julia Dent Grant. who resided
at the White House for eight years
now lives in Washington. and general
IS shares her beautiful home on Con
+! necticut avenue with her daughter.
Mrs. Sartoris Mrs. Grants career has
been one Of great contrasts. She has
endured great poverty and enjoyed the
| most magnificent prosperity Her
| carly struggles were perhaps more
marked than those of any other NO
man who has risen to the position OF
mistress IF the White House. and her
] administration during th' eight Gears
when her husband was President out
4 shon, any in tho history of tbs coun-
,ry in the maCnificcncc II the enter
tainments and the bIiliancy of IFS
social features. Mrs. Grant Wa tn"
daughter NJ Judge Dent. ana -was born
\ AZ Whitehav"n Mo. near -. Louis.
Y H,r brother was cadet at West Point
Y AMI 1t was through him sh" met her
I fI:turt husband
tn. family objected strongly :,
i -
! th"ir Objections tpr- "yercom.. II
! vaS poor soldier ANA @l" was the
daughter w vcIl-to-do judge.
Through th.- Iatt-rs .uhuonr" Grant
w,s nr,l,ied tu frontier duty ana r
was with ,nuside.ahi" satafa,i.nf
that the Dent parents -a'y h,u 20
W,st with General TsyIYr. Hgt iu trr
Mexican campatgn w vaS Grants
.,su
his cI4ssmHty. Il hi. srra restored him
TO favor IN 'h- family The Wedding
took place in l,4s Grant WAS made
captain and t""k l.S vifr H. Sa,k"'t
Harnor on LAX" ontario Later he
. .aS ordered VI Detroit. where t--
young cnupl" lived WI a vIrc-cut,red
cottage for tun wears. Theme they
moved tu Bethel. a.. Meantime the
family had bcon growing. and in IN5i
there Wer' four children Fred.
Ulysses. Nellie and Jess. By that
lin, hc had become tired ~ arm. r.
ana retired with thc grade of captain.
Mrs. Grants fath.I presented tn
couple with I $INtr-arte farm In
Missouri ana me young cN-captaiu h"-
came a tili-r OF the snii and attempted
to scratch q living from among the
stones. His experiences arc COM
memorateG il thc nam, "Hardy,rab-
be-" which y, applied W His estate. The
struCgl, became too Gcrc. ana Grant
qu'tted farming to enter a real estate
Office in 81. Louis As broker ~
was NOT successful and the family
wcre partly dependent M Judgr y nj
fnr support. Finding tn" hroke~a =
business unremGneratiye. Grant W
deSper ration. Went to Gal,na. Ill. tyI
work for Il salary NJ $500 a ytir III a
tRrn"ry. His employer was "A brother
thirteen years Younger than himself.
1t is recorded that in this position he
Was almost as unsuccessful. and. al
though his salary was slightly raised
from time 10 time \" vas not able Il
liz" comfortably Then came the
CiVil War and the turning point In
General Grants fortunes. He raised
n regiment ana went ~ the front
where hc soon began tp achieve his
military successes Mrs Grant lived
ut Covington. Ky. with relatives Of
hcr husband, but frequently joined
him 1T points " hcf" W. vas stationed
during tn" war. With peace came his
sudden political rise ANA his election as
President. Mrs. Grant became the
iirSt lady of the land. The children for
whom she had struggled b"cam" IN
leading figures m social affairs of the
National Capital. on, son cntrro ;
N">t Point: in 1874 NeIl. then nine
teen years old, married tie Young
Englishman whom she had met n year
hcfur" while crossing the Atlantic an
the samShir Russia. During tn" 500 nd
administration, Captain Fred Grant
introduced into society his wife who
Was Miss Honoro. sister Of Mrs. Potter
Palmer ana she becam> one NJ TIE
lights W the Washington social
world
During Mis-. Grants occupancy ~
the Whit" House some of the notable
snci9l events We're entertainments to
the Duke Of Edinburgh TO the Grand
Duke Alexis of Russia. to king
kaiakaua. ANA Ia the first Chinese
minister
After the close of President Grants
Official career came his memorable tour
AROUND the world. Mrs. Grant and his
youngest son accompanied him. and the
DISTINGUISHED party We're everywhere
loNallv entertained. In China. Mrs
Grant received an honor said to have
been never before or since paid 10 an
American woman. she was entertain
ed at a dinner given by the wife 81
tn" NiCrruy Of tn" empire. Her aC-
counts "f the affair are most enter
tanning.
During the last thirty Years Mrs.
Grant has divided her time between
England ana WASHINGTON. living quiet
~ but elegantly. She is nov nearly
eighty years of ago, hut her mind is
still bright and she enjoys good health
and may he seen riding IN her car
riage almost every pleasant day
Mrs. I.ucretia Rudolph Garfield spen,
but few months in the White House
After the assassination Of her husband
she went to Cleveland. and il one III
the suburbs Of that city she now ,e-
sides. Before becoming first lady of
the land she lived in WASHINGTON in a
house on Thirteenth at the corner OF
! street. Her husband was then serv- |
ing as member of the House of !
Representatives,. Mrs. Garfield has |
always been known as a domestic |!
woman. Like Mrs. Grant, she was ac-
quainted with modest circumstances She