The Savannah morning news., 1903-04-05
WHITE HOUSE CHILDREN
Those of President Roosevelt and other Presi-
dents.
BY ADELAIDE DeFREEST LARNER.

floral garlands. We can fancy the
childish face set in the quaint bonnet
of the period looking out eagerly from
i the coach window upon the glories of
| Broadway.
At t. Nellie Curtis was called the
| most beautiful and highly accomplish
! ed girl of her age and she had a
| charming romance which terminated in
| her marriage to Maj Lewis on the day
! that George Washington celebrated his
| 9th birthday.
No children were identified with the
! administration of John Adams, the first
occupant of the White House. and the
| grandchildren of Thomas Jefferson
were the first to enliven the mansion.
! They spent but one winter in Washing
/ ton and they doubtless had many a
romp in the East Room which, in those
days, was frequently employed for the
drying of clothes and was not at all
the elegant salon of to-day.
There wwre no children during the
administrations of Madison and Mon
roe and though President Jackson was
childless, two nephews of Mrs. jack
son lived at the White House and to
/ them were born several children who
were christened with great ceremony,
/ the four little Donaidsons having moth
! ing less than Presidents or future Pres
| idents for godfathers.
! A granddaughter of President Tyler
was the next small babe of the man
sion, and the President was so fond
of her that visitors discovered him
more than once trundling little Marty
! Fairlee up and down the White House
i corridor in her perambulator. AS she
grew older this child was a great favor
| tie with the Russian minister, who
! bestowed upon her the title of Little
Princess" Mary Fairlee was a must
cal prodigy and a great mimic. She
used to dress up and call upon the
President in the character of Mrs. Mad
ison or some other noted woman of
| fashion.
The three boys of President and Mrs.
Lincoln were the next White House
| children, and since that time children
| have been associated with every adj
ministration, except McKinley's.
Tad Lincoln, after the death of his
! elder brother, was the constant COM
! panion of his father. The Presidents
happiest hours were those of the early
morning in the summer time, when,
soon after sunrise, he and his boy
would stroll about the White House
grounds and Tad always said his
father told the best stories when he
stretched himself at full length on the
grass and watched the clouds sail
across the sky Tad was an extreme
ly affectionate and sensitive boy, and
lived only a few years after the tragic
death of his father
Grandchildren ruled again during
| President Johnson's administration,
and the five children of his two daugh-
| tiers become very popular in Washing
ton. A children's party given for them
in the East Room is memorable, as it
was the only occasion upon which the
| wife of the President a confirmed in
valid, ever came down stairs.
Then came the first young daughter
to the White House, and the reign of
Nellie Grant is associated with every
thing lovable and good. Those who
| witnessed Grants first inauguration
! remember how the the little girl ran
to her fathers side while ne was read
ing his address and remained with him
during the ceremonies. The populari-
| ty courtship and marriage of Nellie
Grant were matters of national pride,
and she and Alice Roosevelt figure as
| the two famous bellies in the history of
| the White House.
President Hayes brought four chill
dren to the White House, only one be-
| ing a girl, and these young people had
! gay times in Washington, especially
at Thanksgiving, when the President
| loved to celebrate in good old-fashIon-
| ed style, sand the East Room was the
scene of many d childish revel.
Gen. Garfield had four sons and one
daughter and though they occupied
the White House but a short time.
Mollie Garfield's name became very ia
miliar to the country, and in later
years, when her little son, Master
! Stanley Brown, was taken to the exec
utiVe mansion, he asked always to be
shown the portrait of his grandfather.
| President Arthur had both a son and
a daughter, the latter being the third
| White House Nellie.
| Next came the grandchildren of Pres
| ident Harrison, and if ever a child was
made to suffer from the greatness of
his forefathers, it was the so-called
Baby Mckee, who has long since ceas-
! ed to be a baby.
Ruth Cleveland followed as the White
| House favorite. a child well loved by
| the little friends who were asked to
| attend the kindergarten established by
Mrs. Cleveland under the executive
| roof.
Alice Roosevelt had passed beyond
| the limits of childhood when her father
| became President and her entrance
into society was celebrated most brill
| liantly more than a year ago. Since
| that time she has been the most pop
J ular and sought-after girl in the United
| States. No White House children have
| proven themselves more original than
! her small brothers and sisters who are
great chums of 6heir distinguished
father. When they get into mischief
! It is the President who helps them
! out, and the children spend a great
| deal of time with their mother despite
! her many social duties Mrs Roosevelt
/ frequently accompanies them upon
their walks, and is induced to view
| the glories of shop windows or rescue
| a favorite fox terrier from the middle