The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-11-16
Mr.. DAvlS'S FIRST MARRIAGE.
Denial of Runaway Match" With
Zachary Taylor's Daughter.

To the Editor of The New York Times:
Notices of Mrs. Jefferson Davis, pub
lished in the papers of the 10th, contain
a statement regarding the first marriage
of Mr.. Davis which is entirely false. The
assertion is made that his first marriage
to Miss Sarah Taylor daughter of Zach
airy Taylor, was a runaway match AS
this Islander has been persistently repeat
ed, this seems to be the time to silence
it on the authority of the sister of Saran
Knox Taylor, Mrs. Philip Pendleton Dand-
ridge of Winchester, Va, who is the old
est surviving Lady of the White House."
Many absurd Misrepresentation of Cen
eral Taylor's family have been long UNI
| refuted, and this is among the most an
noying.
When General Taylor was colonel of the
First infantry, stationed at Fort Craw-
ford NOW Prairie du Chine), in 1882, his
family was with him, and his second
daughter, Sarah Knox, met Lieutenant
Jefferson Davis, who was serving under
General Taylor. They soon became lovers.
The relatives to this day speak of them
as Ideal lovers" General Taylor for
| some time objected to Mr.. Davs's suit.
| He did not wish his daughters to marry
army men; he had seen his wife calmly
| and cheerfully meeting hardship and dis
comfort had seen the effect on her health
and dreaded such life for his girls. Also
| there had once been some little friction
between him and Lieutenant Davis, which
left slight prejudice i'll his mind His
| daughter told him Il am told this by Mrs.
| Dandrdge) that she would never dsobey
! him, never marry without his consent
but she would never marry any one but
Lieutenant Davis, and she said: THE
| time will come when you will see, as l do,
| all his rare qualities
For a time Mr. Davis was not allowed
to go to the house, but Miss Taylor, with
| her mothers consent and her fathers
| knowledge met him occasionally. She
| would take the two little children, Betty
and Dick, who were nearest in age, al
| ways together, out to walk. Mr.. Davis
would soon join them and the children
would be told by their sister that they
might play a little while as the lovers
talwed Mrs. cambridge recalls it all
After an engagement of two years Cen
eral Taylor entirely withdrew his opposl-
ton. There was never any estrangement
between General Taylor and his daughter.
He was then at the Falls of ST. Anthony
on an expedition against Indians. and
| could not return, as 1t would have in
volved a journey of weeks, the mode Of
travel being in Mackinaw boats, rowed by
soldiers. But his daughter was married
at Beechland, near Louisville, Ky, the
home of her aunt Elizabeth, General Tay-
| lor's eldest sister. who had married her
second cousin, John Gibson Taylor in the
presence of Surgeon and Mrs. Wood, Mrs.
Wood being the brides sister; another
aunt. and a large assemblage of members
of the Taylor family
| The young couple went to visit Lieuten-
| ant DaViss brother, Joseph L.. Davis on
| his plantation, THE Hurricane" in Mis-
sissippi, and it was arranged that Lieu
tenant Davis. who had resigned from the
army, should take Brierfeld, part of the
| Hurricane tract. as his interest in his ia
theirs estate. They settled at Brierfield.
Later in the summer, as the "siclIy
| season" approached. they went to visit
Lieutenant Davlss sister, Mrs LII
| Smith, at her Locust Grove plantation
near Bayou Sara, Louisiana. Soon. after
! their arrival Mr. Davis was taken very
| i'll with malarial fever, and the day after
Mrs. Davis became Ill also. They were
nursed In separate rooms. He was too
Ill TO be told Of her peril. and delirium
| saved her from anxiety about him. Soon
| after the fever set In she succumbed to it,
and, hearing her voice singing loud and
clear a favorite song, Fairy Bells he
struggled up and reached her bedside to
| find her dying. She died on September
| 10. 1885, and was buried in his sisters
family burying ground.
| Mrs cambridge says Mrs. Davis was ex-
| tremely pretty small, with dark eyes, had
great vivacity and charm of manner, win
ming every one who knew her.
Mr. Davis's life was despaired of for q
month. After he rallied he was sent for
better recovery to Havana for the winter
! lie came back to Brierfeld in the follow
/ ing spring, and for eight years led a life
of seclusion, seeing no visitors, his life
entirely changed by his great sorrow
Through these years he was a close stu
dent--hls only resource the cultivation of
| his mind.
| His girl wife was right; her father
learned to value and admire him thor
oughly. A close friendship ever after ex-
I listed between him and all the Taylor fam
| lily, and his second wife, married in 1S45.
was kindly welcomed by them Mrs
| cambridge reveres his memory and spoke
| lately of his remarkable dignity of char
acter and bearing. In the Mexican war,
when Mr.. Davis served with such brillan-
cy under General Taylor they became
warm friends. d. Il. C..
1