The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1908-12-24
DIGNIFIED IN NAME
HAVE BEEN THE MlsTRESSES OF
THE WHITE HOUSE.
But One Woman Has Had High Honor
Of Being the Wife OF One and
the Mother Of Another
Pre- ident.

Fame is heeting enough In the cas-,
OF men, but when it comes to womeI
the goddess is twice as tickle. Amos
any public school pupil more than tel
years old can repeat the names OF tn,
presidents OF the United States. bu
how many know the presidents wives
Doubtless 80 per cent. OF the adul
population is unable to name off
hand more than half dozen womer
whose husbands occupied the White
House.
Everybody knows Martha Washing
ton was Mrs GUSTS when she was
married to the Father OF His Country
but how many remember her maiden
name was cambridge? There are
dozens Of families throughout the coun
try which, II heraldry obtain in Amer
lea. would be entitled TO emblazon the
nations shield on their coat ofarms
by reason OF having been connected
with presidents through their ances-
tresses They represent the names Of
cambridge, Custis. Smith, Wayles.
Shelton, Payne, Todd, Kortwright,
Johnson, Donelson Robards, Hoes,
Symmes, Christian. Gardiner Chill
dress, Powers, Carmichael. Mcintosh.
Appleton McCardle, Dent, Webb Ru-
dolph, Herndon, Folsom, Scott Lord.
Dimmick, Saxon, Lee and Carow.
And those are only names OF presi-
dents wives. The mothers of the
presidents, beginning with Washing
toms, originally bore the surnames
Ball, Boylston, Randolph Conway,
Jones, Smith, Hutchinson, Hoes, Bias
sett, Armistead. Knox, Stroller, Mil
lard Hendricks. Speer, Hanks, Melon
Ough, Simpson, Birchard, Ballou
Stone, Neal, Irwin, Allison and Bull
lock
Only one woman had the honor OF
being both the wife and the mother
OF presidents. She was Abigail Smith,
who was married ito John Adams, the
second president, and whose son,
John Quincy Adams, became the sixth
president Another woman, Eliza
beth Bassett, was wife and grand.
mother of presidents Her husband
was William Henry Harrison, ninth
occupant of the White House. her
Benjamin Harrison, the
twenty-third In line
That all the presidents have been
dignified men from their early years
is shown by the Christian names of
their helpmeets. Among the wives of
the presidents there never has been
A Flossie Babette, Tessie. a Kitty,
nor even a Gwendolyn, Hortense or
Mabel. The only woman whose given |
name approached frivolity was Dolly |
Madison, and she no doubt was chris |
ened Dorothy or Dorothea, unless o
mistake was made at the baptismal |
ont. There were two Marthas and |
's many AbigaiIs, Carolines, Marys,
Glizas and Julias
The other presidents wives have
een, respectively, Dolly, Louisa,
Rachel, Hannah Anna, Letitia, /
sarah. Margaret. Jane, Lucy. Lucretia,
ellen. Frances, Ida, Alice and Edith.
Equally staid were the names OF the
residents mothers. There have been
wo each OF Jane, Eliza, Anna and
fancy; three Marys and four Elizabeths,
he other mothers of the presidents
wide the names Susanna. Nelly, Abb.
all. Maria. Sarah, Phoebe. Harriet,
ophia. Malvina and Martha The
life OF the first president and the
lother OF the latest were named
lar'ha. II is hard to conceive OF any
those women being addressed by
diminutiyes.