Evening star., 1937-01-03
Bv John CIagen Proctor.
.HE White House, always an in
teresting place, particularly to

y
+HE White House, always an in
teresting place, particularly to
visitors to the Nations Capt.
L tai. is soon to be one OF the
special objects of attention by the large
crowds which will, no doubt, attend
the Forthcoming inaugural ceremonies,
and, quite naturally, this should be,
for undeniably, it Is one OF the most
historic buildings in the whole world,
and the official home Of all the Presi-
dents from the second President, John
Adams, to the present incumbent,
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who has
only recently been given new lease
upon the mansion and who will be
permitted to have undisturbed pos
session of it for four more years.
When Inauguration day is reached,
and the many thousands OF visitors
assemble in Washington. only the
joyful side of this magnificent eol-
fice will be thought Of. and yet. pleas
ure and sorrow alike form a part OF
its great history, covering nearly
century and a half of time, and where
many of its occupants have lived there
In peace and happiness, some have
spent within its wall some OF the sad
dest DAYS of their lives. At times the
rooms and halls of this noted mansion
have rung with the merriment and
laughter of the children domiciled
there: upon other occasions it has
been the scene Of elaborate receptions
and balls; the foremost distinguished
Americans and foreigners have been
entertained there, and, upon other
occasions the deepest gloom has pre-
vailed In its every nook and corner,
and grief has reined supreme.
THE first of the more important
- events to have occurred here, ac-
- cording to the writer's notes. was the
marriage Of John G. jackson and q
Miss Todd, a relation of Dolly Madison,
which Is said to have taken place in
1910. jackson was a Representative
in Congress from Virginia. Following
this. on March 20, 1912, took place the
wedding of Mrs. Lucy Washington to
Thomas Todd, one of the judges of the
United States Supreme Court. The bride
was Dolly Madison's sister. The last
event occurred recently, and was sad
one, when funeral services were held
on December l6, in the East Room,
over the body of Gus Gennerich, the
Chief Executives friend and body
guard.
OF the more notable weddings. to
occur here, undoubtedly the most
outstanding one, of course, was the
marriage of President Grover Cleve-
land to Frances Folsom on June 2,
1886, or Just a little over so years
ago. The event was unique. since it
was the first time a President was
married in the White House, and this
fact alone would have made it SO.
The ceremony was performed in
the blue roorn.. which was trans
formed into bower of beauty for the
occasion. and the noted bandmaster,
John Philip Sousa, then director OF
the Marine Band, came with that
celebrated organization OF musicians
to enliven the occasion. The officiat-
ing clergyman was the Rev. Byron
Sunderland, who had been the pastor
of the First Presbyterian Church from
1853.
According to published statement,
the time required for the marriage
ceremony was just seven minutes: AT
1903 o'clock 'Mendelssohn's March was
played by the band. At the same in
slant the booming Of guns was heard
and the ringing of church bells and
blowing of steam whistles told the
story to all the people Of Washington
that the marriage had taken place.
The Marine Band finished the march
at 7:05. At 7:12 the band again began
to play" indicating that the ceremony
was over.
At the conclusion of the ceremony
Mrs. Folsom, showing traces of deep
emotion, was the first to tender her
congratulat tions to the newly married
pair. She was followed by Miss Cleve-
land, the Rev. Mr.. Cleveland and the
other relatives and friends in turn.
While the congratulations were in
progress, the band, under the leader
ship of Prof. Sousa, performed the
bridal chorus and march from Lohen-
grin, and, to this music, the President
and his wife led the way to the dining
room, where the company drank to
the health of the bride, Secretary
Whitney proposing q toast.
TT MIGHT be interesting to the
women Of the present day to know
the nature of the brides costume.
The dress was of ivory satin cut en-
train, with high corsage and elbow
sleeves. Two bands of null, edged
with lace, crossed the bosom, and the
skirt was trimmed with the same sort
of scarfs which crossed the front and
formed the trimming of the skirt
The orange-blossom garniture, COM
mencing upon the veil in superb
cornet, was continued throughout the
costume. A veil of tulle completely
enveloped the bride and fell to the
edge of her train.
Naturally, the President and his
bride were felicitated by many of the
most prominent Americans, and among
messages from abroad was one from
Queen Victoria Of England, great
&TdlQIIlOtIl6T OI EUWdIQ WILL, VIII
recently abdicated. Her telegram said:
''Pray accept my sincere congratula-
Nons on your marriage, and my best
wishes for your happiness. Victoria"
= It is not an uncommon thing to
read misstatements about the home of
the President, and, only recently the
wsiter heard an ofiicial broadcast on
thu radio in which the broadcaster
tpcluded Presidents Tyler and Wilson
= among those who were married in
the White House, in addition to Grover
Cleveland. But this statement, as
many know, was just one Of the many
little slips which continually creep
into public utterances.
u EGARDING the marriage Of Presi-
dent Tyler to Miss Julia Gardner.
the writer will repeat . portion of .
story he wrote several years ago. which