Varina Davis Varina Banks Howell Davis ( May 7 , 1826 – October 16 , 1906 ) was the second wife of the politician Jefferson Davis , who became president of the Confederate States of America . She served as the First Lady of the new nation at the capital in Richmond , Virginia , although she was ambivalent about the war . Smart and educated , with family in both the North and South , she had unconventional views for her public role , although she supported slavery and states ' rights . Howell Davis became a writer after the American Civil War , completing her husband ' s memoir . She was recruited by Kate Davis Pulitzer to write articles and eventually a regular column for her husband ' s newspaper , the " New York World " of Joseph Pulitzer . In 1891 Howell Davis moved to New York City to live full - time with her daughter Winnie after her husband ' s death . She acted to reconcile prominent figures of the North and South in the late nineteenth century . Early life and education . Varina Banks Howell was born at Natchez , Mississippi , the daughter of William Burr Howell and Margaret Louisa Kempe . Her father was from a distinguished family in New Jersey : his father Richard Howell served several terms as Governor of New Jersey and died when William was a boy . His mother was a relative of Jonathan Edwards and Aaron Burr . William inherited little money and used family connections to become a clerk in the Bank of the United States . Howell relocated to Mississippi , the area for development of new cotton plantations . There he met and married Margaret Louisa Kempe ( 1806 – 1867 ) , born in Prince William County , Virginia , of a wealthy planter family who moved to Mississippi before 1816 . Her parents were Colonel Joseph Kempe ( sometimes spelled Kemp ) , a Scots - Irish immigrant from northern Ireland who became a planter and major landowner , and Margaret Graham , born in Prince William County . Margaret was illegitimate , as her parents , George Graham , a Scots immigrant , and Susanna McAllister ( 1783 – 1816 ) of Virginia , never officially married . After the Kempe family moved to Mississippi , Joseph Kempe also bought land in Louisiana . For Margaret ' s marriage with Howell , he gave his daughter a dowry of 60 slaves and of land . William Howell worked as a planter , merchant , politician , postmaster , cotton broker , banker , and military commissary manager , but never secured long - term financial success . He lost the majority of Margaret ' s sizable dowry and inheritance through bad investments and their expensive lifestyle . They suffered intermittent serious financial problems throughout their lives . Varina was the second Howell child of eleven , seven of whom survived to adulthood . She was described as tall and thin , with an olive complexion attributed to Welsh ancestors . When she was thirteen , her father declared bankruptcy , and the Howell family home , furnishings and slaves were seized by creditors to be sold at public auction . Her mother ' s Kempe relatives intervened to redeem the family ' s property . It was one of several sharp changes in fortune that she would encounter in her life . Varina grew to adulthood in a house called The Briars , when Natchez was a thriving city , but she learned that her family was dependent on the wealthy Kempe relatives of her mother ' s family to avoid poverty . Howell was sent to Philadelphia , Pennsylvania for her education , where she studied at Madame Deborah Grelaud ' s French School , a prestigious academy for young ladies . Grelaud , a Protestant Huguenot , was a refugee from the French Revolution , who founded her school in the 1790s . One of Varina ' s classmates was Sarah Anne Ellis , the daughter of extremely wealthy Mississippi planters . ( After the Civil War , Sara Ellis Dorsey , then a wealthy widow , helped support the Davises . ) While at school in Philadelphia , Varina got to know many of her northern Howells family ; she carried on a lifelong correspondence with some , and called herself a " half - breed " for her connections in both regions . After a year , she returned to Natchez , where she was privately tutored by Judge George Winchester , a Harvard graduate and family friend . She was intelligent and better educated than many of her peers , which led to tensions with Southern expectations for women . In her later years , Varina Howell Davis referred fondly to Madame Grelaud and Judge Winchester ; she sacrificed to provide the highest quality of education for her two daughters in their turn . In 1843 , at age 17 , Howell was invited to spend the Christmas season at Hurricane , the cotton plantation of Joseph Davis , the family friend for whom Varina ' s parents had named their oldest child . Located at Davis Bend , Mississippi , Hurricane was a few miles south of Vicksburg and Davis was planning a gala housewarming with many guests and entertainers to inaugurate his lavish new mansion . ( Varina described the house in detail in her memoirs . ) During her stay , she met her host ' s much younger brother Jefferson Davis , a West Point graduate and former Army officer , who was then working as a planter managing his own cotton plantation . Marriage and family . Jefferson Davis was a 35 - year - old widower when he and Varina met . His first wife , Sarah Knox Taylor , daughter of the future president Zachary Taylor , had died three months after their wedding in 1835 of malaria . Davis had been reclusive in the ensuing eight years , although beginning to be active in politics . Shortly after their first meeting , Howell wrote to her mother : " I do not know whether this Mr . Jefferson Davis is young or old . He looks both at times ; but I believe he is old , for from what I hear he is only two years younger than you are [ the rumor was correct ] . He impresses me as a remarkable kind of man , but of uncertain temper , and has a way of taking for granted that everybody agrees with him when he expresses an opinion , which offends me ; yet he is most agreeable and has a peculiarly sweet voice and a winning manner of asserting himself . The fact is , he is the kind of person I should expect to rescue one from a mad dog at any risk , but to insist upon a stoical indifference to the fright afterward . " In keeping with custom , Davis sought the permission of Varina ' s parents before beginning a formal courtship . Her parents initially disapproved of him due to the many differences in background , age , and politics . Davis was a Democrat and the Howells , including Varina , were Whigs . In her memoir , Varina Howell later wrote that her mother was concerned about Davis ' excessive devotion to his relatives ( particularly his older brother Joseph , who had largely raised him and upon whom he was financially dependent ) and his near worship of his deceased first wife . The Howells ultimately consented to the courtship , and the couple became engaged soon after . Initially their wedding was planned as a grand affair to be held at Hurricane during Christmas of 1844 , but the wedding and engagement were cancelled shortly beforehand , for unknown reasons . In January 1845 , while Howell was ill with a fever , Davis frequently visited her . They became engaged again . When they married on February 26 , 1845 at her parents house , a few relatives and friends of the bride attended , and none of the groom ' s family . Their short honeymoon included a visit to Davis ' aged mother , Jane Davis , and to the grave of his first wife in Louisiana . The newlyweds took up residence at Brierfield , a plantation given by Joseph to his younger brother some years before . It adjoined Hurricane Plantation . Their first residence was a two - room cottage on the property and they started construction of a main house . It became a source of contention . Soon after their marriage , Davis ' widowed and penniless sister , Amanda Davis Bradford , came to live on the Brierfield property , along with her seven youngest children . Her brothers decided that she should share the large house which the Davises were building , but they had not consulted Varina Davis . It was an example of what Howell Davis later called interference from the Davis family in her life with her husband . Her brother - in - law Joseph Davis proved controlling , not only of his brother but of Howell Davis during her husband ' s absences . At the same time , Varina ' s parents became more financially dependent on the Davises , to her embarrassment and resentment ; Howell Davis ' s youngest brother , born after her marriage , was even named Jefferson Davis Howell in her husband ' s honor . The young couple had long periods of separation , first as Jefferson Davis gave campaign speeches and " politicked " ( or campaigned ) for himself and for other Democratic candidates in the elections of 1846 , then during the Mexican War when Varina was left under the very controlling guardianship of Joseph Davis , whom she had come to dislike intensely . Her correspondence with her husband during this time demonstrated her growing discontentment , an emotion to which Jefferson was not particularly sympathetic . Urban life in Washington , DC . Jefferson Davis was elected to the U . S . House of Representatives and Howell Davis accompanied him to Washington , D . C . , which she loved . She was stimulated by the social life with intelligent people and was known for making " unorthodox observations " . Among them were that " slaves were human beings with their frailties " and that " everyone was a ' half breed ' of one kind or another . " She referred to herself as one because of her strong family connections in both North and South . The Davises lived in Washington , DC for most of the next fifteen years before the American Civil War , which gave Howell Davis a broader outlook than many Southerners . It was her favorite place to live ; as an example of their many differences , her husband preferred life on their Mississippi plantation . Soon he took a leave from his Congressional position to serve as an officer in the Mexican - American War ( 1846 - 1848 ) . Howell Davis returned for a time to Brierfield , where she chafed under the supervision of her brother - in - law Joseph Davis . The surviving correspondence between the Davises from this period expresses their difficulties and mutual resentments . After his return from the war , Varina Davis did not immediately return with her husband to Washington when the Mississippi legislature appointed him to fill a Senate seat . Ultimately the couple reconciled . Howell Davis rejoined her husband in Washington . As the son - in - law ( by his late wife ) and former junior officer of President Zachary Taylor , her husband had unusual visibility for a freshman senator . Varina Davis enjoyed the vibrant social life of the capital city and quickly established herself as one of the city ' s most popular ( and , in her early 20s , one of the youngest ) hostesses and party guests . The later memoir of her contemporary , Virginia Clay - Clopton , described the lively parties of the Southern families with other Congressional delegations , as well as international representatives of the diplomatic corps . After seven childless years , in 1852 Howell Davis gave birth to a son , Samuel Emory Davis . Her letters from this period express her happiness and portray Davis as a doting father . The couple had a total of six children : The Davises were devastated in June 1854 when their son Samuel died in early childhood . Varina Davis largely withdrew from social life for a time . In 1855 , she gave birth to a healthy daughter , Margaret Howell ( 1855 – 1909 ) ; followed by two sons , Jefferson , Jr . ( 1857 – 1878 ) and Joseph Evan ( 1859 – 1864 ) , during her husband ' s remaining tenure in Washington , D . C . The loss of all four of their sons was a source of enormous grief to their parents . During the Pierce Administration , Davis was appointed to the post of Secretary of War . He and President Franklin Pierce formed a personal friendship that would last for the rest of Pierce ' s life . Their wives developed a strong respect , as well . The Pierces lost their last surviving child , Benny , shortly before his father ' s inauguration . They both suffered ; Pierce became dependent on alcohol and Jane Appleton Pierce had health problems , including depression . At the request of the Pierces , the Davises , both individually and as a couple , often served as official hosts at White House functions in place of the President and his wife . Confederate First Lady . Jefferson Davis resigned from the US Senate in 1861 when Mississippi seceded . Varina Davis returned with their children to Brierfield , expecting him to be commissioned as a general in the Confederate army . He was elected as President of the Confederate States of America by the new Confederate Congress . She did not accompany him when he traveled to Montgomery , Alabama ( then capital of the new nation ) to be inaugurated . A few weeks later , she followed and assumed official duties as the First Lady of the independent nation . She had continued her independent observations and greeted the war with dread , while supporting slavery and states ' rights . She was known to have said that " the South did not have the material resources to win the war and white Southerners did not have the qualities necessary to win it ; that her husband was unsuited for political life ; that maybe women were not the inferior sex ; and that perhaps it was a mistake to deny women the suffrage before the war . " In summer 1861 , Howell Davis and her husband moved to Richmond , Virginia , the new capital of the Confederacy . They lived in the Presidential Mansion during the war ( 1861 – 1865 ) . " She tried intermittently to do what was expected of her , but she never convinced people that her heart was in it , and her tenure as First Lady was for the most part a disaster " , as they picked up on her ambivalence . White residents of Richmond freely criticized Varina Davis ; some described her appearance as " a mulatto or an Indian ' squaw ' . " In December 1861 she gave birth to their fifth child , William Howell Davis , named for her father . ( Due to his son - in - law ' s influence , her father was given several low - level appointments in the Confederate bureaucracy which helped support him . ) The social turbulence of the war years reached the Presidential Mansion , as in 1864 , several of the Davises ' domestic slaves escaped . James Dennison and his wife , Betsey , who served as Varina ’ s maid , used saved back pay of 80 gold dollars to finance their escape . Henry , a butler , left one night after building a fire in the mansion ’ s basement to divert attention . In spring 1864 , their son Joseph Davis was killed in an accident at the Presidential Mansion . A few weeks later , on June 27 , 1864 , Varina gave birth to their last child , a girl named Varina Anne Davis , who was called Winnie . The girl became known to the public as " the Daughter of the Confederacy ; " stories about her and likenesses of her were distributed throughout the Confederacy during the last year of the war . She retained the nickname for the rest of her life . Postwar . When the war ended , the Davises fled South seeking to escape to Europe . After their capture by federal troops , he was imprisoned at Fort Monroe in Phoebus , Virginia , for two years . Varina Davis was left indigent and restricted to the state of Georgia , where her husband had been arrested . Fearing for their safety , she sent her older children to Canada under the care of relatives and a family servant . Initially forbidden to have any contact with her husband , Howell Davis worked tirelessly to secure his release . She tried to raise awareness of and sympathy for what she perceived as his unjust incarceration . After a few months she was allowed to correspond with him . Articles and a book on his confinement helped turn public opinion in his favor . Howell Davis and young Winnie were allowed to join him in his prison cell . The family was eventually given a more comfortable apartment in the officers ' quarters of the fort . Although released on bail and never tried for treason , Jefferson Davis had temporarily lost his home in Mississippi , most of his wealth , and his U . S . citizenship . His U . S . citizenship was posthumously restored in the 20th century . The Davis family traveled constantly in Europe and Canada as he sought work to rebuild his fortunes . He accepted the presidency of an insurance agency headquartered in Memphis . The family began to regain some financial comfort until the Panic of 1873 , when the company was one of many that went bankrupt . Two years before , their son William Davis died in 1871 of typhoid fever . While visiting their daughters who were enrolled in boarding schools in Europe , Jefferson Davis received a commission as an agent for an English consortium seeking to purchase cotton from the southern United States . He returned home . Howell Davis remained in England to visit her sister who had recently moved there , and stayed for several months . The surviving correspondence suggests her stay may have been prompted by renewed marital difficulties . Both the Davises suffered from depression due to the loss of their sons and their fortunes . She resented his attentions to other women , particularly Virginia Clay . She was the wife of their friend Clement Clay , a fellow political prisoner at Fort Monroe . For several years , the Davises lived apart far more than they lived together . Davis was unemployed for most of the years after the war . In 1877 he was nearly bankrupt and ill . Advised to take a home near the sea for his health , he accepted an invitation from Sarah Anne Ellis Dorsey , a widowed heiress , to visit her plantation of Beauvoir on the Mississippi Sound in Biloxi . A classmate of Varina ' s in Philadelphia , she had become a respected novelist and historian , and had done extensive traveling . She arranged for Davis to use a cottage on the grounds . There she helped him organize and write his memoir of the Confederacy , in part by her active encouragement . She also invited Varina Davis to stay with her . Howell Davis and her eldest daughter , Margaret Howell Hayes , disapproved of her husband ' s friendship with Dorsey . After her return to the United States , Howell Davis lived in Memphis with Margaret and her family for a time . Gradually she began a reconciliation with her husband . She was with him at Beauvoir in 1878 when they learned that their last surviving son , Jefferson Davis , Jr . , died during a yellow fever epidemic in Memphis . Varina became friends again with Sara Ellis Dorsey during her grieving . Sarah Dorsey was determined to help support the former president . Before her death from breast cancer in 1879 , she made over her will to leave him free title to the home , as well as to much of the remainder of her financial estate . Her Percy relatives were unsuccessful in challenging the will . Her bequest provided Davis with enough financial security to provide for Varina and Winnie and enjoy some comfort with them in his final years . When Winnie completed her education , she joined her parents at Beauvoir . She had fallen in love when at college , but her parents disapproved of him , her father due to his being from " a prominent Yankee and abolitionist family " and her mother because he had no money and many debts . Ultimately Winnie never married . Dorsey ' s bequest made Winnie the heir after Jefferson Davis . He died in 1889 and , after Winnie died in 1898 , Varina Davis inherited the plantation . Widow . After her husband died , Varina completed his autobiography , publishing it in 1890 as " Jefferson Davis , A Memoir " . At first the book sold few copies , dashing her hopes of earning some income . Kate Davis Pulitzer , a distant cousin of Jefferson Davis and the wife of Joseph Pulitzer , a major newspaper publisher , had met Varina Davis during a visit to the South . She solicited short articles from her for her husband ' s newspaper , the " New York World " . In 1891 Varina Davis accepted the Pulitzers ' offer to become a full - time columnist and moved to New York City with her daughter Winnie , where they enjoyed its busy life . White Southerners attacked her for this move to the North , as she continued to be a public figure of the Confederacy whom they claimed for their own . While Davis and her daughter each pursued literary careers , they lived in a series of residential hotels ( their longest residency being at the Hotel Gerard at 123 W . 44th Street ) . Varina Davis wrote many articles for the newspaper , and Winnie Davis published several novels . In October 1902 , Varina Davis sold Beauvoir to the Mississippi Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans for $ 10 , 000 . She stipulated the facility was to be used as a Confederate veterans ' home and later as a memorial to Jefferson Davis . ( The SCV built barracks on the site , and housed thousands of veterans and their families . After being used for years as a veterans ' home , since 1953 the house has served as a museum to Davis . Beauvoir has been designated a National Historic Landmark . The main house has been restored and a museum built there . ) Varina Howell Davis was one of numerous influential southerners who moved to the North for work after the war , who were nicknamed " Confederate carpetbaggers . " Among them were the couple Roger Atkinson Pryor and Sara Agnes Rice Pryor , who became active in Democratic political and social circles in New York City . After working as an attorney , Roger Pryor was appointed as a judge . Sara Pryor became a writer , known for her histories , memoirs and novels published in the early 1900s . In the postwar years of reconciliation , Davis became friends with Julia Dent Grant , the widow of former general and president Ulysses S . Grant , who had been among the most hated men in the South . She attended a reception where she met Booker T . Washington , head of the Tuskegee Institute , a historically black college . In her old age , she published some of her observations and " declared in print that the right side had won the Civil War . " Later years . Although saddened by the death of her daughter Winnie in 1898 , Howell Davis continued to write for the " World " and enjoyed a daily ride in a carriage through Central Park . She was active socially until poor health forced her retirement from work and any sort of public life in her final years . Varina Howell Davis died at age 80 of double pneumonia in her room at the Hotel Majestic on October 16 , 1906 . She was survived by her daughter Margaret Howell Hayes , and by several grandchildren and great - grandchildren . Legacy and honors . Varina Howell Davis received a funeral procession through the streets of New York City . Her coffin was taken by train to Richmond , where she was interred with full honors performed by Confederate veterans at Hollywood Cemetery . She is adjacent to the tombs of her husband and their daughter Winnie . A portrait of Mrs . Davis , titled the " Widow of the Confederacy " ( 1895 ) , was painted by the Swiss - born American artist Adolfo Müller - Ury ( 1862 – 1947 ) . It is held at the museum at Beauvoir . In 1918 Müller - Ury donated his profile portrait of her daughter , Winnie Davis , painted in 1897 – 1898 , to the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond , Virginia . On August 29 , 2005 , Hurricane Katrina caused extensive wind and water damage to Beauvoir , which houses the Jefferson Davis Presidential Library . The home has been restored and reopened on June 3 , 2008 . The Presidential Library and Museum and other outbuildings are in the process of being rebuilt . Varina Howell Davis ' diamond and emerald wedding ring , one of the few valuable possessions she managed to retain , was held by the Museum at Beauvoir and lost during the destruction of Hurricane Katrina . It was discovered on the grounds a few months later and returned to the museum .