Sunday, February 16, 2020
Tuesday, February 11, 2020
Presidential Love Stories
Presidential Love Stories
I’ve been asked to open our Saturday Afternoon Ladies Club meeting with a story. Since it is the month of February, I assumed I should talk about “Love.” No, our Committee Hostess wanted me to talk about our Presidents since Presidents Day was to be celebrated on the following Monday. Well I am a romantic at heart so we agreed that I would talk about Presidential Love Stories. Off to my computer I went to Google,” Presidential Love Stories.” I found a very interesting article in The Catholic Match Institute and more facts in Wikipedia.
Did you know that only 1 President was a bachelor? James Buchanan, was known for being the worst President ever. Maybe he should have found a wife.
Anyway, back to our love stories.
George and Martha Washington were not madly in love. She was actually a widow with 4 children and he was infatuated by his friend’s wife. Not a good start. But they respected each other for their fine intellects and unimpeachable characters. They formed an affectionate partnership which supported them through the Revolutionary War and the beginning years of our nation. It is verified that Martha Washington was at valley Forge and traveled thousands of miles to be with her husband.
John and Abigail Adams marriage was a great love match. They were distantly related and had known each other since they were 3 years old. She was a brilliant beautiful woman who served her husband as his closest advisor throughout his career. John’s duties often kept him away from home, sometimes for years at a time but the two kept up a continuous correspondence that demonstrated their passionate love for each other. She was the first First Lady to reside in the White House and is said to have hung the laundry in the East Room to dry.
Andrew and Rachel Jackson adored each other. Rachel had been married to an abusive man when Andrew first met her. He actually told her first husband, “Had I such a wife, I would not willingly bring a tear to her lovely eye.” She left that man and married Jackson. Rachel was a devoutly religious woman who had great influence on her husband. They had no children of their own but adopted many young ones over the years. She died on the eve of his inauguration and was never able to enjoy her role as First Lady.
Ulysses and Julia Grant shared a love of horses and books. She was the sister of his West Point roommate. She was cross-eyed and wanted to have surgery to fix her eyes. Ulysses said, ”No, I like them just the way they are.” Their life was unsettled and full of many failed business ventures. Their eight years in the White House was their longest residency in one home.
William and Ida McKinley’s marriage was a tragedy from beginning to end despite their devotion to each other. Their 2 daughters died before the age of 5 which caused Ida to fall into a deep depression and become an invalid. When she felt strong, she enjoyed crocheting slippers and giving them as gifts. William was assassinated and his dying wish was that his secretary be gentle as he broke the news to his wife.
The love story of Theodore and Edith Roosevelt seemed to come right out of a novel. Their story began as next door neighbors and childhood friends. After college and the death of his father, Theodore married a beautiful but unintellectual woman. The marriage lasted only a few years as his wife died in childbirth. Theodore and Edith were reunited at his sister’s home and the two renewed their relationship. Edith redecorated the White House and even invited Booker T. Washington to dinner, how scandalous! They had many happy and loving years together.
Calvin and Grace Coolidge proved the opposites do attract. He was quiet and reserved and she was a social butterfly. Their marriage was marred by the death of a son and the stress of the Presidency. Nevertheless it remained strong until his tragic untimely death.
Harry and Bess Truman met in Grade School. Bess was a rough and tumble tomboy and Harry was a shy bespectacled boy. They were one of the happiest and most normal couples to inhabit the White House. After Truman left office, they bought a car and drove across the United States staying in hotels and eating in diners. Harry and Bess were the first Senior Citizen to receive their Medicare cards from President Johnson himself.
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