Tag: US First Ladies

Florence Harding – Wild Child

Florence Harding (source)
Florence Harding (source)

In 1920, when Warren G. Harding was running for President of the United States, he had secrets to hide, many secrets; and they all had female names. In fact, one of his mistresses is the only person, that we know of, to successfully blackmail a presidential nominee. But, he wasn’t the only one with a past that they wanted to keep hidden. His wife Florence had a few indiscretions of her own.

Florence Kling Harding was supposed to be a boy, at least in the mind of her father. When Amos Kling and his wife, Louisa, were expecting their first child, he told everyone around town in Marion, Ohio, that the child would be a boy. Aside from just wanting a boy, Amos owned a successful hardware store which required much of his time; a son could work along side him and eventually take over the business. So on August 15, 1860 when Florence Mabel, Flossie, was born, although Amos resented the fact that she wasn’t a boy, he had a practical solution. He would raise her as if she were a boy.

From the time Flossie could walk, Amos took her with him to the store. It became an environment that she would always be comfortable in, the sights, smells, sounds, and the company of men. As she grew, Amos trained her in the running of the store and his other businesses as they came about. By the time Flossie was a teenager, Amos had expanded into banking, real estate, and land/tenant management. He had also become a very wealthy man.

Florence’s education was extensive, including subjects not always studied by women such as math, rhetoric, logic, Greek, and Latin. She was also very active physically, running and playing with the neighborhood boys. Her favorite outdoor activity was horseback riding. Many of her Marian neighbors commented that she was the best horsewoman they had ever seen. (I suspect she was better than many of the men as well.)

All of this continued in spite of the fact that Florence had two younger brothers. Amos never switched his training to the boys. He was a tyrant in the home and it seems that Louisa and the two boys were more submissive, and thus less like Amos in personality than Florence. She was just as competitive and driven as he was and perhaps that’s why he seemed to favor her, but as is the case with many strong-willed children of overbearing parents, there came a time when Florence rebelled against Amos’ demands.

Florence also showed a talent for music. She spent hours practicing the piano, one time for eight hours, until her fingers bled. Music for the sake of art didn’t mean anything to Amos, but he was a firm believer that a woman should be able to provide for herself if necessary. For this reason, he allowed Florence to enroll at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, so that she would have a means to support herself by giving piano lessons. Her ambition, however, was to become a concert pianist.

Cincinnati was the country’s center of culture in the west and it opened up a new world to Florence. A world that she reveled in, a world with new people and experiences, but more importantly, a world of independence. After only a year, Amos called Florence home. Whether it was to take care of things at home while her mother was ill, as he said, or because he wanted to reign in his newly liberated daughter, I don’t know. But whatever the reason, he released a tiger that he couldn’t put back in the cage.

Amos tried to impose his own standards on Florence once again and their arguments were long and loud, sometimes lasting all night and heard in the street outside their home. More than once he locked her out of the house when she didn’t return before curfew. Sometimes she crawled into the window of her best friend Carrie Phillips, but other times who knows. Amos particularly disliked the fact that she was *gasp* hanging around the new roller rink in town.

Roller skating was a new fad that was sweeping the country. It gave young men and women a chance to socialize and listen to music, and if a few proprieties were breached well, you had to keep your balance, right? In fact the Philadelphia Inquirer in 1885 passed on a minister’s warning that roller skating rinks “corrupt the morals of all who associate with them.” As might be expected, it wasn’t long before Florence became interested in a young man, Henry De Wolfe, Pete to his friends. Amos was livid, which of course made Pete that much more attractive.

For young women who feel trapped at home, there is one way of escape which has often been used, although it can sometimes have dire consequences. Florence had never expressed a desire to marry or have children and a family like her mother. She had been greatly inspired by Clara Baur, the unmarried founder of the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music who was a proponent of careers for women. But at the end of 1879, she found herself in trouble. Trouble that could provide a way out of her father’s house.

Kathleen Lawler, Florence’s long-time assistant said that Florence became pregnant to get away from Amos. Florence herself didn’t admit it, but in her diary early in 1880, she makes a cryptic statement: “Vice often comes in at the door of necessity, not at the door of inclination.”

Pete was fun-loving and handsome, and he drank to excess. Just a year older than Florence, they grew up across the street from each other. Pete’s father, Simon, was one of the few men in town who wasn’t afraid of Amos Kling and there was no love lost between the two, so when Pete and Florence took up with each other people held their breath waiting for the explosion which was sure to occur. Neither family approved, but Simon was a different kind of man than Amos and when Pete told him that he had gotten Florence pregnant, Simon told him to take her up to “Columbus, and get married as soon as possible.” So in March 1880, Florence and Pete eloped to Columbus to get married. But, they didn’t.

Carl Anthony, Florence’s biographer, states in his book that there is no record of a marriage between a Kling and a DeWolfe for 10 years before or after 1880 in Franklin County (Columbus), Marion County, or in Crawford County, where they soon set up housekeeping. Florence may or may not have wanted it that way, but Amos had to believe that they were married to prevent him trying to force her back home. And it worked. Not only did Amos leave Florence to her “marriage”, he cut her off and refused to talk to her.

Life with Pete was difficult. They tried to run a roller skating rink, but failed, and Pete didn’t adjust well to the responsibility of a family. He would be gone for days at a time and finally, before their son Marshall was two years old, he deserted them. Florence had no choice except to return to Marion. A friend’s father was kind enough to allow her to stay at their house as she began to teach piano lessons, until she finally was able to raise enough to get a small apartment of her own.

Even though Florence’s marriage was from all appearances a common law marriage, she did finally get a divorce from Pete in 1886. At that time there was some communication between Amos and Florence and he offered to provide for Marshall. The conditions were that Marshall would live in the Kling home and take the Kling name. Florence agreed.

Amos may have hated losing control of Florence, and hated the choices she made, but he had given her the tools to make them. She was now on her own, independent, free of responsibility for anyone but herself, and she set out to start over. She also set her sights on the dashing young publisher of The Marion Star, Warren G. Harding.

Resources
First Ladies: From Martha Washington to Michelle Obama by Betty Caroli
Florence Harding: The First Lady, The Jazz Age, and the Death of America’s Most Scandalous President by Carl Sferrazza Anthony
Presidential Wives: An Anecdotal History by Paul F. Boller Jr.
The Library Company of Philadelphia: “Roller Skating Fun“

Nellie Taft, Eliza Scidmore, and Japanese Cherry Trees

 

Helen Herron Taft (source)
Helen Herron Taft (source)

Helen Herron Taft, Nellie, was the most well-traveled First Lady that the United States had seen when she entered the White House with her husband President William Howard Taft in 1909. She had seen more of the world than most Presidents much less First Ladies. So after settling in to the routines at the White House and hosting her first few events, Nellie was bored. For so many years, her husband and his career had been her purpose and now that her ultimate goal had been achieved, she needed a project.

Nellie had heard of plans to beautify the city during the time she was a Cabinet wife. She loved the idea and decided to look for a place that she could develop. She had in mind something like Luneta Park in Manila, her favorite place in the Philippines. Luneta Park was a large open space with two bandstands at opposite ends of the park overlooking the bay. Concerts were held there and it was frequented by people of all races and classes. She wanted to do something similar for the people of Washington, so at the beginning of April she went driving alone and found the perfect place along the Tidal Basin with a “road” leading to it that people had begun to race their cars on. She imagined the “Speedway” as it was called lined with beautiful Japanese Cherry trees leading down to the bandstand.

The original idea of planting cherry trees in the nation’s capitol belongs to Eliza Scidmore, an author whose brother, George Hawthorne Scidmore, was a diplomat in the Far East. Her brother’s career allowed Eliza the opportunity to travel that many women didn’t have during the 19th century. She published numerous books based on her travels and joined the National Geographic Society in 1890. She became a regular correspondent and later the Society’s first female trustee.

Eliza Scidmore (source)
Eliza Scidmore (source)

On Eliza’s return from the Far East in 1885, she proposed the idea of the cherry trees to Washington officials, but there was little interest at the time. Her proposal was to the US Army Superintendent of the Office of Public Buildings and Grounds. After the first rejection, she continued to propose the idea to each new Superintendent over the next 24 years.

Around 1906, another person became interested in the trees. Dr. David Fairchild, an official at the US Department of Agriculture, imported close to 100 trees to plant on his property to test their hardiness for the region. They did very well and in 1908 he gave trees to each District of Columbia school to plant for Arbor Day. During his speech he expressed a wish that the Tidal Basin could be transformed into a “Field of Cherries.”

Eliza Scidmore was in the audience that day and decided to try to raise the money herself to plant the trees. Either as a courtesy, or because she knew a First Lady could get things done, she sent a note to Nellie Taft to tell her about her plans for a field of cherry trees. This was just what Nellie was looking for and she quickly responded.

April 7, 1909

Thank you very much for your suggestion about the cherry trees. I have taken the matter up and am promised the trees, but I thought perhaps it would be best to make an avenue of them, extending down to the turn in the road, as the other part is still too rough to do any planting. Of course, they could not reflect in the water, but the effect would be very lovely of the long avenue. Let me know what you think about this.

Sincerely yours,
Helen H. Taft

Helen Herron Taft as First Lady (source)
Helen Herron Taft as First Lady (source)

Never shy about taking charge, Nellie took it upon herself. As soon as the First Lady made the request, the Superintendent of the Office of Public Buildings and Grounds, Colonel Spencer Cosby, initiated the purchase of the first Japanese Cherry trees. Around the same time, Dr. Jokichi Takamine, a Japanese chemist, was visiting Washington with the Japanese consul, Mr. Midzuno. The good doctor asked if Nellie would accept a gift of another 2000 trees, given in the name of the City of Tokyo and she accepted them.

Unfortunately, the 95 trees ordered by the Superintendent of Grounds turned out to be the wrong variety, but the worst blow was to come. The next January when the 2000 trees arrived from Japan it was discovered that they were diseased. Infested with insects and nematodes, they had to be burned to protect American growers.

Because of the nature of the gift, President Taft had to give approval for the destruction of the trees and the State Department expressed regret to the Japanese Ambassador. They understood the problem, in fact the mayor of Tokyo, Mr. Yukio Ozaki, suggested that another gift be sent. The Tokyo City Counsel approved the donation of 3020 more trees and the scions to be grafted were taken from the famous collection along the bank of the Arakawa River in Adachi Ward, a suburb of Tokyo.

The Mayor of Tokyo Mr. Yukio Ozaki and his wife Viscountess Chinda
The Mayor of Tokyo Mr. Yukio Ozaki and his wife

After grafting and preparing the trees, on March 27, 1912, Washington DC’s first Cherry Tree celebration was held when First Lady Helen Taft and Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese Ambassador, planted two cherry trees on the banks of the Tidal Basin. These original trees still stand with a plaque located near by to commemorate the occasion.

Over the next seven years the Cherry trees were planted around the Tidal Basin and in East Potomac Park. Over the next two decades, the first official Cherry Blossom Festival was held, a pageant was started, and they came to symbolize something important to the citizens of Washington. In 1938, a group of women chained themselves to some of the trees to prevent their destruction for the building of the Jefferson Memorial. A compromise was reached and the trees were moved and more were planted to frame the memorial.

Cherry Blossom Grove on the National Mall
Cherry Blossom Grove on the National Mall

The trees have continued to connect the Japanese and American people. During WWII, a few were vandalized and the trees were referred to as Oriental Cherry trees instead of Japanese Cherry trees. But after the war Japan’s trees needed help. The trees along the bank of the Arakawa River in Adachi Ward, where the Washington stock originally came from, were badly damaged during the war. The city of Washington DC was able to give new stock to the city of Tokyo to replace the very trees from which they had come.

In 1965, there was another First Lady who would be known for her beautification projects. The Japanese Government gave another gift of 3,800 trees and Lady Bird Johnson with Mrs. Ryuji Takeuchi, wife of Japan’s Ambassador, reenacted the original planting ceremony of 1912.

Lady Bird Johnson planting a cherry tree in 1965
Lady Bird Johnson planting a cherry tree in 1965

The National Cherry Blossom Festival is held for two weeks each year beginning on the last Saturday of March.

Resources
Nellie Taft: The Unconventional First Lady of the Ragtime Era by Carl Sferrazza Anthony
History of the Cherry Trees

Harriet Lane – The “Democratic Queen”

439px-HLaneHarriet Lane was one of a number of women who served as the official White House hostess without being married to the President. She was greatly admired and well-liked even though by the end of his term her uncle James Buchanan was almost universally disliked. Referred to as the “Democratic Queen” and the “first lady of the land,” Lane was a superb hostess with a self-confidence that allowed her to push the boundaries and set new trends. She was also a woman of great warmth and generosity whose legacy is still felt today.

Harriet Lane was born on March 4, 1830 to Elliot Tole Lane and Jane Ann Buchanan Lane. The youngest of four children, her mother died when she was 9 years old and her father died when she was 11. Her father was a successful merchant, leaving the children with adequate resources, but at 11 years old Harriet needed a guardian. Her brothers were old enough to make their own way and her sister was already in boarding school, but Harriet didn’t adjust well to boarding school, so she went to live with her bachelor uncle James Buchanan.

Harriet’s mother, Jane, was Buchanan’s favorite sister and he knew and loved her children. He gladly took Harriet into his home and tended to indulge her and her sister who came to him during holidays from school. Harriet did go to boarding school later at Charles Town, Virginia and at the Academy of the Visitation Convent in Washington, D.C. where she graduated with honors. She was an outgoing, friendly girl who enjoyed the social activities which went along with her uncle’s position as a senator and from 1845 to 1849 as Secretary of State in Polk’s administration. But her most advantageous experience was as Buchanan’s companion when he was appointed Ambassador to the Court of St. James in 1854.

Harriet was a great success in London. She served as her uncle’s hostess and they dined often with Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. The Queen even gave her the title of “Honorary Ambassadress” to the Court with the courtesies generally given to the wife of the Ambassador and called her “the dear Miss Lane.” London society was the perfect preparation for her time at the White House.

James Buchanan was elected President of the United States in 1856. Out of the country for the preceding 4 years, he was one of the few experienced politicians who had not become embroiled in the controversy over slavery in the territories. With experience as Ambassador to both Russia and England, many hoped that his diplomatic skills could prevent the breakup of the Union. This wasn’t the case. He became increasingly unpopular as his term went on and by the time Lincoln took office, the Confederate States had formed and elected Jefferson Davis as their President.

414px-Harriet_Lane
Harriet shocked society matrons by having her neckline lowered for the inaugural ball, but dressmakers all over the city soon began to get similar requests.

In spite of her uncle’s unpopularity, Harriet Lane became one of the most well-liked First Ladies since Dolly Madison and brought elegance to the White House that wouldn’t be seen again until Jacqueline Kennedy. She gave new life to Washington society which had been very somber while Jane Pierce was First Lady. Ships and babies were named after her; she set fashion trends; and she established new customs for the White House.

As mistress of the house, Harriet dismissed all of the slaves on staff whose owners were receiving money for their service, and hired a new staff. She invited artists and musicians to the White House and set up large tents on the lawn for concerts and served refreshments for all who came. For State dinners, Harriet carefully determined seating arrangements to seat Northern and Southern guests at different tables and to separate guests who were on bad terms.

Only 26 when she went to the White House, Harriet possessed the self-confidence and grace of an older woman. She seemed equal to any social situation from soothing angry Congressmen, to entertaining members of the royal families of both Japan and England. But it would be a mistake to assume she was just an ornament to her uncle. While Harriet presided as White House she was determined to make a difference in people’s lives. Her three favorite causes were hospital reform, prison reform, and the needs of American Indians. The Chippewa called her “the Great Mother of the Indians” for her work in obtaining medical and educational services for them.

Wheatland
Wheatland – James Buchanan’s home which he opened up to Harriet Lane when her parents died

Once her time in the White House and the Civil War were over, Harriet could focus on herself. She had always had admirers, but none made a great impact until she met Henry Eliot Johnston. They were married in January of 1866 when Harriet was 35 years old. In spite of the death of James Buchanan, this was a happy time as Harriet and Henry had two sons born in November 1866 and 1870.

She spent her time being a wife and mother, and contributing to her causes, until tragedy struck Harriet’s life again. In March 1881, their oldest son James Buchanan Johnston died of rheumatic fever, followed in October 1882 by the loss of their second son Henry Eliot Johnston Jr. to the same disease.

As a memorial to their sons, the Johnston’s set up The Harriet Lane Home for Invalid Children which eventually became the Teaching and Research Center of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Then in May of 1884, Harriet unexpectedly found herself alone when Henry died of pneumonia.

St Albans School
Harriet founded St. Albans School

Harriet Lane’s life had always been active, taking care of her uncle and his guests, cantankerous Congressmen, visiting dignitaries and then her family. This part of her personality wouldn’t change. In 1886, Harriet sold their home in Baltimore, Wheatland which she had inherited from her uncle, and many of her possessions. She found a home in Washington, D.C. in the center of the action and resumed her life in society. Beginning with a dinner at the White House where she put the young First Lady, Frances Cleveland at ease, for the next  fifteen years no guest list would be complete without the name of Harriet Lane Johnston.

When Harriet was the First Lady she greatly impressed one visiting dignitary, the Prince of Wales. It only seems fitting that the last major event she attended was the coronation of the Prince when he became King Edward VII of England in August 1902. After she returned that fall she was diagnosed with cancer. She spent the next few months getting her affairs in order, then traveled to her summer home in Rhode Island where she wanted to spend her last days. Harriet Lane Johnston, America’s “Democratic Queen” died July 3, 1903.

John Henry Brown, Harriet Lane Johnston, 1878, watercolor on ivory, 4 3/4 x 3 1/2 in. Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of May S. Kennedy
John Henry Brown, Harriet Lane Johnston, 1878, watercolor on ivory, 4 3/4 x 3 1/2 in. Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of May S. Kennedy

Resources
First Ladies: From Martha Washington to Michelle Obama by Betty Caroli
First Ladies: The Saga of the Presidents’ Wives and Their Power 1789 – 1961 by Carl Sferrazza Anthony
Harriet Lane, America’s First Lady by Milton Stern

 

Jane Pierce – “The Shadow in the White House”

Today it’s difficult to imagine a First Lady who isn’t actively involved in her husband’s career. Whether it’s involvement in politics, actively pursuing causes of her own, or at the very least serving as the White House hostess, the First Lady of the Land is scrutinized and judged based on her demeanor and activities. While this has always been the case to a degree, during the first half of the 19th century the public seemed to accept and sympathize with several First Ladies who stayed out of the public view for various reasons. Jane Pierce never had robust health and personal tragedies prior to her husband’s tenure in the White House caused her to withdraw from almost all public contact.  She was described as beautiful, but so sad.

Jane was born on March 12, 1806 to Elizabeth Means Appleton and Jess Appleton, a Congregational minister and the President of Bowdoin College in Maine. Jane had a religious upbringing which continued after her father died in 1819 and she moved into her maternal grandparent’s home in Amherst, New Hampshire. Not much is known about her upbringing, but she was apparently well educated for a girl of the time, though she would have received all of her education at home.

We also don’t know how Jane met Franklin Pierce, but her family was against the match. Jane came from an elite family with Whig sympathies; Franklin was a Democrat and Jane’s family considered him of lower social standing in spite of his father’s tenure as the New Hampshire governor. Jane was quiet, introverted, and of “delicate” health, while Franklin was the opposite, outgoing and robust with a tendency to drink, or “tipple” as they would say. Nevertheless after a long courtship, Jane had her way and she and Franklin were married on November 19, 1834. Franklin was within days of turning 30 and Jane was 28 which may have had something to do with her family finally agreeing to the match.

Another reason Jane’s family considered Franklin a poor choice for a husband was his career in politics. He had graduated from Bowdoin College and studied law, but left his law practice to serve in the New Hampshire legislature. In 1832, he was elected to the US House of Representatives and in 1836 to the US Senate. He was a northerner with southern sympathies. Andrew Jackson was a family friend and something of a mentor to Franklin, and he was life long friends with Jefferson Davis.

After they were married, Jane went to Washington with Franklin, but she hated it. She didn’t like the atmosphere or the social activity and spent much of her time in their room at the boardinghouse where they lived. The birth of their children provided her with a reason to remain at home in New Hampshire or with relatives. When Franklin’s term in the Senate ended in 1842, she convinced him to retire from public life and resume his law practice.

Jane had always been described as having a “melancholy” personality, but these early years of their marriage brought tragedy which would have caused depression in even the most healthy of individuals. Their first son, Franklin Pierce Jr., born in 1836, lived only three days. Two more sons were born in 1839 (Frank Robert) and 1841 (Benjamin.) Then Frank Robert died at the age of four from disease. Now Jane’s life revolved primarily around Benjamin or Benny as he was called. She saw to his early education putting a heavy emphasis on religion. She insisted on daily family worship, prayer and Bible reading, and of course regular attendance at church on Sundays.

Franklin was devoted to Jane and did what he could to make her life easier. He hired a couple to manage their household and told Jane that he wouldn’t go back to work for the government except in the event of war. He stayed true to this promise turning down the Democratic nomination for Governor of New Hampshire and even declining an appointment as Attorney General of the United States when President Polk offered him the position. But when the US entered into the Mexican war, he felt he had to do his duty and volunteered.

Franklin acquitted himself well during the war, rising to the level of Brigadier General and officials in the Democratic party saw an opportunity to promote him as a local war hero. During the 1852 Democratic convention the four major candidates were still grid-locked after the 34th ballot, so Franklin’s name was put forth as an alternative presidential candidate. He won the nomination and told Jane that he felt he must accept it. At the time Franklin was very well-liked, known as a fair and honest man, and a brilliant lawyer; his positions were not very well-known and he won the election in a landslide.

Jane was horrified at the thought of Franklin becoming President and she and Benny both prayed that he would lose the election and wrote letters to Franklin saying the same. She also felt betrayed when she found out that even though Franklin hadn’t sought the nomination, that he really did want it and had let his friends put his name forward. After he won the election, she had resigned herself to going back to Washington when tragedy struck again.

On January 6, 1853 the Pierce family was in a train wreck. After getting Jane out of the wreckage, Franklin went back to look for Benny and found him trapped under a beam with his head crushed. The death of the last of their sons hit both of them very hard, but Jane never seemed to recover.

Jane Pierce with her son Benny

Jane couldn’t bring herself to go to Franklin’s inauguration, but did eventually join him at the White House. He hired a couple to oversee the household and organize the obligatory social events, and he brought Jane’s widowed aunt to stay with them as a companion to Jane and to be his hostess until she felt up to it. For the first two years Jane remained in seclusion upstairs and appeared in public only to attend church. She saw only a few friends, Nathaniel Hawthorne a close friend of Franklin’s, Jefferson Davis and his wife, Varina Davis, who was Jane’s close friend.

Jane’s first official appearance was at the New Year’s Day reception in 1855 and she did appear from time to time after that, but for someone prone to melancholia, what we would call depression today, she just wasn’t able to recover. She continued to wear black during her time in the White House and often wrote letters to her dead son Benny. She believed that Benny’s death was a result of Franklin’s political ambitions and that God had taken him so that he wouldn’t be a distraction to Franklin while in office.

Franklin was not a successful President and although very popular when he went in to office, he was so hated at the end of his term that he became the first incumbent President not to receive his party’s nomination for a second term. After being escorted out of the White House under guard for his own safety, Franklin took Jane to Europe hoping to help her recover both physically and emotionally.

Nothing seemed to help Jane and she died on December 2, 1863, probably of tuberculosis, which would explain her life-long “delicate” condition. She lived a very sad adult life and the society of the time was forgiving of First Ladies who weren’t up to the task. Because she was seen so rarely and then always seemed to have a smile that didn’t successfully cover her sadness, she was referred to by some as “the shadow in the White House.”

The house where Jane and Franklin lived with their children.
Attribution: Craig Michaud at en.wikipedia

Resources
First Ladies: From Martha Washington to Michelle Obama by Betty Caroli
Presidential Wives: An Anecdotal History by Paul F. Boller Jr. Life
Portrait of Franklin Pierce – C-Span American President Series

Lou Henry Hoover – Herbert’s True Partner

Lou Hoover's official White House portrait.
Lou Hoover’s official White House portrait.

Lou Henry Hoover was born and grew up during a time when the roles of women were changing. Property laws had changed for married women; traditionally male colleges were beginning to admit women; and more and more women were going to college and preparing for careers of their own.

Many of these women remained single, because even though appliances were being introduced to make homemaking easier, it was still a full time job, especially if the family included children. Another way that women were fulfilling their desire to have a career was by becoming a partner with their husband. Lou Henry Hoover was her husband’s partner in every sense.

Lou Henry was born March 29, 1874 in Waterloo, Iowa to Charles and Florence Ida Weed Henry. Her only sibling was a sister eight years her junior, and her mother was often unwell, so Lou spent a good deal of time with her father camping, hiking, and horseback riding. When it came time to go to college, she chose a school that boasted of the “best gymnasium west of the Mississippi,” and then moved on to a teacher’s college to get her certificate, but she wasn’t satisfied intellectually.

Lou Hoover on ice skates as a girl
Lou ice skating as a young girl.

Lou loved everything associated with the outdoors, including rocks, so when she heard a lecture from a Stanford geology professor, she decided that geology was what she wanted to do. She enrolled in Stanford and became the only woman in the geology department and later the first American woman to get a degree in geology. Stanford satisfied her intellectual needs and she also discovered what would become her life’s work – Herbert Hoover.

Lou and Herbert were born the same year, both in Iowa, but they didn’t meet until Lou arrived at Stanford. Herbert was in his final year and was very shy and introverted. They initially met in one of the geology labs, but didn’t begin to get to know each other until they were paired at a dinner party given by one of the geology professors. They found that they had many things in common and began to spend a lot of time together enjoying the outdoors.

Once Herbert graduated, he began his career with small jobs in the area and by the time he got his first big break, he and Lou were informally engaged. Herbert had graduated with degrees in geology and mining engineering and his first major job took him to Australia to develop a gold mine.  In the meantime Lou finished her degree and began teaching.

Lou Henry on a burro around 1891
Lou Henry ca. 1891

Lou had told her sorority sisters that she and Herbert would get married as soon as he had a job that would keep him in one place for a while. It would be a long time before that happened, so they decided not to wait. He had done an excellent job in Australia developing new methods for mining, so soon he was offered the job of Chief Engineer for a mining company in China. He telegraphed his marriage proposal to Lou and she accepted by return wire. They decided to be married immediately and honeymoon in route to China.

Lou and Herbert were married February 10, 1899 at her parent’s house in Monterrey, CA. They immediately loaded their suitcases with books on Chinese culture and history and headed to San Francisco to sail for China. After a few days in a hotel in Shanghai they moved into their new home in the foreign settlement of Tianjin, China.

From the beginning Lou was a partner with her husband. Part of his job was locating new sites for mines which required travel through rugged wilderness terrain. She loved the adventure and helped Herbert with paperwork and maps. She also loved entertaining and opened their home to other people within the foreign community and to Herbert’s employees. However, it became too dangerous for Lou to go out on expeditions, and soon Herbert pulled all of his people in from the field. They had arrived in China during the midst of the Boxer Rebellion.

The Boxer Rebellion was a nationalist movement opposing foreign influence and Christianity. At the end of June 1900, the Boxers laid siege to the foreign settlement in Tianjin. The people set up a barricade with sacks of flour and rice and a makeshift hospital. Lou helped to tend the wounded and served tea to the men manning the barricades. She was calm and collected in spite of having her bicycle tire shot out while she was riding to the hospital one day and having a shell come through a window and explode in her house taking out a support column for the staircase. Reports say that when people rushed into the house to see if she was okay, she was sitting at a table playing solitaire. She calmly told them that she was having trouble winning that game and that the shelling was over for now because the shells always came in groups of three. The siege lasted until foreign troops arrived July 13 and defeated the rebels.

Lou Hoover with her children c. 1908

This same calm confidence would also serve Lou well during their next stop in London. Herbert’s new job required world-wide travel. Lou went with him and after their two boys were born in 1903 and 1907, they traveled as well. Both children embarked on their first journeys at the young age of 5 – 6 weeks. The Hoover’s conclusion was that infants traveled better than most adults.

The Hoovers were planning to return to the United States when WWI broke out. They stayed and from their London home helped displaced Americans by distributing food, clothing, cash, and finally tickets home. While they were waiting, Lou helped them keep their children occupied with museum tours and other activities. She also got involved in organizing women to support the troops, even starting a knitting factory to provide work for unemployed women and clothing for the army. When this was winding down, Herbert’s considerable organizational skills were noticed by the American ambassador and he was approached to become the chairman of the Belgian Relief effort. As usual Lou helped Herbert in this undertaking as well and was presented with the Cross Chevalier, Order of Leopold by King Leopold of Belgium for her efforts.

When the US entered the war, Hoover was called back to Washington to head the Food Administration and later to direct the European relief efforts. During these years, Lou began doing more public speaking, raising money for the relief efforts for Belgium during the war and for all of Europe after the war. Herbert Hoover is often called “The Great Humanitarian,” but his success was in no small part due to Lou’s tireless efforts.

Herbert and Lou Henry Hoover at Camp Rapidan in Virginia
Herbert Hoover NHS Collection

After Herbert became part of Harding’s Cabinet as Secretary of Commerce, their lives revolved around Washington DC. They were constantly entertaining, but these were almost always working meetings. The Hoovers both deplored inefficiency, so their entertaining had to be productive. Lou also persuaded the other Cabinet wives to discontinue the practice of spending 3 or 4 afternoons a week leaving their cards at other people’s houses.

The years in the White House were difficult ones. They still entertained; in fact the White House staff reported that the only time the Hoovers ate alone in the first three years was on their wedding anniversary each year. Lou also became the first First Lady to speak regularly on the radio. Yet from the beginning, this very sociable woman protected their privacy in a way that many First Ladies didn’t, even prohibiting reporters from taking casual photos and providing studio portraits instead. Devastated by Hoover’s loss to Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932, it was probably a relief to retire to their Palo Alto home.

The Hoover’s home in Palo Alto, CA is now the home of the President of Stanford University.

Lou Hoover was an interesting mix of feminist causes and traditional ideals. She didn’t get involved in the suffrage movement, but once women were able to vote, she encouraged them to do their patriotic duty and got involved with the League of Women Voters. She encouraged girls to get an education and prepare for a career, but said that she believed that a couple could only sustain one career, the husband’s or the wife’s. Although her ideas were inclined toward more freedom and independence for women, she embraced a very traditional role for herself. In this she reflected the changing and sometimes contradictory views of women in society at the time. This was also possible because she was fortunate to find a life partner who respected her considerable abilities and intellect.

Although Herbert would be called back into public service by President Truman to direct the European relief effort after WWII, he would have to do it alone. On January 7, 1944, while changing clothes between a concert and dinner, Lou had a heart attack and died. But this very public woman had one last secret. During the White House years especially, Lou had given many speeches encouraging people to reach out to help their neighbors and communities during the hard years, but even Herbert didn’t know the extent to which she was doing it herself until after she died. Many people contacted him after her death wondering why checks had stopped coming. This is one of the reasons that Herbert requested that her papers be sealed for 40 years after her death, to protect the privacy of the people she helped.

Lou was a very accomplished woman. She spoke five languages, including Mandarin Chinese. Together she and Herbert translated from Latin to English a 16th century mining text, De re metallica,  which was well received by the scientific community and is still available today. She also designed their Palo Alto home. But when asked, Lou would say that her vocation was helping her husband in his career, and that is the way she was remembered. The Memphis Scimitar after her death said that “One of Mrs. Hoover’s chief characteristics was her ability to be of great aid to her husband yet remain completely in the background.”

Resources
First Ladies: From Martha Washington to Michelle Obama by Betty Caroli
Lou Hoover: Gallant First Lady by Helen B. Pryor M.D.
Presidential Wives: An Anecdotal History by Paul F. Boller Jr.

Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt – First Lady

Everything about Theodore Roosevelt was larger than life. He had an enormous amount of energy and approached everything with exuberance and enthusiasm, whether it was physical exercise, hunting, reading, charging up San Juan Hill, or continuing a speech while bleeding after an assassination attempt. He wasn’t particularly self-aware and often talked too much. In many ways he needed an anchor, someone who could bring him back to reality and be a grounding influence. Edith Carow was that person. They had an immensely satisfying marriage and she was the perfect counterpoint to Theodore’s outgoing, almost overwhelming personality. Edith also was a superb and well-liked First Lady of the United States.

Edith Kermit Carow was born in Norwich Connecticut on August 6, 1861 to Charles Carow and Gertrude Elizabeth Tyler Carow. Edith had impeccable social credentials; she could count an American Civil War general, two British Prime Ministers, and the famous preacher Jonathan Edwards as her ancestors. Her father worked in the family shipping company, but was not as successful as many of his colleagues; however, at the time Charles and Gertrude married, he was still relatively well off and they settled in Manhattan just a few blocks from his childhood friend Theodore Roosevelt, Sr.

Edith was born within a few weeks of Corinne Roosevelt, Theodore’s younger sister, and was friends with the children in the Roosevelt family almost from birth. She and Corinne considered themselves the best of friends as children, although the relationship became strained by the time Theodore became president. The Roosevelt children were taught at home by their Aunt Anna Bullard and Edith was included in the lessons. She was a quiet, serious, somewhat introverted child who loved to read. At 10, she attended Miss Comstock’s finishing school re-enforcing her strong moral sense and her love of literature. Although math and science were not part of her formal education, she loved nature and learned to identify many different varieties of flowers. Charles taught Edith and her sister Emily, her only sibling to survive infancy, sports and the local flora and fauna.

Edith (on the ground) with TR, Elliot, and Corrine

Whether from inability or lack of inclination, Edith’s father couldn’t seem to overcome the bad times that inevitably occurred in the shipping industry in the 19th century. He also struggled more and more with alcoholism as he got into his 30s, around the time he married and his children were born. In spite of his problems, Edith was very close to him and they shared interests in learning, literature, and the theater. As their financial circumstances worsened, the family had to depend on relatives more and more for money and sometimes a place to live. When Charles died in 1883, he left the family in reduced circumstances that eventually required a move to Europe where they could live more cheaply.

Although Edith was friends with all of the Roosevelt children, by her early teens she had developed a special friendship with Theodore, Teedie to the family, and they were often together during family outings on Oyster Bay during the summer. Even though she was 3 years younger, when Theodore went to Harvard she appeared often in his diary and visited him at school. During the summer between his first two years, however, there was a disagreement between the two of them that neither explained with the exception of a reference that Theodore made to the fact that they both had tempers. Whatever happened, the end result was that Edith disappeared from Theodore’s diary and at sometime in his junior year, he met and instantly fell in love with Alice Hathaway Lee. He and Alice were married in 1880, a few months after his graduation from Harvard.

In spite of, or perhaps because of, Edith’s home life, she had developed into a determined and confident young woman, although somewhat reticent and hard to get to know. If anyone thought that she would avoid Theodore and his new bride, they were mistaken. She went to the wedding and encountered them in other social situations without hesitation. She even gave Theodore a party when he was elected to the State Assembly in 1882. The situation was different however, when Alice died, on Valentine’s Day 1884 only two days after giving birth to their daughter, also named Alice. Both Theodore and Edith took pains to avoid each other. He was heartbroken and took off to the Badlands.

Alice Hathaway Lee around the time of her marriage to TR

Although Theodore had a strong aversion to second marriages and saw them as being disloyal to the first wife, a chance encounter brought him and Edith back together in the fall of 1885. Within a few months, they had rekindled their relationship and become secretly engaged. Edith’s family financial situation was such that they had decided to move to Europe and she felt that she had to get them settled prior to getting married, so after the move Theodore joined her in London and they were wed on December 2, 1886. The newlyweds took their honeymoon in France and then returned to the home which Theodore had built for his first wife at Oyster Bay, although he did change the name from Leeholm to Sagamore Hill.

Baby Alice was being raised by Theodore’s sister Anna, Bamie to the family, and they had become very attached. He really didn’t have much to do with the baby, and usually referred to her as Baby Lee rather than by the name Alice. Although Theodore had offered to leave the baby with Bamie, Edith wanted her to come live with them. Five more children were born within the next ten years, giving Edith a large brood of children to manage, plus Theodore. Edith seemed to take it all in stride.

Roosevelt Family in 1903 with Quentin on the left, TR, Ted, Jr., Archie, Alice, Kermit, Edith, and Ethel

Unlike some First Ladies, Edith wasn’t interested in politics, but she knew that it was the life that Theodore had chosen. At the Republican National Convention in 1900, she was hoping that someone else would be nominated for Vice President other than Theodore. She knew that he would be bored simply presiding over the Senate, but it was a good move for him. He had served as Civil Service Commissioner, Police Commissioner in New York City, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, the Rough Rider war hero “Colonel Roosevelt”, Governor of New York and Vice President was a logical next step. What neither of them could have known was that the job would be short-lived and he would find himself the President within a few months.

Edith was extremely organized in managing her household and handling the family finances. She carried these same skills into the White House and in many ways made it her own. She was the first First Lady to add a social secretary to the payroll; she oversaw the renovation of the White House, the building of the West Wing, and separating the private quarters from public offices. When the family moved into the White House in 1901 the children ranged in age from 4 to 17 and Edith wanted to make their lives as normal as possible. This included numerous pets from dogs and cats to Alice’s pet snake, horseback riding, lessons, debuts for Alice and Ethel, and Alice’s wedding in 1906. She handled all of it with a grace that impressed the staff and even the media. White House aide W. H. Crook said that she handled all of her duties “without losing health, strength, or the youthful, vivacious, charming presence that made her personality as remarkable as that of her husband.”

Even though Edith was known for her efficiency, she was a warm and caring person attuned to the feelings of others. During one social event at the White House, she noticed a young woman, whose family had met with financial problems requiring her to take a job as a sales clerk, being ignored. As the woman was about to leave, Edith caught her and led her to a sofa to engage her in conversation. But she was no doormat either. When writing to Ted, his oldest son, just before his marriage, Theodore said that “when necessary [Edith] pointed out where I was thoughtless and therefore inconsiderate and selfish, instead of submitting to it. Had she not done this it would in the end have made her life very much harder, and mine very much less happy.” Even Alice, who was not an easy child to raise, when writing about Edith in her autobiography Crowded Hours, wrote, “That I was the child of another marriage was a simple fact and made a situation that had to be coped with, and Mother coped with it with a fairness and charm and intelligence which she has to a greater degree than almost any one else I know.”

Edith lived a long life. After Theodore died in 1919, she traveled extensively and enjoyed her children and grandchildren. She never was completely free of politics. In 1936, she supported Alfred Landon against her husband’s “distant cousin” Franklin Delano Roosevelt, vehemently objecting when anyone tried to compare FDR to Theodore. Unfortunately, she also had to endure the sorrow of seeing three of her children die; one of whom suffered with alcoholism as her father had, ultimately committing suicide. When Edith died on September 30, 1948 at the age of 87, Life magazine called her “one of the strongest-minded and strongest-willed presidential wives who ever lived in the White House.”

Edith’s official White House portrait

Resources
Edith Kermit Roosevelt: Portrait of a First Lady by Sylvia Jukes Morris
The Roosevelt Women by Betty Boyd Caroli
Presidential Wives: An Anecdotal History by Paul F. Boller, Jr.
TR: The Last Romantic by H. W. Brands