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827:. They had five children, including a daughter named after her mother; Margaret was the only Davis child to marry and raise a family. She married Joel Addison Hayes in Memphis on New Year's Day, 1876. She, her husband, and family moved to Colorado Springs in 1885, where they soon became leading members of local society. Many of J. Addison and Margaret Hayes' descendants still reside in the area. She died on July 18, 1909, at the age of 54 and is buried with the Davis family at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia.
981:, for two years. Left indigent, Varina Davis was restricted to residing in the state of Georgia, where her husband had been arrested. Fearing for the safety of their older children, she sent them to friends in Canada under the care of relatives and a family servant. Initially forbidden to have any contact with her husband, Davis worked tirelessly to secure his release. She tried to raise awareness of and sympathy for what she perceived as his unjust incarceration.
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792:(1846–1848). Varina Davis returned for a time to Briarfield, where she chafed under the supervision of her brother-in-law, Joseph. The surviving correspondence between the Davises from this period expresses their difficulties and mutual resentments. After her husband's return from the war, Varina Davis did not immediately accompany him to Washington when the Mississippi legislature appointed him to fill a
728:. In her memoir, Varina Howell Davis wrote that her mother was concerned about Jefferson Davis's 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 shortly thereafter.
1296:. The home was restored and reopened on June 3, 2008. Varina Howell Davis's diamond and emerald wedding ring, one of the few valuable possessions she was able to retain through years of poverty, 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.
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1044:. A classmate of Varina in Philadelphia, Dorsey had become a respected novelist and historian, and had traveled extensively. She arranged for Davis to use a cottage on the grounds of her plantation. 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.
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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 referred fondly to Madame Grelaud and Judge Winchester; she sacrificed to provide the highest quality of education for her two daughters in their turn.
1051:, disapproved of her husband's friendship with Dorsey. After Varina Davis returned to the United States, she 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., had died during a
474:, 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.
1024:, a fellow political prisoner at Fort Monroe. During this period, Davis exchanged passionate letters with Virginia Clay for three years and is believed to have loved her. In 1871 Davis was reported as having been seen on a train "with a woman not his wife", and it made national newspapers. Still in England, Varina was outraged.
1104:. In 1891 Varina Davis accepted the Pulitzers' offer to become a full-time columnist and moved to New York City with her daughter Winnie. They enjoyed the busy life of the city. White Southerners attacked Davis for this move to the North, as she was considered a public figure of the Confederacy whom they claimed for their own.
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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.
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While visiting their daughters 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 to the US for this work. Varina Davis remained in England to visit her sister who
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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. In the late 20th century, his citizenship was posthumously restored by then President Carter. The small Davis family traveled constantly
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In
December 1861, she gave birth to their fifth child, William. Due to her husband's influence, her father William Howell received several low-level appointments in the Confederate bureaucracy which helped support him. The social turbulence of the war years reached the Presidential mansion; in 1864,
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Their wedding was planned as a grand affair to be held at
Hurricane Plantation 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 visited her frequently. They became engaged again.
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While at school in
Philadelphia, Varina got to know many of her northern Howell relatives; 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
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After moving his family from
Virginia to Mississippi, James Kempe also bought land in Louisiana, continuing to increase his holdings and productive capacity. When his daughter married Howell, he gave her a dowry of 60 slaves and 2,000 acres (8.1 km) of land in Mississippi. William Howell worked
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completed her education, she joined her parents at
Beauvoir. She had fallen in love when at college, but her parents disapproved. Her father objected to his being from "a prominent Yankee and abolitionist family" and her mother to his lack of money and being burdened by many debts. Forced to reject
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After a few months Varina Davis was allowed to correspond with him. Articles and a book on his confinement helped turn public opinion in his favor. Davis and young Winnie were allowed to join
Jefferson in his prison cell. The family was eventually given a more comfortable apartment in the officers'
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for the remainder of 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 the people picked up on her ambivalence. White residents of
Richmond criticized
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The Davises were devastated in 1854 when their first child died before the age of two. Varina Davis largely withdrew from social life for a time. In 1855, she gave birth to a healthy daughter, Margaret (1855–1909); followed by two sons, Jefferson, Jr., (1857–1878) and Joseph (1859–1864), during her
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proved controlling, both of his brother, who was 23 years younger, and the even younger Varina – especially during her husband's absences. At the same time, her parents became more financially dependent on the Davises, to her embarrassment and resentment. Their youngest son, born after her own
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Sarah Dorsey was determined to help support the former president; she offered to sell him her house for a reasonable price. Learning she had breast cancer, Dorsey made over her will to leave Jefferson Davis free title to the home, as well as much of the remainder of her financial estate. Her Percy
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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 . He impresses me as a remarkable kind of man, but of uncertain temper, and has a way of taking for granted that everybody
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Their short honeymoon included a visit to Davis's aged mother, Jane Davis, and a visit to the grave of his first wife in Louisiana. The newlyweds took up residence at Brierfield, the plantation Davis had developed on 1,000 acres (4.0 km) loaned to him for his use by his brother Joseph Davis.
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Note: According to the 1810 census for Prince William County, George Graham owned 24 slaves, more than many of his neighbors and a quantity that qualified him as a major planter of the period. He had one child under 16 still at home, and was living with a woman over 25. Many of his neighbors had
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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
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Varina Howell Davis received a funeral procession through the streets of New York City. Her coffin was taken by train to Richmond, accompanied by the Reverend Nathan A. Seagle, Rector of Saint Stephen's Protestant Episcopal Church, New York City which Davis attended. She was interred with full
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Soon after their marriage, Davis's 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
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for $ 10,000 (~$ 285,012 in 2023). She stipulated the facility was to be used as a Confederate veterans' home and later as a memorial to her husband. The SCV built barracks on the site, and housed thousands of veterans and their families. The plantation was used for years as a veterans' home.
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several of the Davises' domestic slaves escaped. James Dennison and his wife, Betsey, who had served as Varina's maid, used saved back pay of 80 gold dollars to finance their escape. Henry, a butler, left one night after allegedly building a fire in the mansion's basement to divert attention.
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also 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
965:, who was called "Winnie". The girl became known to the public as "the Daughter of the Confederacy;" stories about and likenesses of her were distributed throughout the Confederacy during the last year of the war to raise morale. She retained the nickname for the rest of her life.
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was born on June 27, 1864, two months after Joseph's death. Known as the "Daughter of the Confederacy", she died at age 34 on September 18, 1898, of gastritis. After her parents had opposed her marriage in the late 1880s to a man from a Northern, abolitionist family, she never
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The couple had long periods of separation from early in their marriage, first as Jefferson Davis gave campaign speeches and "politicked" (or campaigned) for himself and for other Democratic candidates in the elections of 1846. He was also gone for extended periods during the
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and Varina 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
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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 ill and nearly bankrupt. Advised to take a home near the sea for his health, he accepted an invitation from
753:(1846–1848). Varina Davis was put under the guardianship of Joseph Davis, whom she had come to dislike intensely. Her correspondence with her husband during this time demonstrated her growing discontent, to which Jefferson was not particularly sympathetic.
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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.
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Dorsey's bequest made Winnie Davis the heiress after Jefferson Davis died in 1889. In 1891, Varina and Winnie moved to New York City. After Winnie died in 1898, she was buried next to her father in Richmond, Virginia. Varina Davis inherited Beauvoir.
565:. Davis was planning a gala housewarming with many guests and entertainers to inaugurate his lavish new mansion on the cotton plantation. (Varina described the house in detail in her memoirs.) During her stay, she met her host's much younger brother
804:. Varina Davis enjoyed the social life of the capital 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 1904 memoir of her contemporary,
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Ultimately, the couple reconciled. She rejoined her husband in Washington. He had unusual visibility for a freshman senator because of his connections as the son-in-law (by his late wife) and former junior officer of President
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Jefferson Davis resigned from the U.S. 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
419:. Widowed in 1889, Davis moved to New York City with her youngest daughter Winnie in 1891 to work at writing. She enjoyed urban life. In her old age, she attempted to reconcile prominent figures of the North and South.
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In keeping with custom, Davis sought the permission of Howell's parents before beginning a formal courtship. They initially disapproved of him due to the many differences in background, age, and politics. Davis was a
785:, which gave Varina Howell Davis a broader outlook than many Southerners. It was her favorite place to live. But, as an example of their many differences, her husband preferred life on their Mississippi plantation.
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After seven childless years, in 1852, Varina Davis gave birth to a son, Samuel. Her letters from this period express her happiness and portray Jefferson as a doting father. The couple had a total of six children:
781:' 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
899:, in 1860 Mrs. Davis "sadly" told a friend "The South will secede if Lincoln is made president. They will make Mr. Davis President of the Southern side. And the whole thing is bound to be a failure."
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Her wealthy maternal relatives intervened to redeem the family's property. It was one of several sharp changes in fortune that Varina encountered in her life. She grew to adulthood in a house called
402:, she had family on both sides of the conflict and unconventional views for a woman in her public role. She did not support the Confederacy's position on slavery, and was ambivalent about the war.
538:, later known as Sarah Anne Dorsey, the daughter of extremely wealthy Mississippi planters. (After the Civil War, Dorsey, by then a wealthy widow, provided financial support to the Davises.)
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In spring 1864, five-year-old Joseph Davis died in a fall from the porch at the Presidential mansion in Richmond. A few weeks later, Varina gave birth to their last child, a girl named
808:, described the lively parties of the Southern families in this period with other Congressional delegations, as well as international representatives of the diplomatic corps.
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William Howell relocated to Mississippi, when new cotton plantations were being rapidly developed. There he met and married Margaret Louisa Kempe (1806–1867), born in
1098:, a major newspaper publisher in New York, had met Varina Davis during a visit to the South. She solicited short articles from her for her husband's newspaper, the
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When Varina was thirteen, her father declared bankruptcy. The Howell family home, furnishings and slaves were seized by creditors to be sold at public auction.
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in her room at the Hotel Majestic on October 16, 1906. She was survived by her daughter Margaret Davis Hayes and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
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Scottish surnames. Federal Census: Year: 1810; Census Place: Prince William, Virginia; Roll: 70; Page: 278; Image: 0181430; Family History Library Film: 00528.
1277:(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
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466:. Margaret Graham was illegitimate as her parents, George Graham, a Scots immigrant, and Susanna McAllister (1783–1816) of Virginia, never officially married.
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As Davis and her daughter each worked at literary careers, they lived in a series of residential hotels in New York City. (Their longest residency was at the
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three months after their wedding in 1835. Davis mourned her and had been reclusive in the ensuing eight years. He was beginning to be active in politics.
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Although saddened by the death of her daughter Winnie in 1898 (the fifth / last of her six children to predecease her), Davis continued to write for the
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Her bequest provided Davis with enough financial security to provide for Varina and Winnie, and to enjoy some comfort with them in his final years. When
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Davis. It was an example of what she would later call interference from the Davis family in her life with her husband. Additionally, her brother-in-law
929:(then capital of the new country) to be inaugurated. A few weeks later, she followed and assumed official duties as the First Lady of the Confederacy.
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epidemic in Memphis. That year 20,000 people died throughout the South in the epidemic. During her grieving, Varina became friends again with Dorsey.
515:, when Natchez was a thriving city, but she learned her family was dependent on the wealthy Kempe relatives of her mother's family to avoid poverty.
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When the war ended, the Davises fled South seeking to escape to Europe. They were captured by federal troops and Jefferson Davis was imprisoned at
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She was active socially until poor health in her final years forced her retirement from work and any sort of public life. Davis died at age 80 of
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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.
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Varina Howell Davis was one of numerous influential Southerners who moved to the North for work after the war; they were nicknamed "Confederate
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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.
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ancestors. (Later, when she was living in Richmond as the unpopular First Lady of the Confederacy, critics described her as looking like a
454:. Her wealthy planter family had moved to Mississippi before 1816. She was the daughter of Colonel James Kempe (sometimes spelled Kemp), a
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After Winnie died in 1898, Varina Davis inherited Beauvoir. In October 1902, she sold the plantation to the Mississippi Division of the
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in Europe and Canada as he sought work to rebuild his fortunes. Davis accepted the presidency of an insurance agency headquartered in
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husband's remaining tenure in Washington, D.C. The early losses of all four of their sons caused enormous grief to both the Davises.
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Samuel Emory Davis, born July 30, 1852, named after his paternal grandfather; he died June 30, 1854, of an undiagnosed disease.
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481:, as the second Howell child of eleven, seven of whom survived to adulthood. She was later described as tall and thin, with an
1160:. In her old age, Davis published some of her observations and "declared in print that the right side had won the Civil War."
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Margaret Howell Davis, born February 25, 1855. She married Joel Addison Hayes, Jr. (1848–1919), and they lived first in
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at 123 W. 44th Street.) Varina Davis wrote many articles for the newspaper, and Winnie Davis published several novels.
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and died when William was a boy. William inherited little money and used family connections to become a clerk in the
409:. She was recruited by Kate (Davis) Pulitzer, a purportedly distant cousin of Varina’s husband and wife of publisher
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888:. At the request of the Pierces, the Davises, both individually and as a couple, often served as official hosts at
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Davis greeted the war with dread, supporting the Confederacy but not slavery. She was known to have said that:
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Joseph Evan Davis, born on April 18, 1859, died at the age of five due to an accidental fall on April 30, 1864.
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1337:"Marriage of William B. Howell to Margaret L. Kempe, July 17, 1823, Adams County, Mississippi", Ancestry.com.
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who became a successful planter and major landowner in Virginia and Mississippi, and Margaret Graham, born in
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Samuel Emory Davis, Margaret Howell Davis, Jefferson Davis, Jr., Joseph Evan Davis, William Howell Davis,
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on land his brother allowed him to use, although Joseph Davis still retained possession of the land.
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After her husband died, Varina Howell Davis completed his autobiography, publishing it in 1890 as
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1005:, when his company was one of many that went bankrupt. In 1872 their son William Davis died of
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Since 1953 the house has been operated as a museum to Davis. Beauvoir has been designated a
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William Howell Davis, born on December 6, 1861, was named for Varina's father; he died of
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1871:
Jefferson Davis, Ex-President of the Confederate States of America: A Memoir, by His Wife
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graduate, former Army officer, and widower. He worked as a planter, having developed
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Jefferson Davis was a 35-year-old widower when he and Varina met. His first wife,
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Soon he took leave from his Congressional position to serve as an officer in the
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and was buried adjacent to the tombs of her husband and their daughter Winnie.
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1091:. At first the book sold few copies, dashing her hopes of earning some income.
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by the new Confederate Congress. She did not accompany him when he traveled to
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Blood And Irony: Southern White Women's Narratives of the Civil War, 1861–1937
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A stop on the Varina Davis trail route - 181 Highway 215 South, Happy Valley
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The House of Percy: Honor, Melancholy and Imagination in a Southern Family
557:. Her parents had named their oldest child after Joseph Davis. Located at
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1126:. The main house has been restored and a museum built there, housing the
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Kate Davis Pulitzer, a distant cousin of Jefferson Davis and the wife of
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1895:: Elite Women's Rituals of Cultural Authority in the Confederate Capital
615: in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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In 1843, at age 17, Howell was invited to spend the Christmas season at
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and had founded her school in the 1790s. One of Varina's classmates was
435:. Her father was from a distinguished family in New Jersey: His father,
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1773:"Mrs. Davis Now At Rest Beside Famous Husband in Hollywood Cemetery".
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1438:, Vol. 27, No. 2 (December 2008), pp. 145–47; retrieved June 1, 2012.
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Varina Davis freely; some described her appearance as resembling "a
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1897:(2014). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 6124.
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marriage, was named Jefferson Davis Howell in her husband's honor.
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In the postwar years of reconciliation, Davis became friends with
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1238:. She enjoyed a daily ride in a carriage through Central Park.
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1001:. The family began to regain some financial comfort until the
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Jefferson and Varina photographed in Montreal, Canada, in 1869
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Grave of Varina Davis (right) at Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond
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Wedding photograph of Jefferson Davis and Varina Howell, 1845
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Shortly after first meeting him, Howell wrote to her mother:
413:, to write articles and eventually a regular column for the
1914:, New York: The Macmillan Co., 1927 and 1931 (two volumes)
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First Lady of the South, The Life of Mrs. Jefferson Davis,
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in the Mississippi River Valley that caused 20,000 deaths.
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Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
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She resented his attentions to other women, particularly
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First Lady of the Confederacy: Varina Davis's Civil War,
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Jefferson Davis, Jr., born January 16, 1857. He died in
390:, in mid-1861, and lived there for the remainder of the
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1525:, University of North Carolina Press, 2006, pp. 128–30
1273:(1895), was painted by the Swiss-born American artist
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In the summer of 1861, Davis and her husband moved to
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relatives were unsuccessful in challenging the will.
526:, a prestigious academy for young ladies. Grelaud, a
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Howell; May 7, 1826 – October 16, 1906) was the only
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1341:. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1997.
1020:. Clay was the wife of their friend, former senator
1473:. Louisiana State University Press. pp. 52–53.
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Provisional: February 18, 1861 to February 22, 1862
58:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
2017:Burials at Hollywood Cemetery (Richmond, Virginia)
892:functions in place of the President and his wife.
1948:, First Lady Of The Confederate States Of America
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1032:, a widowed heiress, to visit her summer cottage
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1907:Harper & Brothers Publishers, New York, 1958
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405:Davis became a writer after the war, completing
1401:"Encyclopedia of Virginia: Varina Howell Davis"
1066:The Davises and their servants in the mid-1880s
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1556:. Colorado United Daughters of the Confederacy
1554:"Margaret Howell Davis Hayes Chapter No. 2652"
1312:(1948), a historical novel based on Mrs. Davis
923:President of the Confederate States of America
427:Varina Anne Banks Howell was born in 1826 at
1144:, the widow of former general and president
378:, and the longtime second wife of President
1919:Jefferson Davis, Volume I: American Patriot
1899:https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/6124
1756:"Mrs. Jefferson Davis Dead at the Majestic"
1202:. Unsourced material may be challenged and
772:Jefferson Davis was elected in 1846 to the
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1928:. New York: Harcourt, Brace & Company.
1921:. New York: Harcourt, Brace & Company.
1288:caused extensive wind and water damage to
569:. Then thirty-five years old, Davis was a
522:, for her education, where she studied at
431:, the daughter of William Burr Howell and
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1790:"Jewels embellish Varina Davis' sad tale"
1222:Learn how and when to remove this message
902:
838:at age 21 on October 16, 1878, during an
675:Learn how and when to remove this message
170:February 22, 1862 – May 5, 1865
118:Learn how and when to remove this message
1926:Jefferson Davis, Volume III: Tragic Hero
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1436:Australasian Journal of American Studies
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724:and the Howells, including Varina, were
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1912:Varina Howell, Wife of Jefferson Davis,
1663:, June 2, 2014; accessed June 29, 2015.
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309: 1845; died 1889)
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1624:. Yale University Press. p. 800.
1405:Virginia Foundation for the Humanities
703:while he was in the Army, had died of
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524:Madame Deborah Grelaud's French School
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1434:, Harvard University Press, 2006, in
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1269:A portrait of Mrs. Davis, titled the
1009:, adding to their emotional burdens.
871:, Davis was appointed to the post of
699:, daughter of his commanding officer
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1935:, New York: Oxford University Press.
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1590:, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, p. 480.
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1294:Jefferson Davis Presidential Library
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1200:adding citations to reliable sources
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1128:Jefferson Davis Presidential Library
914:Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper
613:adding citations to reliable sources
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56:adding citations to reliable sources
27:
16:First Lady of the Confederate States
2022:19th-century American women writers
1647:
1428:FRANCES CLARKE, "Review of Cashin,
504:The Briars in Natchez, Mississippi.
13:
1862:
1857:
1262:honors by Confederate veterans at
561:, Hurricane was 20 miles south of
14:
2033:
1939:
1787:
1657:"Varina Howell Davis (1826–1906)"
1469:McIntosh, James T., ed. (1974).
1172:
1075:this man, Winnie never married.
589:
32:
2007:Writers from Richmond, Virginia
1997:People from Biloxi, Mississippi
1987:Women in the American Civil War
1829:
1807:
1781:
1766:
1748:
1730:
1721:
1698:
1689:
1680:
1638:
1611:
1602:
1593:
1577:
1568:
1546:
1537:
1528:
1500:
1491:
1462:
1453:
1047:Davis and her eldest daughter,
884:had health problems, including
600:needs additional citations for
452:Prince William County, Virginia
306:
43:needs additional citations for
1815:"Hartnett T. Kane (1910-1984)"
1777:. October 20, 1906. p. 1.
1695:Wyatt-Brown 1994, pp. 165–166.
1381:
1372:
1363:
1353:
1344:
1331:
1163:
947:White House of the Confederacy
1:
2012:Writers from Washington, D.C.
1931:Wyatt-Brown, Bertram (1994).
1677:Wyatt-Brown 1994, pp. 159–60.
1618:Chesnut, Mary Boykin (1981).
1471:The Papers of Jefferson Davis
1430:First Lady of the Confederacy
1339:Mississippi Marriages to 1825
1325:
1300:Representation in other media
774:U.S. House of Representatives
376:Confederate States of America
1116:Sons of Confederate Veterans
757:Urban life in Washington, DC
334:William Burr Howell (father)
7:
1709:. New York: Belford Company
1707:"Jefferson Davis, A Memoir"
911:Davis in 1862, depicted by
10:
2038:
2002:Writers from New York City
1890:Luskey, Ashley Whitehead,
1608:Strode (1964), pp. 527–28.
1534:Strode 1955, pp. 242, 268.
1124:National Historic Landmark
968:
856:Varina Anne "Winnie" Davis
825:Colorado Springs, Colorado
555:Eliza Van Benthuysen Davis
520:Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
518:Varina Howell was sent to
439:, served several terms as
18:
1992:Spouses of heads of state
1977:Family of Jefferson Davis
1686:Wyatt-Brown 1994, p. 165.
1588:Jefferson Davis, American
1450:Wyatt-Brown 1994, p. 124.
1279:Museum of the Confederacy
1089:Jefferson Davis, A Memoir
530:, was a refugee from the
445:Bank of the United States
394:. Born and raised in the
355:
347:
327:
316:
287:
272:
262:
245:
221:
216:
212:
200:
188:
178:
163:
152:
148:
139:
132:
1661:Encyclopedia of Virginia
1621:Mary Chesnut's Civil War
1387:Wyatt-Brown 1994, p. 17.
1271:Widow of the Confederacy
1082:
423:Early life and education
263:Cause of death
226:Varina Anne Banks Howell
1924:Strode, Hudson (1964).
1917:Strode, Hudson (1955).
1775:Richmond Times-Dispatch
1738:"Funeral of Mrs. Davis"
1506:Virginia Clay-Clopton,
1378:Cashin 2006, pp. 16-17.
1281:in Richmond, Virginia.
1030:Sarah Anne Ellis Dorsey
954:or an Indian 'squaw'."
559:Davis Bend, Mississippi
362:Varina Anne Banks Davis
256:New York City, New York
1705:Davis, Varina (1890).
1508:A Belle in the Fifties
1258:
1067:
993:
985:quarters of the fort.
939:
917:
903:Confederate First Lady
823:; later they moved to
769:
717:
692:
505:
441:governor of New Jersey
396:Southern United States
19:For her daughter, see
1883:Cashin, Joan (2006).
1256:
1065:
1049:Margaret Howell Hayes
991:
934:
910:
895:According to diarist
869:Pierce Administration
806:Virginia Clay-Clopton
764:
712:
690:
575:Brierfield Plantation
503:
464:Prince William County
433:Margaret Louisa Kempe
338:Margaret Louisa Kempe
1599:Cooper 2000, p. 595.
1574:Strode 1964, p. 436.
1543:Strode 1955, p. 273.
1284:On August 29, 2005,
1196:improve this section
1150:Booker T. Washington
882:Jane Appleton Pierce
852:on October 16, 1872.
790:Mexican–American War
609:improve this article
547:Hurricane Plantation
479:Natchez, Mississippi
429:Natchez, Mississippi
407:her husband's memoir
384:presidential mansion
239:Natchez, Mississippi
195:Position established
52:improve this article
1762:. October 17, 1906.
1744:. October 18, 1906.
1459:Cashin 2006, p. 11.
1369:Cashin 2006, p. 16.
1350:Cashin 2006, p. 15.
1292:, which houses the
927:Montgomery, Alabama
897:Mary Boykin Chesnut
875:. He and President
581:Marriage and family
477:Varina was born in
382:. She moved to the
1817:. librarything.com
1760:The New York Times
1727:Cashin 2006, p. 7.
1644:Cashin 2006, p. 5.
1584:Cooper, William J.
1520:Sarah E. Gardner,
1497:Cashin 2006, p. 4.
1488:Cashin 2006, p. 2.
1264:Hollywood Cemetery
1259:
1154:Tuskegee Institute
1068:
994:
943:Richmond, Virginia
918:
832:Memphis, Tennessee
821:Memphis, Tennessee
783:American Civil War
770:
765:Davis in 1849, by
693:
551:Joseph Emory Davis
506:
388:Richmond, Virginia
281:Richmond, Virginia
277:Hollywood Cemetery
207:Position abolished
158:Confederate States
1982:Mississippi Whigs
1878:Secondary sources
1286:Hurricane Katrina
1275:Adolfo Müller-Ury
1249:Legacy and honors
1232:
1231:
1224:
1038:Mississippi Sound
979:Phoebus, Virginia
963:Varina Anne Davis
697:Sarah Knox Taylor
685:
684:
677:
659:
532:French Revolution
359:
358:
322:Varina Anne Davis
128:
127:
120:
102:
21:Varina Anne Davis
2029:
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1800:
1788:Gantt, Marlene.
1785:
1779:
1778:
1770:
1764:
1763:
1752:
1746:
1745:
1742:New-York Tribune
1734:
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1310:Bride of Fortune
1243:double pneumonia
1227:
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1176:
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1146:Ulysses S. Grant
1142:Julia Dent Grant
873:Secretary of War
680:
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536:Sarah Anne Ellis
483:olive complexion
398:and educated in
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249:October 16, 1906
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1910:Rowland, Eron.
1893:A Debt of Honor
1880:
1865:
1863:Primary sources
1860:
1858:Further reading
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1316:Charles Frazier
1302:
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1228:
1217:
1211:
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1166:
1096:Joseph Pulitzer
1085:
971:
905:
877:Franklin Pierce
767:John Wood Dodge
759:
681:
670:
664:
661:
618:
616:
606:
594:
583:
567:Jefferson Davis
458:immigrant from
425:
411:Joseph Pulitzer
380:Jefferson Davis
343:
312:
304:
300:
297:
296:
294:Jefferson Davis
279:
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183:Jefferson Davis
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1955:
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1941:
1940:External links
1938:
1937:
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1922:
1915:
1908:
1903:Ross, Ishbel,
1901:
1888:
1879:
1876:
1875:
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1868:Davis, Varina
1864:
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1794:Dispatch Argus
1780:
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1631:978-0300029796
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1318:'s 2018 novel
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1212:September 2017
1180:
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1152:, head of the
1101:New York World
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802:Zachary Taylor
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701:Zachary Taylor
683:
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624:"Varina Davis"
597:
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588:
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579:
485:attributed to
437:Richard Howell
424:
421:
416:New York World
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108:September 2017
67:"Varina Davis"
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1190:
1186:
1181:This section
1179:
1175:
1170:
1169:
1161:
1159:
1158:black college
1155:
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1135:carpetbaggers
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1031:
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1023:
1019:
1018:Virginia Clay
1014:
1010:
1008:
1007:typhoid fever
1004:
1003:Panic of 1873
1000:
990:
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976:
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665:February 2024
657:
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633:
629:
626: –
625:
621:
620:Find sources:
614:
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604:
603:
598:This section
596:
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586:
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63:Find sources:
57:
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47:
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41:This article
39:
35:
30:
29:
26:
22:
1946:Varina Davis
1932:
1925:
1918:
1911:
1904:
1894:
1891:
1884:
1869:
1844:. Retrieved
1840:
1831:
1819:. Retrieved
1809:
1797:. Retrieved
1793:
1783:
1774:
1768:
1759:
1750:
1741:
1732:
1723:
1711:. Retrieved
1700:
1691:
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1660:
1640:
1619:
1613:
1604:
1595:
1587:
1579:
1570:
1558:. Retrieved
1548:
1539:
1530:
1521:
1515:
1507:
1502:
1493:
1470:
1464:
1455:
1435:
1429:
1408:. Retrieved
1383:
1374:
1365:
1355:
1346:
1338:
1333:
1319:
1309:
1306:Harnett Kane
1283:
1270:
1268:
1260:
1240:
1235:
1233:
1218:
1209:
1194:Please help
1182:
1139:
1132:
1121:
1113:
1109:Hotel Gerard
1106:
1099:
1093:
1088:
1086:
1077:
1072:Winnie Davis
1069:
1057:
1053:yellow fever
1046:
1026:
1022:Clement Clay
1015:
1011:
995:
983:
972:
960:
956:
940:
935:
931:
919:
912:
894:
866:
862:
836:yellow fever
810:
798:
787:
771:
747:
742:Joseph Davis
738:
734:
730:
718:
713:
709:
694:
671:
662:
652:
645:
638:
631:
619:
607:Please help
602:verification
599:
544:
540:
517:
510:
507:
476:
468:
449:
426:
414:
404:
400:Philadelphia
361:
360:
251:(1906-10-16)
206:
202:Succeeded by
194:
165:
134:Varina Davis
114:
105:
95:
88:
81:
74:
62:
50:Please help
45:verification
42:
25:
1972:1906 deaths
1967:1826 births
1846:October 22,
1164:Later years
975:Fort Monroe
890:White House
867:During the
751:Mexican War
456:Scots-Irish
236:May 7, 1826
190:Preceded by
1961:Categories
1326:References
886:depression
850:diphtheria
779:half breed
635:newspapers
571:West Point
513:The Briars
497:"squaw".)
372:First Lady
348:Occupation
232:1826-05-07
154:First Lady
78:newspapers
1821:August 2,
1183:does not
1156:, then a
563:Vicksburg
392:Civil War
267:Pneumonia
179:President
1837:"Varina"
1799:June 11,
1713:June 21,
1586:(2000).
1560:June 21,
1410:June 21,
1290:Beauvoir
1034:Beauvoir
859:married.
840:epidemic
722:Democrat
528:Huguenot
340:(mother)
317:Children
1510:, 1904.
1204:removed
1189:sources
1036:on the
999:Memphis
969:Postwar
952:mulatto
705:malaria
649:scholar
491:mulatto
472:planter
374:of the
328:Parents
311:
303:
299:
166:In role
156:of the
92:scholar
1628:
1320:Varina
1042:Biloxi
796:seat.
794:Senate
651:
644:
637:
630:
622:
495:Indian
460:Ulster
351:Writer
288:Spouse
283:, U.S.
258:, U.S.
241:, U.S.
94:
87:
80:
73:
65:
1236:World
1083:Widow
834:, of
726:Whigs
656:JSTOR
642:books
487:Welsh
470:as a
305:(
301:
99:JSTOR
85:books
1848:2017
1823:2014
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