Mary's Reputation

[Tom Emery]

Something I realized recently about Mary is that while her husband was the 16th President, she was several short from being the 16th First Lady, or President's wife. Some of her predecessors were also much less visible than other Presidential wives.

Jefferson, Jackson, and Van Buren were all widowers when they assumed the Presidency, while Buchanan was never married (his niece, Harriett Lane, acted as White House hostess).

Tyler's first wife, Letitia, was an invalid who died during his administration and barely came downstairs (he remarried a woman 30 years younger than him later in his term). Pierce's wife, distraught and bitter from the loss of their son, was not particularly active.

Also, Martha Washington never lived in Washington, D.C., because the capital was not located there at the time. William Henry Harrison, he of 31 days service, would not have had a wife who left much impression, if only because she didn't have the time.

Whether or not this has contributed to the negative perceptions of Mary (in that there were fewer Presidential wives to compare her to, or less visible ones) is, obviously, a debate. But it is nonetheless interesting, or at least it is to me.

As an aside, while we have no direct descendants of Lincoln remaining, Tyler apparently has two elderly grandchildren who are still alive. He was still fathering children into his seventies, as, apparently, did one of his sons.