Lincoln Discussion Symposium
Presidents and First Ladies Trivia - Printable Version

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RE: Presidents and First Ladies Trivia - Eva Elisabeth - 05-07-2017 03:05 PM

Would you expect the "average forum member" to know her?
Some woman whose hubby lost against Taft?

RE: Presidents and First Ladies Trivia - RJNorton - 05-07-2017 03:13 PM

I think at least some forum members would know her name. Her husband did not lose against Taft. She was married, though.

Hint #1: Like Nellie Taft she smoked cigarettes.

RE: Presidents and First Ladies Trivia - Eva Elisabeth - 05-07-2017 03:29 PM

A smoking prohibitionist who considered her a poor role model...(which I agree on, at least if public got to know).

RE: Presidents and First Ladies Trivia - RJNorton - 05-07-2017 03:42 PM

Hint #2: She kept a green garter snake as a pet. And she bet on horse races in an era when it was much more common for men to do so.

RE: Presidents and First Ladies Trivia - Eva Elisabeth - 05-07-2017 04:05 PM

(Ops, I overread the "LIKE" aspect in "LIKE Nelly Taft"...)

RE: Presidents and First Ladies Trivia - L Verge - 05-07-2017 06:33 PM

(05-07-2017 03:42 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  Hint #2: She kept a green garter snake as a pet. And she bet on horse races in an era when it was much more common for men to do so.

Without cheating, I suspect this could be Alice Roosevelt Longworth??

RE: Presidents and First Ladies Trivia - RJNorton - 05-08-2017 04:52 AM

You win, Laurie! Yes, it was Teddy Roosevelt's daughter from his first marriage, Alice Roosevelt Longworth. She was born in 1884 and died at age 96 in 1980. She buried a voodoo doll of Nellie Taft on the grounds of the White House, and the Tafts banned her from coming back to her former residence.

Quoting from Wikipedia:

"The American public noticed many of her exploits. She smoked cigarettes in public, rode in cars with men, stayed out late partying, kept a pet snake named Emily Spinach (Emily after her spinster aunt and Spinach for its green color) in the White House, and was seen placing bets with a bookie."

[Image: longworth.jpg]


RE: Presidents and First Ladies Trivia - Eva Elisabeth - 05-08-2017 06:01 AM

Sorry if I missed that - why did she do this (burying Voodoo doll)?

RE: Presidents and First Ladies Trivia - RJNorton - 05-08-2017 06:04 AM

Eva, I tried to find a specific answer for her reasoning on this but so far have not found one. I shall keep looking.

RE: Presidents and First Ladies Trivia - RJNorton - 05-08-2017 10:25 AM

I looked and still cannot find exactly why Alice was so hostile toward Nellie Taft. I did find that she nicknamed Nellie as "hippopotamus face." Besides the Taft administration, the Wilson administration also banned Alice from the White House because of her telling bawdy jokes.

RE: Presidents and First Ladies Trivia - L Verge - 05-08-2017 11:53 AM

In her older years, Alice was known as "The Other Washington Monument." There is a famous quote from her father (that I can't quote exactly), but when asked how he could handle his daughter, Teddy Roosevelt said something like, "I can run the country or I can attend to Alice, but I cannot do both."

RE: Presidents and First Ladies Trivia - RJNorton - 05-08-2017 02:11 PM

One of many quotes attributed to Alice is, "If you haven't got anything nice to say about anybody, come sit next to me."

Regarding TR she reportedly said, "My father always wanted to be the corpse at every funeral, the bride at every wedding, and the baby at every christening.”

RE: Presidents and First Ladies Trivia - L Verge - 05-08-2017 04:29 PM

I found this link's image of a young Teddy Roosevelt with his first wife (mother of Alice, who died two days after birthing Alice, and same day that Teddy's mother died in same house) interesting. I never considered TR good-looking, but I think he was as a young man.

https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?p=photo+of+young+teddy+roosevelt+and+first+wifwe&fr=yfp-t-s&imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.green-wood.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2011%2F01%2Falice_and_teddy_vanlentinesday.jpg#id=2&iurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.green-wood.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2011%2F01%2Falice_and_teddy_vanlentinesday.jpg&action=click

RE: Presidents and First Ladies Trivia - Eva Elisabeth - 05-11-2017 04:41 PM

What is this?
[attachment=2609]

RE: Presidents and First Ladies Trivia - RJNorton - 05-11-2017 04:59 PM

Is it architecture surrounding a President's grave?