Presidents and First Ladies Trivia

[RJNorton]

Which President wrote this?

"Sensible and responsible women do not want to vote. The relative positions to be assumed by men and women in the working out of our civilization were assigned long ago by a higher intelligence."

[Gene C]

Benjamin Harrison ?

[RJNorton]

I am sorry, Gene, but it was not Benjamin Harrison.

Hint #1: This statement was in an article he wrote for the Ladies Home Journal.

[Steve]

Grover Cleveland

[RJNorton]

Good job, Steve. Indeed it was Cleveland. Cleveland's opposition to women's suffrage was contained in a 1905 article he wrote for the Ladies Home Journal.

[L Verge]

Well, Mr. Cleveland just fell near the bottom of my favorite Presidents list!

[Eva Elisabeth]

(06-15-2017 12:56 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Well, Mr. Cleveland just fell near the bottom of my favorite Presidents list!

Same here

[Anita]

(06-15-2017 08:28 PM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote:  

(06-15-2017 12:56 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Well, Mr. Cleveland just fell near the bottom of my favorite Presidents list!

Same here

And here!
http://newspapers.bc.edu/cgi-bin/bostons...07-01.2.28
Ex-President Cleveland on Woman Suffrage.

Grover Cleveland, ex-president of the United States, is at one with Cardinal Gibbons in believing that woman suffrage—the introduction of women into the arena of politics now occupied exclusively by men—would not be a good thing either for the women or for politics. Mr. Cleveland has an article in the Ladies' Home Journal for October in which he discusses the question : " Would Woman Suffrage be Unwise ?" and arrives at the conclusion which Cardinal Gibbons and many others of the most influential men in Church and State have already reached, namely, that general woman suffrage is inexpedient. Mr. Cleveland believes that man and woman have each a separate and distinct, but an equally important, place in the world. Man has his work. Woman has hers. But neither should invade the other's province ; and this because Almighty God has created them to serve Him in different ways. " It is a mistake to suppose," says Mr. Cleveland, " that any human reason or argument is needful or adequate to the assignment of the relative positions to be assumed by man and woman in working out the problems of civilization. This was done long ago by a higher intelligence than ours. I believe that trust in Divine wisdom, and ungrudging submission to Divine purposes, will enable dutiful men and women to know the places assigned to them, and will incite them to act well their parts in the sight of God."

[RJNorton]

Thanks for posting, Anita!

Here is another question:

She obtained the first driver's license issued to a woman in the District of Columbia. And she married a President. Who was this First Lady?

[Anita]

It should be Edith Wilson ([Edith Bolling Galt). I came across this information a while back when reading about electric cars.
Here's a photo of Edith driving an electric car. https://www.loc.gov/item/2010647194/

Title
[Edith Bolling Galt in the first electric automobile driven by a woman in Washington, D.C.]
Summary
Photograph shows future first lady Edith Wilson, née Edith Bolling, at the time of her marriage to Norman Galt, in an electric automobile.

[L Verge]

I have probably posted this before, but when they were courting, President Wilson and Edith used to take rides into Southern Maryland. They often stopped on the side of the road and admired the sheep in my grandfather's pasture. They would then stop at the old Huntt family store to get gas for the trip back to DC and sometimes discussed the raising of sheep with my grandfather and uncle (the latter then about 16).

Most of you know that Wilson installed sheep on the White House grounds during WWI to "mow" the grass. The starter group came from Belair Mansion, also in our county. The wool was sent to make uniforms for our troops.

Edith had married first into the Galt family of DC, long famous for a very exclusive jewelry store. Back in the 1970s, Joan Chaconas and I stopped into the old store on 15th Street to drool at the offerings. There was a very elderly clerk on duty and no one else in the store. We made mention that we knew Lincoln had shopped at Galt Bros. This wonderful man went to the back rooms and came back with an ancient ledger showing us the handwritten records of purchases made by Mr. Lincoln. He was just so nice that I could not bring myself to grab that ledger and take off running!

The store closed over a decade (or two) ago, and I sure hope that that ledger and other prized papers went to proper places.

[Anita]

Laurie,
Thanks for sharing! What wonderful family memories and your personal experiences at the Galt jewelry store are fascinating. Where is that ledger now? Like you, I would have had difficulty restraining the urge to run off with it. "The store closed over a decade (or two) ago, and I sure hope that that ledger and other prized papers went to proper places." Me too.

Here's an article with some interesting info about Galt & Bro Inc. history, Lincoln connection and closure. It was founded in 1802!!
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/news/...es-up-shop

And another with reference to Mary Lincoln's purchases.
http://articles.courant.com/2001-07-27/n...res-oldest

[RJNorton]

Anita and Laurie, wonderful information! Yes, Edith Wilson is the answer.

Here is a photo of the sheep on the lawn of the White House:

[L Verge]

The day that Joan and I got our history lesson at the old Galt Bros. Jewelry Store, we had also walked through the lobby and Peacock Alley of the famed Willard's Hotel and had lunch at the equally famous Old Ebbitt Grill, next door to Galt's.

Old Ebbitt's dates to 1856. Go here for some neat history on this DC icon: http://www.ebbitt.com/about/history

Last weekend, my grandson wanted to be a DC tourist for his 17th birthday, so I paid for the family to spend the weekend at JW Marriott on Pennsylvania Avenue, a modern complex which encases the National Theatre (Grover's Theatre in 1865). I had offered to pay for the Willard's (right next door), but my daughter took pity on my pocketbook -- and also found out that the Marriott rooms are much larger than the Willard's. One of the points of my deal, however, was that they had to have one meal at Old Ebbitt's Grill. The magnificent wooden bar (a reproduction of the original one which rotted beyond repair) and the etched glass panels and artwork are well worth the price of a meal.

[Anita]

Laurie, again thanks for the history lesson. Great and generous gift for your grandson's bithday. Old Ebbitt's had so many relocations it's amazing it still exists. Next time I'm in DC I will dine there. How's the food?

Roger, thanks for posting the photo of sheep grazing on the White House lawn. I just read that the wool was auctioned off to raise money for the war effort.