The Ladies of the White House; Or, in the Home of the Presidents / Being a Complete History of the Social and Domestic Lives of the Presidents from Washington to the Present Time—1789–1881

by Laura C. Holloway

Nellie Grant’s was the seventh wedding which had taken place in the White House. President Monroe’s daughter, Marie, and President Tyler’s daughter, Lizzie, among others, had passed out from it as brides, and now, more than thirty years later, this youngest of the Presidents saw his only daughter wedded in the famous East Room, on Thursday, May 21st, 1874. The wedding took place under circumstances of peculiar brilliancy. Mr. Algernon Sartoris, the groom, was, at the time of his marriage, twenty-three years of age, and Nellie was nineteen. He had been educated in England and Germany, and was a son of Mr. Edward Sartoris, of Hampshire, England, and his wife, Adelaide Kemble, daughter of Charles, and sister of Fannie Kemble.

Mrs. NELLIE GRANT SARTORIS.

Nellie Grant had led an exceptionally happy life, and for ten years previous to her marriage had been the recipient of the most distinguished attentions. Her father’s position, and his rapidly increasing wealth, had enabled him to gratify every wish of his daughter, and as if to reward the fidelity of his wife in years past, he surrounded her children with every earthly blessing. It seemed only strange that one so situated, and withal so young, should consent to marry and retire to private life. But the love affair, begun on the Russia, was destined to terminate auspiciously, and eighteen months afterwards the young couple were united. The wedding was the finest ever known in Washington, and was the theme of newspaper comment both in this country and Europe. All that affection, wealth and high social position could devise were combined to make it an event that should fittingly express the love and pride of the parents in their only daughter.

Not more than two hundred guests were present, but they represented the officials of the government and their families; the army, navy and marine corps and their families; the diplomatic corps and personal friends. The floral decorations of the house were superb, those of the East Room being the richest. The bridal party was accompanied by the President and Mrs. Grant, and the brothers of the bride, to New York, from which port the young couple sailed for England.

The summer was passed by the President and Mrs. Grant at Long Branch, and in the autumn the social life of the White House was resumed. Colonel Fred. Grant introduced his bride (Miss Honore) during the season, and the winter passed off pleasantly, though the daughter of the House was missed sadly.

The eight years’ social administration of Mrs. Grant was characterized by great elegance and dignity. All official and social observances were conducted on a scale of magnificence, and the mansion itself was richly furnished—costly plate and decorations were supplied, and the entertainments were on a more elaborate scale than had marked previous administrations. Among the social events of an official character that occurred were receptions and state dinners in honor of the Duke of Edinburgh, of England, the Grand Duke Alexis, of Russia, the King of Kalakaua, and the first Chinese Ambassador. The official entertainments were frequent, and the social career of Mrs. Grant as Lady of the White House closed with one of the most brilliant receptions ever given in it. After leaving the White House, ex-President and Mrs. Grant became the guests of Secretary and Mrs. Fish, and during their stay in Washington were the recipients of continued social attentions.

It had been the long-expressed desire of General Grant to visit Europe, and soon after the close of his administration he began the preparations for an extended journey. Returning from a visit to Galena, he arrived in Philadelphia a week previous to the day appointed for the departure of the steamer, and with Mrs. Grant became the guests of George Washington Childs, Esq. The most flattering attentions were bestowed upon them. Military parades, public receptions, and private entertainments followed each other in quick succession. The vessel selected by General Grant on which to make the voyage was the “Indiana,” one of the only American line of steamships crossing the Atlantic ocean. On the morning of the departure Mr. Childs entertained at breakfast a number of guests, including the late Secretary of State, Hon. Hamilton Fish, General Sherman, Governor Hartranft, and others, and afterwards the party, augmented by the presence of a large number of prominent gentlemen, proceeded down the Delaware. Mrs. Grant, accompanied by the youngest son, Jesse, who made the tour with them, Mr. and Mrs. Childs, Mrs. Sharp—Mrs. Grant’s sister—and many other ladies and gentlemen were taken down the river to the “Indiana” on the revenue cutter “Hamilton.” Arriving at New Castle after a sail of thirty-five miles, the voyagers bade adieu to their friends and boarded the steamer. The scenes which accompanied the ex-President and his family from the moment of leaving the hospitable mansion of Mr. Childs to the farewells at the vessel were such as never before had been witnessed in this country. Thousands of people lined the wharves and the air resounded with their cheers. The shipping was gayly decorated, and the flags of all nations floated in the breeze. Steam-whistles blew their shrill notes, and salutes were thundered forth from the larger vessels as the ex-President and his friends passed down the river to their vessel. The party sailed on the 17th of May, 1877, and from the moment of landing on English soil they were welcomed with generous hospitality by all the nations they visited. Over the continent of Europe, through Egypt, the Holy Land, and back through Italy, Spain, Ireland and India, to China and Japan they travelled, and were everywhere the objects of distinguished hospitalities. The return voyage to San Francisco was completed in September, 1879, and the reception at San Francisco was of such magnitude and enthusiasm as to greatly surprise the ex-President. The people, without respect to race or party, joined in the hearty welcome home. The festivities varied each day, and every city in the Union sent invitations to the ex-President to extend his travels to all parts of his own country. One of the pleasantest incidents connected with their stay in San Francisco was the visit of a delegation of the Chinese of that city to General Grant, and the presentation to him of an address and a scroll of worked silk. General Grant, in acknowledging the great kindness and hospitality shown him by the people and authorities of China, expressed the hope that the country, by breaking down the seclusion in which she had been shrouded for ages, would continue to draw nearer to her the trade and sympathy of the civilized world. The head of the delegation then presented to Mrs. Grant a small ivory casket, saying that she had done much to break down the spirit of domestic exclusiveness that reigns in China, and that the Chinese in San Francisco desired to thank her for it.

This circumstance recalls an exceptional honor paid Mrs. Grant while in China, an honor the like of which no other woman has ever shared. And though she received distinguished attentions in all her travels, she remembers this as one of the most marked and most pleasant incidents of her journeyings over the world. The occasion was a dinner given by the wife of the Viceroy of China. In view of the fact of the exclusiveness of the Chinese as a race, and the position of woman in that country, it is one of the events of the age. Mr. John Russell Young, the historian of the travellers, gives an entertaining description of it,[^[23]] from which is taken the following excerpt:

[23]. “Around the World with General Grant.”