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

188 & 190 West Fifth Street.

1881.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1881, by

LAURA C. HOLLOWAY,

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.

FERGUSON BROS. & CO.,

PRINTERS AND ELECTROTYPERS.

PHILADELPHIA.

PREFACE.

The Ladies of the White House have had no biographers. The custom of the Republic, which relegates back to private life those who have served it, has made it difficult to gather much of stirring interest concerning the women who have made the social history of the different administrations. From privacy they came, to privacy they were returned, and the world took little cognizance of them beyond noting the entertainments they gave, and the success that attended their dinners and receptions.