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| Photo taken by Matthew Brady Studios |
Julia Boggs Dent Grant
(1826-1902) = Army wife and First Lady of US President, Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885).
Daughter of Col. Frederick and Ellen Wrenshall Dent, she grew up on a
plantation called White Haven near St. Louis and attended the Misses Mauros'
boarding school there. She wrote in her memoirs that her childhood was idyllic:
"one long summer of sunshine, flowers, and smiles."
She met her future husband "Ulys" at her home. He, son of Jesse
Root and Hanna Simpson Grant, was a West Point classmate of her brother Fred, Jr. She fell for him,
dreamed about him, and felt lonely without him. They became engaged in 1844,
but the Mexican war interrupted their plans to marry for four long years.
Finally, on August 22, 1848, she was swept off her feet and carried over the
threshold into the life of a army wife. "Dearest Julia" lived with
her handsome husband wherever he was stationed except in the remote west and
near Civil War battlesites . After many years of adversity and anxiety, she,
the encourager, rejoiced in his fame as a victorious general.
Meantime, several precious
children were born to Julia and Ulysses-- in 1850, Frederick Dent Grant; in
1852, Ulysses (Buck), Jr.; in 1857, Ellen "Nellie"; and Jesse.
On the arm of the new President (1869-1877), she entered the White House
and entertained on a presidential scale, dressed in the finery of the day -- jewels, silks, and lace.
Upon leaving Washington, D.C., the Grants made a trip around the world and were
welcomed warmly wherever they went.
Considered a business failure by some, Ulysses, dying of cancer and
yearning to provide for his family beyond the grave, was barely able to
complete and have published a two-volume autobiography. Julia, his ever devoted
and loving wife, died seventeen years later.
More to Read:
1. Mathew Brady
Photograph, Library of Congress.
2. Bufton's Universal
Cyclopaedia. Edited by Wm. Colledge, Paul Neergaard, Samuel MacClintock, Earl
Jeffery, Ulysses G. Alexander, Elmer RUSH, Charles Higgins, & C.W.
Crampton. Illustrated by Mr. & Mrs. Walter Bailey. Mutual Pub, KC; 1925.
Vol. 2.
4. Julia Dent Grant's
Memoirs, unpublished until1975.
5. The Presidents in American History. By
Charles A. & William Beard. Julian Messner, NY; 1977.
6. The First Ladies.
Margaret Brown Klapthor and The White House Historical Association. Washington,
DC.; 1979.
7. Heart & Soul of the Nation: How the Spirituality of Our First Ladies
Changed America. Cheryl Heckler-Feltz. Doubleday. 1997.
9. US GrantTrail: Missouri's Civil War Official Trail Guide. Missouri's Civil War Heritage Foundation, 2012.
10. Homes and Libraries of the Presidents. By William G.
Clotworthy. McDonald & Woodward, 2008.
11. Missouri: Day by Day. By Floyd C. Shoemaker, Editor. Mo State Historical Society, 1942.
12. Findagrave #9238
Places to Visit in MO.
1. Ulysses S. Grant Monument. 350 S. Main St. Ironton.
2. Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site (White Haven). 7400 Grant Road, St. Louis.
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