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“Grace is a cosmopolite, and like a wild flower, is much oftener found in the woods than in the streets of a city.”
First Ladies of the US Emily Donelson Full Image

Emily Donelson

Emily Tennessee Donelson
Years of service: 1829-1836
Born: 1807

First Ladies of the US Emily Donelson Full Image

Pretty and petite but frequently ill, Emily Donelson was doted on by her family. She married her first cousin, Andrew Jackson Donelson, when she was seventeen. Emily served as White House Hostess in her deceased aunt Rachel Jackson’s place. Her beauty, fashion sense, and grace received rave reviews from Washington society. She refused President Jackson's order to make a social call on scandalous outcast Margaret Eaton during the “Petticoat Affair" in Washington. Instead, she defiantly left the White House for her home in Tennessee. Though the riff was soon over, she succumbed to tuberculosis before Jackson's presidential term ended, leaving behind four small children.

 

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Leaders in Literacy

4/30/2024 through 4/30/2025

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First Ladies as Teachers, Educators, and Librarians.

The right to an education is a foundational principle of America’s history, and many First Ladies have taken up this cause. We celebrate National First Ladies Day by kicking off this featured exhibit, presented by Huntington Bank.