The early losses of all four of their sons caused enormous grief to both the Davises. [29] At first the book sold few copies, dashing her hopes of earning some income. She actually found the tedium of rural life depressing, and she was always glad to return to the capitol. In 1872 their son William Davis died of typhoid fever, adding to their emotional burdens. At only 35 years of age, Varina Howell Davis was to become the First Lady of the Confederacy. Among them were that "slaves were human beings with their frailties" and that "everyone was a 'half breed' of one kind or another." New York: HarperCollins, 1991. They lived in a house which would come to be known as the White House of the Confederacy for the remainder of war (18611865). Varina Howell married Jefferson Davis on 25 February 1845. He . George Winchester, a New Englander who settled in Mississippi, worked as her tutor free of charge, and she attended an elite boarding school in Philadelphia because a wealthy relative probably paid the tuition. Grandchildren. Colonel Jefferson Davis was Wounded in Action during the Mexican-American War. source: New York Public Library Jefferson Davis was a 35 year old widower when he and Varina met and had developed a reputation as a recluse since the death of his wife, Sarah . [12], In the summer of 1861, Davis and her husband moved to Richmond, Virginia, the new capital of the Confederacy. She was interred with full honors by Confederate veterans at Hollywood Cemetery and was buried adjacent to the tombs of her husband and their daughter Winnie.[33]. In 1877 he was ill and nearly bankrupt. Following antebellum patterns, he still made all of the financial decisions, and he rarely, if ever, discussed politics or military events with her. Frazier's latest novel is a marvelous read - Smoky Mountain News Jefferson sometimes deviated from his route to check on his wife and children, and they were all together when Union forces caught them at a roadside camp in Georgia in May 1865. Their wives developed a strong respect, as well. Closed Dec. 25. He decreed when she could visit her family in Natchez. Her wit was sharp, but she knew how to put guests at ease, and her contemporaries described her as a brilliant conversationalist. Varina hoped they would settle permanently in London, a great city she found most stimulating. She was recruited by Kate (Davis) Pulitzer, a purportedly distant cousin of Varinas husband and wife of publisher Joseph Pulitzer, to write articles and eventually a regular column for the New York World. Their short honeymoon included a visit to Davis's aged mother, Jane Davis, and a visit to the grave of his first wife in Louisiana. Looking back from the 1880s, she told friends that her years in antebellum Washington were the happiest of her life. An Exh. The person to whom Varina, nearing the end of her life, confides all these memories is a middle-aged African-American man, Jimmie, who as a small boy was taken in by Varina and lived in the .

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