Margaret Taylor
| Margaret Taylor | |
|---|---|
| First Lady of the United States | |
| In office March 4, 1849 – July 9, 1850 | |
| Preceded by | Sarah Polk |
| Succeeded by | Abigail Fillmore |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 21, 1788 Calvert County, Maryland, U.S. |
| Died | August 14, 1852 (aged 63) Pascagoula, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Spouse(s) | Zachary Taylor |
| Children | Ann Mackall Taylor-Wood Sarah Knox Taylor Mary Elizabeth Taylor Richard Taylor |
| Religion | Episcopalian |
Margaret Mackall Smith "Peggy" Taylor (September 21, 1788 – August 14, 1852), wife of Zachary Taylor, was First Lady of the United States from 1849 to 1850.
Early Life and Marriage
Born in Calvert County, Maryland, on September 21, 1788, the daughter of Walter Smith, a prosperous Maryland planter and veteran officer of the American Revolution, and Ann Mackall-Smith, "Peggy" was raised amid refinement and wealth.
While visiting her sister in Kentucky in 1809, she was introduced to Lieutenant Zachary Taylor, then home on leave, by Dr. Alexander Duke.
Taylor, aged 25, married Peggy Smith, aged 21, on June 21, 1810, at the home of the bride's sister, Mrs. Mary Chew, near Louisville, Kentucky. Their marriage appears to have been a happy one. A devout Episcopalian, Mrs. Taylor prayed regularly for her soldier husband. She became somewhat reclusive because, it is said, she had promised God to give up the pleasures of society if her husband returned safely from war.
Children
The Taylors' surviving children were:
- Ann Mackall Taylor-Wood (1811-1875) - Born near Louisville, she married Dr. Robert C. Wood, an army surgeon, in 1829.
- Sarah Knox "Knoxie" Taylor (1814-1835) The first wife of Jefferson Davis.
- Mary Elizabeth "Betty" Taylor (1824-1909)
- Richard "Dick" Taylor (1826-1879) - planter, Confederate Army general.
First Lady of the United States
With the rise in Taylor's political career, his wife literally prayed for his defeat, for she dreaded the personal consequences of his becoming president. By the time she became First Lady, the hardships of following her husband from fort to fort and the birth of several children had taken their toll. A semi-invalid, she remained in seclusion on the second floor of the White House, leaving the duties of official hostess to her daughter Mary Elizabeth "Betty" Taylor.
Death
On the sudden death of the president, her health deteriorated rapidly. She died two years later, on August 14, 1852, at Pascagoula, Mississippi. She was buried next to her husband near Louisville, Kentucky.
Portraits and photographs
No portraits or photographs of Margaret Taylor can be fully authenticated and none are known to exist. A "composite drawing" of two of her daughters was used to create a portrait of her for Laura Holloway's book "Ladies of the White House". Historic daguerrotypes purporting to be of Margaret Taylor surface occasionally within the collector's market but have not been confirmed or authenticated by photo historians at the Library of Congress or the Smithsonian.
A brief description of her personal appearance in 1825, when she was about 37, describes her as "a fat, motherly looking woman." The source of this description is "Early Days at Red River Settlement, and Fort Snelling. Reminiscences of Mrs. Ann Adams, 1821–1829." in "Collections of the Minnesota Historical Society, Vol. 6, St. Paul, Minn., 1894" pages 102–103:
In the summer of 1825, Col. and Mrs. Snelling with their children... made a trip to Detroit to pay a visit to her relatives, the Hunts and Mclntoshes, at that place. I accompanied them on that journey... When we reached Prairie du Chien, we put up at Fort Crawford, and tarried there a day or two, to rest. The Snellings were guests of Col. and Mrs. Zachary Taylor, who were stationed there then. It was a daughter of this couple which Jefferson Davis married, while a lieutenant in the army. I fell sick here, and wanted to return home, i. e., to the Fort. There was really nothing the matter with me but home-sickness. I had never been separated from my parents before. Mrs. Snelling was alarmed, as she did not know what to do unless I accompanied her on the journey, to care for the children. She talked about it with Mrs. Taylor. That lady came to see me. She was a fat, motherly looking woman. She told Mrs. Snelling the best way was to divert me and I would soon forget my ailment. This was done, and the cure succeeded."
Another description of Margaret Taylor's appearance, from November, 1848, when she was 60, can be found in The Massachusetts Ploughman and New England Journal of Agriculture, November 18, 1848, Vol. 8, No. 7, page 2:
"MRS. GENERAL TAYLOR AND DAUGHTER.-—At a late ball, at East Pascagoula [Mississippi], General Taylor, his lady and daughter and Major Bliss, were present. Of them a correspondent of the Mobile Herald writes as follows:--- “Mrs. Gen. T.—Dress plain, and in good taste; manners dignified and easy, countenance rather stern but it may be the consequence of military association. Person tall and commanding, demeanor retiring, with no palpable predilection for high station; and, judging from appearance, one would suppose the White House offers no peculiar attractions to Mrs. Gen. T., and if her ‘liege lord’ would listen to her sage and wel[l]-considered counsel, it is not unlikely he wou[l]d be content to remain as Gen. T."
References
- Original text based on White House biography
External links
- Margaret Taylor at the National First Lady's Library Note: Photograph on this web page has not been authenticated and identified by historians at the Smithsonian and the Library of Congress as being an image of Margaret Taylor.
- Margaret Taylor
| Honorary titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sarah Childress Polk |
First Lady of the United States 1849–1850 |
Succeeded by Abigail Powers Fillmore |
|