Mrs. Ex-President Tyler

That’s what she called herself later in life. A secret admirer called her “The Rose of Long Island.” She branded herself as the first celebrity First Lady. Preliminary investigations show her to have had quite the life. Maybe even a sensational and sensationalized one. Some say Julia Gardiner Tyler was our most scandalous First Lady. And one of our most beautiful.

I happened quite coincidentally across an article about Julia, second wife of John Tyler, the 10^th President of the United States. The post purported to be little known facts about Julia. And, indeed, for me it was true. I, to tell the truth, didn’t know one piddly fact. But, oh, my. If true, she was “a piece of work,” as my grandmother would have said. I had to go searching out more. Could she be another Intrepid Woman for my middle grade biography series?

Here’s what I know from a brief search:

Julia Gardiner was born in 1820 and died in 1889 at age 69 having been First Lady for less than one year.

She was reared in wealth and status on Gardiner’s Island (Long Island area), one of the largest privately owned islands in the U.S. She was very close to her father.

At age 19, she posed (as “The Rose of Long Island”) for a department store handbag ad in a newspaper, scandalizing family and friends. Her family took her abroad for a year to avoid negative publicity.

She was known as a flirt and was sometimes considered bold, even brazen, for the era. She knew what she wanted and went after it.

At age 21, Julia met President John Tyler at a White House reception (January, 1842). His wife died eight months later (September), and he began to court her. She rejected his first proposal five months after his wife’s death, but finally accepted when he was there to comfort her after her father’s death in 1844.

Their Episcopal wedding was small and quiet, some say in deference to her father’s recent death, but others say it was because of the scandal of Tyler marrying a woman 30 years younger than him who was younger than one of his daughters. John Tyler was 54 years old; Julia was 24. Gossip surrounded them throughout his courtship.

John’s daughter’s hated Julia, but eventually all but one came around.

Julia loved running the White House and enjoyed being First Lady. She ordered that the sometimes-played “Hail to the Chief” always play to announce Tyler’s arrival at events. Mrs. Polk, the next First Lady, continued the tradition, and to this day the anthem is played.

Julia was the first photographed First Lady, though she didn’t care for the likeness. She made copies of more flattering images and sold them. She had dances named after her.

After John Tyler’s single term was up in 1845, John and Julia retired to a home he had bought in Virginia. They had seven children between 1846 and 1860.

The Civil War interrupted their quiet life. At age 72, John likely died of a stroke in 1862, and Julia lost her slaves and her land thorough the disruption of war. Even though she had wholly adopted the Southern Lady lifestyle and considered herself a Confederate, she had to move to Staten Island to live with children and eventually moved into her mother’s home.

Union veterans tried to burn down the home she got from her mother when they found she flew a Confederate flag on her property. Her estranged brother sued to keep her from getting the bulk of her mother’s estate claiming she had used undue influence to get a will favorable to her.

At age 52, Julia became a Roman Catholic. A year later she lost most of her money in the Panic of 1873, a major recession. She lobbied Congress for the first-ever pension for surviving First Ladies that continue to this day.

She died of a stroke at age 69 in 1889 and was buried next to her husband in Richmond, Virginia. Those are the facts we know. Other purported may or may not be true.

Rumors had her pursued, before her marriage, by Tyler’s married son. True? She instituted monarchical features (including ladies-in-waiting) into the White House protocols. Maybe? She danced too closely to other men. Could be? She made a deal with a reporter to only write positive things about her in his paper. Possible? She rode around in a coach pulled by eight Arabian horses as royalty might. Likely? There’s a lot more for me to find out about this controversial First Lady.

Was Julia merely a strong, independent woman out of her time or was she a self-centered, entitled woman who was in a state of arrested development? I think the question is worth looking into. Intrepid Woman for my series? I don’t think so. I’ve not yet discovered the hallmarks of selflessness and heroism which mark my other women.

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Facebook: Caroline Adams pulls back the curtain on the second wife of the 10^th POTUS. What do YOU know about Julia Gardiner Tyler? http://bit.ly/2iiotCW

Twitter: The 2nd wife of the 10^th POTUS was quite a gal. Check out her adventures and misadventures from @Caroline_Adams9 http://bit.ly/2iiotCW