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    Virginia's Presidential Homes
    Virginia's Presidential Homes
    Virginia's Presidential Homes
    Ebook200 pages1 hour

    Virginia's Presidential Homes

    By Patrick L. O'Neill

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    About this ebook

    Images of America: Virginia s Presidential Homes takes a visual excursion to the homes of the eight Virginia-born men who served as president of the United States: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, and Woodrow Wilson. Virginia, nicknamed the Mother of Presidents, is the birthplace of these eight men who were key to the success of the American Revolution, the forming of the U.S. government, the War of 1812, the annexation of Texas, the Mexican-American War, and World War I. Coming from diverse backgrounds and classes, their residences ranged from simple wood-frame structures to elegant, brick-pillared mansions and estates. Through images and drawings, this book will bring to life their homes and family life.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateSep 27, 2010
    ISBN9781439641378
    Virginia's Presidential Homes
    Author

    Patrick L. O'Neill

    Author Patrick L. O�Neill is a professional historian and archaeologist, and he is the president of the Archeological Society of Virginia. He conducts research in the Virginia and Washington, D.C. region with projects including an overseer�s house at George Washington�s Union Farm near Mount Vernon, a well in the basement of Arlington House, the truncated 1785 foundation of Virginia�s State Capitol, Kittiewan Plantation in Charles City County, and Confederate graves at Bristow Station.

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      Virginia's Presidential Homes - Patrick L. O'Neill

      Archives.)

      INTRODUCTION

      Eight significant men have two special connections in the hall of the history of the United States of America: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, and Woodrow Wilson. The first connection is their birth state—not of their own choosing, but rather by the choosing or happenstance of their parents. They were all born in Virginia, the Mother of Presidents: five when Virginia was a British colony, one during the American Revolution, one just after statehood (Virginia retained her commonwealth status), and one on the eve of the Civil War.

      The second connection these Virginia-born men share is they all became a president of the United States, the highest and most powerful position in the nation and perhaps the world in modern times. No other state in the union can boast such a claim, although Ohio considers itself to be the mother of eight presidents, too. Eight presidents have actually lived in Ohio, but Ohio has forgotten that William Henry Harrison was born in Virginia, which would bring their total to seven natural-born presidents.

      Several of these men were distantly related to each other, some more closely than others, as Madison and Taylor’s fathers were first cousins. Three sets of two of these men were born within 10 miles of each other: Washington and Monroe, Madison and Taylor, and Harrison and Tyler. Three men, Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe, became good friends, sharing their political ideas with each other; Monroe even moved to be a neighbor of Jefferson.

      There are many more sets of facts distinguishing these men from the rest of the presidents. Each of these eight developed their political ambitions in a different way. Some were born into a strong, politically active family, such as both Harrison and Tyler; others, like Jefferson and Madison, were well educated at a young age, which perhaps opened their minds to broader knowledge of the world. Washington and Jefferson served in the Virginia House of Burgesses prior to the American Revolution. Jefferson, Monroe, and Tyler were governors of Virginia, with Monroe even elected in two separate periods. Taylor won several battles during the Mexican-American War, and his popularity alone enabled him to become the first president never to have held prior public office.

      These men served on a national level, too, as ambassadors (Jefferson, Monroe, and Harrison), senators (Monroe, Harrison, and Tyler), representatives (Madison, Harrison, and Tyler), secretary of state (Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe), secretary of war (Monroe, while also secretary of state), and as vice president (Jefferson and Tyler).

      With the exception of Wilson, the Virginia-born presidents all served in the military in some capacity, spanning from the French and Indian Wars in the 1750s to the Mexican-American War in the late 1840s. Some were only local militia, such as Jefferson and Madison. Washington was first in the Virginia militia, then joined the Virginia Regiment as a professional soldier, and finally led the Continental Army. Others were regular army, such as Tyler, Old Tippecanoe Harrison, and Old Rough and Ready Taylor.

      Farming was the most common denominator between these men, again with the exception of Wilson. The farms ranged from a few hundred acres to several thousand acres, with the understanding that only through cultivation came profit and prosperity, since the United States lacked the industries of Great Britain and Europe until the mid-19th century. However, the plantation mentality came at a price. All of these farmers-turned-president owned slaves, and Harrison was the only one not to own slaves by the time he was elected president. Only Washington released his enslaved servants after his death.

      All of these eight men married. The spouses of Tyler and Wilson, sadly, died while they were in office, and both of these men remarried before they left office. Two of the eight, Washington and Madison, never had children, although each married widows with children whom they raised as their own. Each of the remainder of the eight had several offspring, with many dying in infancy, typical of the period. Tyler had 15 children from two marriages, the most of any president.

      The first president to die in office, Harrison, was Virginia-born, and the vice president to succeed him, Tyler, was Virginia-born. The second president to die in office, Taylor, was also born in Virginia. Jefferson died on July 4, 1826, on the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence he authored, and his very good friend James Monroe died on July 4, 1831. Taylor became fatally sick on July 4, 1850, but did not die until July 9.

      Washington was a successful plantation owner, a great military man, and a natural-born leader. Yet his farm suffered from neglect when he was president, and he wanted to sell all but his beloved Mount Vernon, but he did not. Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe built lavish homes and accumulated thousands of dollars in debts, generally centering on their desire to entertain and live a style they thought a president should live but could not maintain. Only Monroe had to sell his property before he died, but the heirs of Jefferson and Madison did so soon after their deaths.

      Where did these eight men live, and where did these happenings just described take place? In what type of home were they born, and where did they grow into adulthood? How did they express themselves in residential status once their adult lives were in place and their political paths took them toward the White House and presidency? Did their homes reflect a change?

      This book presents the major residences of the eight Virginia-born presidents, including their birthplaces, homes from their adult lives, and many of their burial locations. None of these men were born in a three-sided log cabin like Lincoln, although Old Tippecanoe Harrison was supposed have been born in a log cabin, if his campaign told the truth. Harrison was, in fact, born in

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