Varina Howell
Encyclopedia
Varina Banks Howell Davis (May 7, 1826 – October 16, 1906) was an American
author
who was best known as the First Lady
of the Confederate States of America
, second wife of President
Jefferson Davis
.
, the daughter of William Burr Howell and Margaret L. Kempe. Her father was from a distinguished family in New Jersey; his own father Richard Howell
having served several terms as Governor of New Jersey
who died when William was a boy; his mother a relative of Jonathan Edwards and Aaron Burr
. As a young man William Burr Howell, who had little by way of monetary inheritance from his father's estate, used family connections to become a clerk in the Bank of the United States
, later relocating to Mississippi where he married Margaret Kempe, a daughter of wealthy Irish born planter Colonel Joseph Kempe (sometimes spelled Kemp). Over the course of his life Howell was consecutively a planter, a merchant, a politician, a postmaster, cotton broker, a banker, and a military comissary manager, but none of his endeavors ever provided him with long-term financial success. He lost the majority of his wife Margaret's sizable inheritance through bad investments and an expensive lifestyle and suffered intermittent serious financial problems for Howell's entire life.
The Howells were close friends with Joseph Davis (1784–1870), a lawyer who had moved to Natchez from Kentucky and who was becoming one of the wealthiest men in Mississippi. They named their firstborn Joseph Davis Howell in 1824; Varina, their second child, was born two years later. The family would ultimately include 12 children, of whom 8 lived to adulthood.
When Varina was a child the Howell family home, furnishings and slaves were seized by creditors and sold at public auction, redeemed only through intervention of Margaret Howell's wealthy relatives. Varina grew to adulthood in a very nice house, The Briars, in one of the wealthiest cities in antebellum America, but knowing her family was dependant upon wealthy relatives without whom they would have been indigent.
A temporary upswing in family finances allowed Varina to attend Madame Greenland's School, a prestigious academy for young ladies in Philadelphia. One of her classmates was Sarah Ellis, the daughter of extremely wealthy Mississippi planters who was to be of critical importance in Varina's life after the Civil War. Varina returned to Natchez after one year, probably due to the family's inability to afford further tuition, and was privately tutored by Judge George Winchester, a Harvard graduate and family friend who occasionally boarded with the Howells (and for whom one of their younger sons was named). Varina spoke very fondly of Madame Greenland's and of Judge Winchester in her later years and sacrificed greatly to provide the highest quality of education affordable for her own daughters.
In 1843, at age 17, Varina accepted an invitation to spend the Christmas season at Hurricane, Joseph Davis's 5000 acres (20.2 km²) cotton plantation on a five mile bend of the Mississippi River a few miles south of Vicksburg
. During her stay she met her host's much younger brother Jefferson Davis
, a West Point graduate, former Army officer and cotton planter.
, only three months after their wedding in 1835. Davis, then contemplating a career in politics, was also a Democrat
, while Varina shared the Whig
views of her family. In spite of the differences in their age and politics Varina was almost instantly attracted to the older man, writing her mother shortly after their first meeting that
In keeping with custom, Davis sought the permission of Varina's parents before beginning a formal courtship. Her parents initially disapproved of the relationship due to the many differences in background, age, and politics. In her memoirs Varina said that her mother's greatest concerns were Davis's excessive devotion to his living relatives (particularly his brother Joseph, who had largely raised him after their father's death and upon whom he was financially dependent) and to Jefferson's near worship of the memory of his deceased first wife (concerns that in private correspondence Varina would later concede were entirely correct). Nevertheless the Howells ultimately consented to the courtship and the couple became engaged soon after.
From their surviving correspondence it is known that the wedding was initially planned as a very grand affair to be held at Hurricane during Christmas of 1844. For unknown reasons the wedding and the engagement were cancelled shortly before that date. In January 1845 Varina grew sick with a fever and Davis, fearful of her health, came frequently to visit, evidently proposing again during her recovery. Jefferson Davis and Varina Howell's second engagement was very short and informal, culminating in their marriage on February 26, 1845 at her parents house, an affair attended only by a few relatives and friends of the bride and none of the groom's family.
Soon after his marriage Jefferson's widowed and penniless sister, Amanda Davis Bradford, came to live on the property along with her seven youngest children. It was decided by Amanda's brothers she should share the large single storied galleried house that was being constructed on Brierfield, a decision was evidently made without Varina's consent or liking. This decision was an early episode in a marriage that in Varina's opinion (and with some evidence) would frequently be marked by interference from Jefferson's family, most particularly his brother the paterfamilias Joseph Davis, who proved extremely controlling not only of his brother but of Varina during Jefferson's absences. At the same time the growing financial dependence upon the newlyweds by Varina's own family created a source of continual embarrassment and resentment.
The young marriage was further strained by long periods of separation, first as Davis gave campaign speeches and "politicked" (or campaigned) for himself and for other Democratic candidates in the elections of 1846. The couple enjoyed a brief window of happiness when Jefferson was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives
and Varina accompanied him to Washington, D.C.
, a city she immediately loved, but very soon he took a leave from his position to serve as an officer in the Mexican-American War, with Varina returning to Brierfield under the supervision of her brother-in-law Joseph Davis. The surviving correspondence between the Davises from this period leaves no doubt as to the severe difficulties and mutual resentments the couple was experiencing at the time, and upon Jefferson's return from the war (where he received a painful foot injury) Varina did not immediately return with her husband to Washington when he was appointed to fill a Senate
seat, a period of separation that seems as likely to have been for personal reasons as well as any practical considerations.
Ultimately the couple reconciled, largely due to Varina's apologies for her "inconsiderations" in a surviving letter to her husband. Varina rejoined her husband in Washington, where due in part to his status as the former son-in-law and former junior officer of the then current President Zachary Taylor
Jefferson Davis became unusually visible for a freshman senator. Varina, who had felt extremely isolated and controlled on the Davis plantation, loved the vibrant social life of the capital city and soon established herself as one of the city's most popular (and, in her early 20s, one of the youngest) hostesses and party guests, constantly attending and hosting parties whenever Congress was in session. A marital rapprochement was furthered by the birth after seven childless years of a son, Samuel Emory Davis, in 1852. Her letters from this period reflect her happiness and portray Davis as an exceptionally doting father.
During the Pierce Administration, Jefferson was appointed to the post of Secretary of War
. Davis and President Pierce formed a personal friendship that would last for the rest of Pierce's life and was mirrored in a relationship of strong mutual respect between their wives. The death of the Pierce's youngest and last surviving child, Benny, shortly before his father's inauguration had proven emotionally devastating to both parents, accelerating President Pierce's dependence on alcohol and worsening First Lady Jane Appleton Pierce's health problems and recurring bouts of depression and frequently making neither able to satisfactorily fulfill their social duties as President and First Lady; at the request of the Pierces the Davises, both individually and as a couple, often served as official hosts at White House
functions in place of the President and Mrs. Pierce.
The Davises were themselves devastated when their son Samuel died in early childhood in June 1854. Jefferson's work at the War Department allowed him some outlet from grief, but Varina largely withdrew from social life for a time. Some happiness returned when Varina gave birth to a healthy daughter, Margaret Howell (1855–1909), followed by two more sons - Jefferson, Jr. (1857–1878) and Joseph Evan (1859–1864) during Jefferson's remaining tenure in Washington D.C..
's secession, Varina returned to the family plantation at Brierfield where she anticipated he would be commissioned a general in the Confederate army. She expressed dismay when he was instead named President
of the Confederate States of America
and did not accompany him when he traveled to Montgomery, Alabama (then capital of the new nation) to be inaugurated. She followed a few weeks later and immediately assumed official duties as the First Lady of the Confederate States of America.
In summer 1861, Varina and her husband moved to Richmond, Virginia
, the new capital of the Confederacy, and lived in the Presidential Mansion
there, during the War (1861–1865). In December 1861 she gave birth to their fifth child, William Howell Davis (named for her father, who held several low level appointments in the Confederate bureaucracy courtesy of his son-in-law). While first lady, she rescued a young slave boy named Jim Limber
from a beating, and took him in to live at the White House of the Confederacy. The Davis family lost several domestics in 1864, however. James Dennison and his wife, Betsey, who worked as Varina’s maid, financed their escape with eighty gold dollars of back pay, and Henry, a butler, left one night, but only after building a fire in the mansion’s basement
In spring 1864, their son Joseph was killed in an accident at the Confederate executive mansion in Richmond, Virginia. A few weeks later, on June 27, 1864, Varina gave birth to their last child, a girl named after herself - Varina Anne Davis
- but called Winnie. An adorable child at a time when the war was almost lost and levity was needed, Winnie Davis became known as "the Daughter of the Confederacy" and tales and likenesses of her were distributed throughout the Confederacy. She would retain the nickname for the rest of her life.
in Phoebus, Virginia
, for two years. Varina was left indigent and with her freedom of movement restricted to the state of Georgia where Davis had been arrested. Fearing for their safety she sent her older children to Canada
under the care of relatives and a family servant. Initially forbidden to have any contact with her husband, she worked tirelessly to secure her husband's release and to raise awareness of and sympathy for what she perceived as his unjust incarceration. After a few months she was allowed to correspond with him, and after public sympathy turned towards to Davis following publication of several articles and a book on his confinement (writings that Davis himself said were much exaggerated) she and their infant daughter were allowed to join him in his prison cell, eventually being moved to a more comfortable apartment in the officer's quarters of the fort.
Although he was eventually released on bail, and never tried for treason, Jefferson Davis temporarily lost his home in Mississippi (Brierfield), most of his wealth, and his U.S. citizenship. The Davis family traveled constantly in Europe and Canada as Davis sought employment that would rebuild his fortunes. He accepted the presidency of an insurance agency headquartered in Memphis
and the family resumed a life of some financial comfort until 1873 when the company went bankrupt due to market fluctuation and debt load. The family was also saddened by the death of their son William from typhoid
in 1871.
While visiting their daughters who were enrolled in boarding schools in Europe, Jefferson received commission as an agent for an English consortium seeking to purchase cotton from the southern United States and returned home. Varina Davis remained in England
to visit her sister who had recently moved there but remained several months rather than the few days expected. The surviving correspondence indicates that the separation may have derived from renewed marital difficulties more than her closeness to her sister. Both Davises suffered from depression due to the loss of their sons and their fortunes and Varina, possibly with reason, had grown very resentful of Jefferson's attentions towards other women, particularly Virginia Clay
, the wife of Clement Clay
, their friend and Jefferson's fellow inmate during his incarceration at Fort Monroe. For several years the couple lived apart far more than they lived together.
In 1877 Jefferson Davis was bereft of any prospects of employment, nearly bankrupt and suffering from a variety of illnesses, and separated from Varina. Advised to take a home near the sea for his health but lacking funds to do so he accepted an invitation to visit Sarah Dorsey, a widowed heiress who owned a home with a view of the Mississippi Sound
in Biloxi
. Mrs. Dorsey was the former Sarah Ellis who had been Varina's classmate at Madame Green's school and who since had become a published and respected novelist and a world traveler. Sarah prevailed upon her to join them at her home, an estate she had purchased after the war and rechristened Beauvoir
, but Varina's letters to Jefferson during this time make very clear that she found his relationship with the widow inappropriate. She did return to the United States, living in the Memphis home of their married oldest daughter, and a very gradual reconciliation with her husband began. She was with him at Beauvoir when their last surviving son, Jefferson Davis, Jr., died during a yellow fever
epidemic in Memphis in 1878, and ultimately became friends with Mrs. Dorsey during her grieving process.
Sarah Dorsey agreed to sell the Davises Beauvoir in 1878. When she died the following year she left them free title to the home as well as much of the remainder of her estate, a bequest that left them less than wealthy but with enough financial security to enjoy some comfort in the final years of their marriage and without which they would have been near destitute. They were joined by their daughter Winnie upon completion of her education and remained at Beauvoir for the remaining years of Jefferson Davis's life.
, had met Varina during a visit to the south and had solicited short articles from her for her husband's newspaper. With little income, poor health, the inability to properly care for Beauvoir, and long tired of the heat and humidity of Mississippi, she accepted the Pulitzers offer to become a full time columnist and moved to New York City
in 1891 where she and her daughter Winnie pursued literary careers. They took rooms at a series of residential hotels (their longest residency being at the Hotel Gerard
at 123 W. 44th Street). In October 1902, having previously refused much larger offers from real estate developers, Varina Davis sold Beauvoir to the Mississippi Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans
for $10,000 to be used as a Confederate veterans' home.
In later years Varina Howell Davis offended many of the Lost Cause, who saw her as the heir to her husband's mantle as icon of the Confederacy, by her move to New York City and by her associations. She became friends with Julia Dent Grant
, the widow of former general and president Ulysses S. Grant
who was among the most hated men in the south. She also attended a reception where she met Booker T. Washington
, head of Tuskegee Institute; socializing with a black man as if he were an equal was socially unacceptable for most white Americans of the time, particularly in the South
.
The greatest tragedy of her later years was the death of her daughter Winnie in 1898. Nevertheless she continued to write for the newspaper she worked for and to appear socially until poor health forced her retirement from work and any sort of public life in her final years.
Varina Howell Davis died at age 80 of double pneumonia in her room at the Hotel Majestic
in New York, on October 16, 1906. She was survived by only one of her six children and by several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The former "First Lady of the Confederacy" received a funeral procession through the streets of New York City where her coffin was placed upon a train and soon after interred with full honors performed by Confederate veterans at Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia
, adjacent to the tomb of her famous husband and her daughter Winnie.
(1862–1947) painted in 1895 at the museum at Beauvoir, and a profile portrait by Müller-Ury of her daughter, Winnie Davis, painted in 1897-'98, which the artist donated in 1918 to the Museum of the Confederacy
in Richmond, Virginia.
On August 29, 2005, Beauvoir
, which housed the Jefferson Davis Presidential Library
, was nearly destroyed when it took the full brunt of wind and water damage from Hurricane Katrina
. However, the home has been restored and reopened on June 3, 2008. The Presidential Library and Museum and other outbuildings are in the process of being rebuilt.
Varina Howell Davis's diamond and emerald wedding ring, one of the few valuable possessions she managed to retain through the many lean years after the war and housed in the Museum at Beauvoir at the time of Katrina, was among the items presumed lost in the hurricane. Amazingly it was discovered on the grounds a few months later and returned to safekeeping.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
who was best known as the First Lady
First Lady
First Lady or First Gentlemanis the unofficial title used in some countries for the spouse of an elected head of state.It is not normally used to refer to the spouse or partner of a prime minister; the husband or wife of the British Prime Minister is usually informally referred to as prime...
of the Confederate States of America
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
, second wife of President
President of the Confederate States of America
The President of the Confederate States of America was the Head of State and Head of Government of the Confederate States of America, which was formed from the states which declared their secession from the United States, thus precipitating the American Civil War. The only person to hold the...
Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Finis Davis , also known as Jeff Davis, was an American statesman and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, serving as President for its entire history. He was born in Kentucky to Samuel and Jane Davis...
.
Childhood
She was born at Natchez, MississippiNatchez, Mississippi
Natchez is the county seat of Adams County, Mississippi, United States. With a total population of 18,464 , it is the largest community and the only incorporated municipality within Adams County...
, the daughter of William Burr Howell and Margaret L. Kempe. Her father was from a distinguished family in New Jersey; his own father Richard Howell
Richard Howell
Richard Howell was Governor of New Jersey from 1794 to 1801.-Biography:Howell was born in Newark, Delaware. He was a lawyer and soldier of the early United States Army. He served as captain and later major of the 2nd New Jersey Regiment from 1775 to 1779. Richard was a twin, his twin brother was...
having served several terms as Governor of New Jersey
Governor of New Jersey
The Office of the Governor of New Jersey is the executive branch for the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of Governor is an elected position, for which elected officials serve four year terms. While individual politicians may serve as many terms as they can be elected to, Governors cannot be...
who died when William was a boy; his mother a relative of Jonathan Edwards and Aaron Burr
Aaron Burr
Aaron Burr, Jr. was an important political figure in the early history of the United States of America. After serving as a Continental Army officer in the Revolutionary War, Burr became a successful lawyer and politician...
. As a young man William Burr Howell, who had little by way of monetary inheritance from his father's estate, used family connections to become a clerk in the Bank of the United States
Second Bank of the United States
The Second Bank of the United States was chartered in 1816, five years after the First Bank of the United States lost its own charter. The Second Bank of the United States was initially headquartered in Carpenters' Hall, Philadelphia, the same as the First Bank, and had branches throughout the...
, later relocating to Mississippi where he married Margaret Kempe, a daughter of wealthy Irish born planter Colonel Joseph Kempe (sometimes spelled Kemp). Over the course of his life Howell was consecutively a planter, a merchant, a politician, a postmaster, cotton broker, a banker, and a military comissary manager, but none of his endeavors ever provided him with long-term financial success. He lost the majority of his wife Margaret's sizable inheritance through bad investments and an expensive lifestyle and suffered intermittent serious financial problems for Howell's entire life.
The Howells were close friends with Joseph Davis (1784–1870), a lawyer who had moved to Natchez from Kentucky and who was becoming one of the wealthiest men in Mississippi. They named their firstborn Joseph Davis Howell in 1824; Varina, their second child, was born two years later. The family would ultimately include 12 children, of whom 8 lived to adulthood.
When Varina was a child the Howell family home, furnishings and slaves were seized by creditors and sold at public auction, redeemed only through intervention of Margaret Howell's wealthy relatives. Varina grew to adulthood in a very nice house, The Briars, in one of the wealthiest cities in antebellum America, but knowing her family was dependant upon wealthy relatives without whom they would have been indigent.
A temporary upswing in family finances allowed Varina to attend Madame Greenland's School, a prestigious academy for young ladies in Philadelphia. One of her classmates was Sarah Ellis, the daughter of extremely wealthy Mississippi planters who was to be of critical importance in Varina's life after the Civil War. Varina returned to Natchez after one year, probably due to the family's inability to afford further tuition, and was privately tutored by Judge George Winchester, a Harvard graduate and family friend who occasionally boarded with the Howells (and for whom one of their younger sons was named). Varina spoke very fondly of Madame Greenland's and of Judge Winchester in her later years and sacrificed greatly to provide the highest quality of education affordable for her own daughters.
In 1843, at age 17, Varina accepted an invitation to spend the Christmas season at Hurricane, Joseph Davis's 5000 acres (20.2 km²) cotton plantation on a five mile bend of the Mississippi River a few miles south of Vicksburg
Vicksburg, Mississippi
Vicksburg is a city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the only city in Warren County. It is located northwest of New Orleans on the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers, and due west of Jackson, the state capital. In 1900, 14,834 people lived in Vicksburg; in 1910, 20,814; in 1920,...
. During her stay she met her host's much younger brother Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Finis Davis , also known as Jeff Davis, was an American statesman and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, serving as President for its entire history. He was born in Kentucky to Samuel and Jane Davis...
, a West Point graduate, former Army officer and cotton planter.
Marriage
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 Knox TaylorSarah Knox Taylor
Sarah Knox Taylor was the daughter of General Zachary Taylor, later President of the United States and Margaret Taylor, and was married to Jefferson Davis before he became President of the Confederate States of America.While living at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin where her father commanded Fort...
, only three months after their wedding in 1835. Davis, then contemplating a career in politics, was also a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, while Varina shared the Whig
Whig Party (United States)
The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...
views of her family. In spite of the differences in their age and politics Varina was almost instantly attracted to the older man, writing her mother shortly after their first meeting that
"I do not know whether this Mr. Jefferson Davis is young or old. He looks both at times; but I believe he is old, for from what I hear he is only two years younger than you are [the rumor was correct]. He impresses me as a remarkable kind of man, but of uncertain temper, and has a way of taking for granted that everybody agrees with him when he expresses an opinion, which offends me; yet he is most agreeable and has a peculiarly sweet voice and a winning manner of asserting himself. The fact is, he is the kind of person I should expect to rescue one from a mad dog at any risk, but to insist upon a stoical indifference to the fright afterward."
In keeping with custom, Davis sought the permission of Varina's parents before beginning a formal courtship. Her parents initially disapproved of the relationship due to the many differences in background, age, and politics. In her memoirs Varina said that her mother's greatest concerns were Davis's excessive devotion to his living relatives (particularly his brother Joseph, who had largely raised him after their father's death and upon whom he was financially dependent) and to Jefferson's near worship of the memory of his deceased first wife (concerns that in private correspondence Varina would later concede were entirely correct). Nevertheless the Howells ultimately consented to the courtship and the couple became engaged soon after.
From their surviving correspondence it is known that the wedding was initially planned as a very grand affair to be held at Hurricane during Christmas of 1844. For unknown reasons the wedding and the engagement were cancelled shortly before that date. In January 1845 Varina grew sick with a fever and Davis, fearful of her health, came frequently to visit, evidently proposing again during her recovery. Jefferson Davis and Varina Howell's second engagement was very short and informal, culminating in their marriage on February 26, 1845 at her parents house, an affair attended only by a few relatives and friends of the bride and none of the groom's family.
Family
After a short honeymoon that included a visit to Jefferson's aged mother, Jane Davis, and to the grave of his first wife in Louisiana, the newlyweds took up residence at Brierfield, a 1000 acres (4 km²) plantation that had been given to Jefferson some years before by his brother Joseph and whose Hurricane plantation it adjoined. Varina described their first residence as a very comfortable two room cottage that was to serve them until a more suitable house for a newlywed and well to do planter could be constructed. The construction of the main house would provide an unexpected source of major contention.Soon after his marriage Jefferson's widowed and penniless sister, Amanda Davis Bradford, came to live on the property along with her seven youngest children. It was decided by Amanda's brothers she should share the large single storied galleried house that was being constructed on Brierfield, a decision was evidently made without Varina's consent or liking. This decision was an early episode in a marriage that in Varina's opinion (and with some evidence) would frequently be marked by interference from Jefferson's family, most particularly his brother the paterfamilias Joseph Davis, who proved extremely controlling not only of his brother but of Varina during Jefferson's absences. At the same time the growing financial dependence upon the newlyweds by Varina's own family created a source of continual embarrassment and resentment.
The young marriage was further strained by long periods of separation, first as Davis gave campaign speeches and "politicked" (or campaigned) for himself and for other Democratic candidates in the elections of 1846. The couple enjoyed a brief window of happiness when Jefferson was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
and Varina accompanied him to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, a city she immediately loved, but very soon he took a leave from his position to serve as an officer in the Mexican-American War, with Varina returning to Brierfield under the supervision of her brother-in-law Joseph Davis. The surviving correspondence between the Davises from this period leaves no doubt as to the severe difficulties and mutual resentments the couple was experiencing at the time, and upon Jefferson's return from the war (where he received a painful foot injury) Varina did not immediately return with her husband to Washington when he was appointed to fill a Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
seat, a period of separation that seems as likely to have been for personal reasons as well as any practical considerations.
Ultimately the couple reconciled, largely due to Varina's apologies for her "inconsiderations" in a surviving letter to her husband. Varina rejoined her husband in Washington, where due in part to his status as the former son-in-law and former junior officer of the then current President Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor was the 12th President of the United States and an American military leader. Initially uninterested in politics, Taylor nonetheless ran as a Whig in the 1848 presidential election, defeating Lewis Cass...
Jefferson Davis became unusually visible for a freshman senator. Varina, who had felt extremely isolated and controlled on the Davis plantation, loved the vibrant social life of the capital city and soon established herself as one of the city's most popular (and, in her early 20s, one of the youngest) hostesses and party guests, constantly attending and hosting parties whenever Congress was in session. A marital rapprochement was furthered by the birth after seven childless years of a son, Samuel Emory Davis, in 1852. Her letters from this period reflect her happiness and portray Davis as an exceptionally doting father.
During the Pierce Administration, Jefferson was appointed to the post of Secretary of War
United States Secretary of War
The Secretary of War was a member of the United States President's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War," was appointed to serve the Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation...
. Davis and President Pierce formed a personal friendship that would last for the rest of Pierce's life and was mirrored in a relationship of strong mutual respect between their wives. The death of the Pierce's youngest and last surviving child, Benny, shortly before his father's inauguration had proven emotionally devastating to both parents, accelerating President Pierce's dependence on alcohol and worsening First Lady Jane Appleton Pierce's health problems and recurring bouts of depression and frequently making neither able to satisfactorily fulfill their social duties as President and First Lady; at the request of the Pierces the Davises, both individually and as a couple, often served as official hosts at White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
functions in place of the President and Mrs. Pierce.
The Davises were themselves devastated when their son Samuel died in early childhood in June 1854. Jefferson's work at the War Department allowed him some outlet from grief, but Varina largely withdrew from social life for a time. Some happiness returned when Varina gave birth to a healthy daughter, Margaret Howell (1855–1909), followed by two more sons - Jefferson, Jr. (1857–1878) and Joseph Evan (1859–1864) during Jefferson's remaining tenure in Washington D.C..
Confederate First Lady
Varina's private letters reflect an astute and realistic understanding of the practicalities of southern secession; she understood and to some extent sympathized with secession but believed that should the United States fight the withdrawal a war with them would be almost impossible to win (due ironically in no small part to her husband's strengthening of the United States armed forces during his tenure as Secretary of War). Upon her husband's resignation from the Senate at the time of MississippiMississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
's secession, Varina returned to the family plantation at Brierfield where she anticipated he would be commissioned a general in the Confederate army. She expressed dismay when he was instead named President
President of the Confederate States of America
The President of the Confederate States of America was the Head of State and Head of Government of the Confederate States of America, which was formed from the states which declared their secession from the United States, thus precipitating the American Civil War. The only person to hold the...
of the Confederate States of America
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
and did not accompany him when he traveled to Montgomery, Alabama (then capital of the new nation) to be inaugurated. She followed a few weeks later and immediately assumed official duties as the First Lady of the Confederate States of America.
In summer 1861, Varina and her husband moved to Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, the new capital of the Confederacy, and lived in the Presidential Mansion
Museum of the Confederacy
The Museum of the Confederacy is located in Richmond, Virginia. The museum includes the former White House of the Confederacy and maintains a comprehensive collection of artifacts, manuscripts, Confederate imprints , and photographs from the Confederate States of America and the American Civil War...
there, during the War (1861–1865). In December 1861 she gave birth to their fifth child, William Howell Davis (named for her father, who held several low level appointments in the Confederate bureaucracy courtesy of his son-in-law). While first lady, she rescued a young slave boy named Jim Limber
Jim Limber
Jim Limber, also known as Jim Limber Davis, was a mulatto boy who was briefly a ward of Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederate States of America. He was under the care of the Davis family from February 1864 to May 1865...
from a beating, and took him in to live at the White House of the Confederacy. The Davis family lost several domestics in 1864, however. James Dennison and his wife, Betsey, who worked as Varina’s maid, financed their escape with eighty gold dollars of back pay, and Henry, a butler, left one night, but only after building a fire in the mansion’s basement
In spring 1864, their son Joseph was killed in an accident at the Confederate executive mansion in Richmond, Virginia. A few weeks later, on June 27, 1864, Varina gave birth to their last child, a girl named after herself - Varina Anne Davis
Varina Anne Davis
Varina Anne "Winnie" Davis was an American author. A daughter of President of the Confederate States of America, Jefferson Davis, she became known as "Daughter of the Confederacy", for her appearances with her father on behalf of Confederate veterans' groups.-Childhood:Varina Anne Davis was born...
- but called Winnie. An adorable child at a time when the war was almost lost and levity was needed, Winnie Davis became known as "the Daughter of the Confederacy" and tales and likenesses of her were distributed throughout the Confederacy. She would retain the nickname for the rest of her life.
Postwar
When the war ended with the defeat of the CSA, she and her husband fled South hoping to escape to Europe, but they were captured and he was imprisoned at Fort MonroeFort Monroe
Fort Monroe was a military installation in Hampton, Virginia—at Old Point Comfort, the southern tip of the Virginia Peninsula...
in Phoebus, Virginia
Phoebus, Virginia
Phoebus was an incorporated town located in Elizabeth City County on the Virginia Peninsula in eastern Virginia. Upon incorporation in 1900, it was named in honor of local businessman Harrison Phoebus , who is credited with convincing the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway to extend its tracks to the...
, for two years. Varina was left indigent and with her freedom of movement restricted to the state of Georgia where Davis had been arrested. Fearing for their safety she sent her older children to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
under the care of relatives and a family servant. Initially forbidden to have any contact with her husband, she worked tirelessly to secure her husband's release and to raise awareness of and sympathy for what she perceived as his unjust incarceration. After a few months she was allowed to correspond with him, and after public sympathy turned towards to Davis following publication of several articles and a book on his confinement (writings that Davis himself said were much exaggerated) she and their infant daughter were allowed to join him in his prison cell, eventually being moved to a more comfortable apartment in the officer's quarters of the fort.
Although he was eventually released on bail, and never tried for treason, Jefferson Davis temporarily lost his home in Mississippi (Brierfield), most of his wealth, and his U.S. citizenship. The Davis family traveled constantly in Europe and Canada as Davis sought employment that would rebuild his fortunes. He accepted the presidency of an insurance agency headquartered in Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
and the family resumed a life of some financial comfort until 1873 when the company went bankrupt due to market fluctuation and debt load. The family was also saddened by the death of their son William from typhoid
Typhoid fever
Typhoid fever, also known as Typhoid, is a common worldwide bacterial disease, transmitted by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with the feces of an infected person, which contain the bacterium Salmonella enterica, serovar Typhi...
in 1871.
While visiting their daughters who were enrolled in boarding schools in Europe, Jefferson received commission as an agent for an English consortium seeking to purchase cotton from the southern United States and returned home. Varina Davis remained in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to visit her sister who had recently moved there but remained several months rather than the few days expected. The surviving correspondence indicates that the separation may have derived from renewed marital difficulties more than her closeness to her sister. Both Davises suffered from depression due to the loss of their sons and their fortunes and Varina, possibly with reason, had grown very resentful of Jefferson's attentions towards other women, particularly Virginia Clay
Virginia Clay-Clopton
Virginia Clay-Clopton was an American memoirist and political hostess. She was also known as Virginia Tunstall, Virginia Clay, and Mrs. Clement Claiborne Clay.-Biography:...
, the wife of Clement Clay
Clement Claiborne Clay
Clement Claiborne Clay was a U.S. senator from the state of Alabama from 1853 to 1861, and a C.S.A. senator from the Alabama from 1861 to 1863...
, their friend and Jefferson's fellow inmate during his incarceration at Fort Monroe. For several years the couple lived apart far more than they lived together.
In 1877 Jefferson Davis was bereft of any prospects of employment, nearly bankrupt and suffering from a variety of illnesses, and separated from Varina. Advised to take a home near the sea for his health but lacking funds to do so he accepted an invitation to visit Sarah Dorsey, a widowed heiress who owned a home with a view of the Mississippi Sound
Mississippi Sound
The Mississippi Sound is a sound along the Gulf Coast of the United States. It runs east-west along the southern coasts of Mississippi and Alabama, from Waveland, Mississippi, to the Dauphin Island Bridge, a distance of about 145 kilometers...
in Biloxi
Biloxi, Mississippi
Biloxi is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, in the United States. The 2010 census recorded the population as 44,054. Along with Gulfport, Biloxi is a county seat of Harrison County....
. Mrs. Dorsey was the former Sarah Ellis who had been Varina's classmate at Madame Green's school and who since had become a published and respected novelist and a world traveler. Sarah prevailed upon her to join them at her home, an estate she had purchased after the war and rechristened Beauvoir
Beauvoir (Biloxi, Mississippi)
Beauvoir is the historic post-war home and Presidential library of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, begun in 1848 at Biloxi, Mississippi. The main house and library were badly damaged, and other outbuildings were destroyed during Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005...
, but Varina's letters to Jefferson during this time make very clear that she found his relationship with the widow inappropriate. She did return to the United States, living in the Memphis home of their married oldest daughter, and a very gradual reconciliation with her husband began. She was with him at Beauvoir when their last surviving son, Jefferson Davis, Jr., died during a yellow fever
Yellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....
epidemic in Memphis in 1878, and ultimately became friends with Mrs. Dorsey during her grieving process.
Sarah Dorsey agreed to sell the Davises Beauvoir in 1878. When she died the following year she left them free title to the home as well as much of the remainder of her estate, a bequest that left them less than wealthy but with enough financial security to enjoy some comfort in the final years of their marriage and without which they would have been near destitute. They were joined by their daughter Winnie upon completion of her education and remained at Beauvoir for the remaining years of Jefferson Davis's life.
Widow
Jefferson Davis died in 1889. Varina completed an autobiographical writing he had begun and published it as Jefferson Davis, A Memoir (ISBN 1-877853-06-2) in 1890. However, the book sold few copies due to problems with the publisher. Kate Davis Pulitzer, a distant cousin of Jefferson Davis and the wife of Joseph PulitzerJoseph Pulitzer
Joseph Pulitzer April 10, 1847 – October 29, 1911), born Politzer József, was a Hungarian-American newspaper publisher of the St. Louis Post Dispatch and the New York World. Pulitzer introduced the techniques of "new journalism" to the newspapers he acquired in the 1880s and became a leading...
, had met Varina during a visit to the south and had solicited short articles from her for her husband's newspaper. With little income, poor health, the inability to properly care for Beauvoir, and long tired of the heat and humidity of Mississippi, she accepted the Pulitzers offer to become a full time columnist and moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1891 where she and her daughter Winnie pursued literary careers. They took rooms at a series of residential hotels (their longest residency being at the Hotel Gerard
Hotel Gerard
The Hotel Gerard is located in New York, New York. The building was built in 1893 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 10, 1983.-See also:*National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan from 14th to 59th Streets...
at 123 W. 44th Street). In October 1902, having previously refused much larger offers from real estate developers, Varina Davis sold Beauvoir to the Mississippi Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans
Sons of Confederate Veterans
Sons of Confederate Veterans is an American national heritage organization with members in all fifty states and in almost a dozen countries in Europe, Australia and South America...
for $10,000 to be used as a Confederate veterans' home.
In later years Varina Howell Davis offended many of the Lost Cause, who saw her as the heir to her husband's mantle as icon of the Confederacy, by her move to New York City and by her associations. She became friends with Julia Dent Grant
Julia Grant
Julia Boggs Dent-Grant , was the wife of the 18th President of the United States, Ulysses S. Grant, and was First Lady of the United States from 1869 to 1877.-Background:...
, the widow of former general and president Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
who was among the most hated men in the south. She also attended a reception where she met Booker T. Washington
Booker T. Washington
Booker Taliaferro Washington was an American educator, author, orator, and political leader. He was the dominant figure in the African-American community in the United States from 1890 to 1915...
, head of Tuskegee Institute; socializing with a black man as if he were an equal was socially unacceptable for most white Americans of the time, particularly in the South
The South
-Geography:* Southern United States* South of England* South of France* South Italy* South Korea* Republic of Ireland* South Province * Global South, the developing nations of the world-Other uses:* The South , by Victor Erice...
.
The greatest tragedy of her later years was the death of her daughter Winnie in 1898. Nevertheless she continued to write for the newspaper she worked for and to appear socially until poor health forced her retirement from work and any sort of public life in her final years.
Varina Howell Davis died at age 80 of double pneumonia in her room at the Hotel Majestic
Hotel Majestic
The Hotel Majestic is a historic luxury hotel located in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Built for local Chinese businessman Hui Bon Hoa in 1925 in a French Colonial and classical French Riviera styles....
in New York, on October 16, 1906. She was survived by only one of her six children and by several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The former "First Lady of the Confederacy" received a funeral procession through the streets of New York City where her coffin was placed upon a train and soon after interred with full honors performed by Confederate veterans at Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, adjacent to the tomb of her famous husband and her daughter Winnie.
Memory
There is a portrait of Mrs. Davis (known as the "Widow of the Confederacy") by the Swiss-born American artist Adolfo Müller-UryAdolfo Müller-Ury
Adolfo Muller-Ury was a Swiss-born American portrait painter and impressionistic painter of roses and still life.-Heritage and early life in Switzerland:...
(1862–1947) painted in 1895 at the museum at Beauvoir, and a profile portrait by Müller-Ury of her daughter, Winnie Davis, painted in 1897-'98, which the artist donated in 1918 to the Museum of the Confederacy
Museum of the Confederacy
The Museum of the Confederacy is located in Richmond, Virginia. The museum includes the former White House of the Confederacy and maintains a comprehensive collection of artifacts, manuscripts, Confederate imprints , and photographs from the Confederate States of America and the American Civil War...
in Richmond, Virginia.
On August 29, 2005, Beauvoir
Beauvoir (Biloxi, Mississippi)
Beauvoir is the historic post-war home and Presidential library of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, begun in 1848 at Biloxi, Mississippi. The main house and library were badly damaged, and other outbuildings were destroyed during Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005...
, which housed the Jefferson Davis Presidential Library
Jefferson Davis Presidential Library
The Jefferson Davis Presidential Library is a library and museum in Mississippi with the purpose of preserving, housing and making available, the papers, records, artifacts and other historical materials of Confederate States of America President Jefferson Davis. Despite its name it is not an...
, was nearly destroyed when it took the full brunt of wind and water damage from Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
. However, the home has been restored and reopened on June 3, 2008. The Presidential Library and Museum and other outbuildings are in the process of being rebuilt.
Varina Howell Davis's diamond and emerald wedding ring, one of the few valuable possessions she managed to retain through the many lean years after the war and housed in the Museum at Beauvoir at the time of Katrina, was among the items presumed lost in the hurricane. Amazingly it was discovered on the grounds a few months later and returned to safekeeping.