White House Weddings: The First White House Wedding
While Maria Hester Monroe's wedding to Samuel Gouverneur in March of 1820 was the first time the child of a president was wed it in the White House, it wasn't the first white house wedding. That honor was given to Lucy Payne Washington, who was the sister of Dolly Payne Madison. It took place on Sunday, March 29, 1812 during the administration of James Madison. Unlike the two previous weddings discussed in this series, the bride and groom were not cousins. The groom was Supreme Court Justice Thomas Todd.
Lucy was born in Virginia. Her parents were John and Mary Payne, a Quaker couple. She is believed to be a year younger that Dolley, and was probably born in 1769, though not all sources agree on her birth year. There is some confusion, because according to one biography of her husband the met in 1793 when she was 15 (which would put her birth year at 1778). She is described as having a "breezy nature". It is said that she liked to use slang. In 1793, Lucy met George Steptoe Washington, the nephew of President George Washingtom who was twenty-two years of age, who was in Philadelphia studying law. The couple eloped in 1793 and he brought her back to his Virginia plantation known as Harewood (now in West Virginia).
Three years earlier, in January 1790, Dolley Payne had married John Todd, a Quaker lawyer in Philadelphia. The had two sons, John Payne (called Payne) and William Temple (born July 4, 1793). Dolley's sister Anna Payne moved in with them to help with the children. But tragedy struck the Payne family when in August 1793, a yellow fever epidemic broke out in Philadelphia, killing 5,019 people in four months. In the epidemic Dolley lost her husband, her son William, and William's parents.
Lucy's parents broke off their relationship with her because she'd married outside of her religion, known as the Society of Friends, better known as the Quakers. The family later reconciled and Lucy's mother and her younger children later moved to Harewood to live with the couple.
Dolley, who was still living in Philadelphia, caught the eye of James Madison, who then represented Virginia in the U.S. House of Representatives. Aaron Burr, a friend of Madison's from their student days at the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), stayed at a rooming house where Dolley also resided. Burr introduced the couple. James Madison, at age 43, was a longstanding bachelor, 17 years older than his future wife. A brisk courtship followed and, by August, Dolley accepted his marriage proposal. As he was not a Quaker, she also was expelled from the Society of Friends for marrying outside her faith, and she began attending the Episcopal Church. They were married on September 15, 1794, with the service taking place in Lucy and George's parlor at Harewood.
George Steptoe Washingron died of consumption when he was 37 in 1809, leaving Lucy a widow. Her future second husband Thomas Todd was born in Virginia in 1765. His legal career took him from Virginia to Kentucky. In 1807, he was nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Thomas Jefferson. Thomas was a widower. His wife Elizabeth passed away after giving birth to five children, one of whom, Charles, later served as the ambassador to Russia.
The couple's decision to wed seems to have been made earlier than expected. Dolley Madison wrote to her father to announce the impending nuptials, saying the event was "unexpected" and that it caused "distress" to her household, although Dolley apparently liked Todd, tellin her father that she preferred him to the "gay flirts" who had previously courted Lucy. In the same letter, Dolley describes Thomas as being "estimable" and "very rich, very handsome."
The White House wedding was held on the State Floor in what is now known as the Blue Room. Lucy was attended by three bridesmaids, whos names are recorded as Miss Hamilton, Miss Hay, and her sister, the First Lady. Thomas had three groomsmen, Payne Todd (Dolley's son), John Payne (Lucy and Dolley's brother), and a Mr. Edward Coles. The wedding was officiated by a Reverend McCormick. There are conflicting reports about how many people attended. One report suggest that it was a small affair, while another suggests that the outgoing Dolley extended many invitations to Washington society (and that this led to resentment when the practice was not followed at Maria Hester Monroe's wedding).
The next day, the couple retreated to his estate in Kentucky. His service as a Supreme Court Justice required him to be in Washington for a few months a year. Lucy customarily accompanied him. The couple went on to have three children: William, Madisonia, and James Madison. After fourteen years of marriage, Thomas died in 1826 at the age of 61. He was buried in a family cemetery, but was later re-interred at the State Cemetery in Frankfort. Lucy lived another twenty years. She was initially buried at Harewood but was later removed, along with the remains of her son Samuel, to be re-interred at nearby Zion Episcopal Church at the request of Samuel's wife Louisa. Her tombstone notes that she was the wife of George Steptoe Washington, not Thomas Todd.
Lucy was born in Virginia. Her parents were John and Mary Payne, a Quaker couple. She is believed to be a year younger that Dolley, and was probably born in 1769, though not all sources agree on her birth year. There is some confusion, because according to one biography of her husband the met in 1793 when she was 15 (which would put her birth year at 1778). She is described as having a "breezy nature". It is said that she liked to use slang. In 1793, Lucy met George Steptoe Washington, the nephew of President George Washingtom who was twenty-two years of age, who was in Philadelphia studying law. The couple eloped in 1793 and he brought her back to his Virginia plantation known as Harewood (now in West Virginia).
Three years earlier, in January 1790, Dolley Payne had married John Todd, a Quaker lawyer in Philadelphia. The had two sons, John Payne (called Payne) and William Temple (born July 4, 1793). Dolley's sister Anna Payne moved in with them to help with the children. But tragedy struck the Payne family when in August 1793, a yellow fever epidemic broke out in Philadelphia, killing 5,019 people in four months. In the epidemic Dolley lost her husband, her son William, and William's parents.
Lucy's parents broke off their relationship with her because she'd married outside of her religion, known as the Society of Friends, better known as the Quakers. The family later reconciled and Lucy's mother and her younger children later moved to Harewood to live with the couple.
Dolley, who was still living in Philadelphia, caught the eye of James Madison, who then represented Virginia in the U.S. House of Representatives. Aaron Burr, a friend of Madison's from their student days at the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), stayed at a rooming house where Dolley also resided. Burr introduced the couple. James Madison, at age 43, was a longstanding bachelor, 17 years older than his future wife. A brisk courtship followed and, by August, Dolley accepted his marriage proposal. As he was not a Quaker, she also was expelled from the Society of Friends for marrying outside her faith, and she began attending the Episcopal Church. They were married on September 15, 1794, with the service taking place in Lucy and George's parlor at Harewood.
George Steptoe Washingron died of consumption when he was 37 in 1809, leaving Lucy a widow. Her future second husband Thomas Todd was born in Virginia in 1765. His legal career took him from Virginia to Kentucky. In 1807, he was nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Thomas Jefferson. Thomas was a widower. His wife Elizabeth passed away after giving birth to five children, one of whom, Charles, later served as the ambassador to Russia.
The couple's decision to wed seems to have been made earlier than expected. Dolley Madison wrote to her father to announce the impending nuptials, saying the event was "unexpected" and that it caused "distress" to her household, although Dolley apparently liked Todd, tellin her father that she preferred him to the "gay flirts" who had previously courted Lucy. In the same letter, Dolley describes Thomas as being "estimable" and "very rich, very handsome."
The White House wedding was held on the State Floor in what is now known as the Blue Room. Lucy was attended by three bridesmaids, whos names are recorded as Miss Hamilton, Miss Hay, and her sister, the First Lady. Thomas had three groomsmen, Payne Todd (Dolley's son), John Payne (Lucy and Dolley's brother), and a Mr. Edward Coles. The wedding was officiated by a Reverend McCormick. There are conflicting reports about how many people attended. One report suggest that it was a small affair, while another suggests that the outgoing Dolley extended many invitations to Washington society (and that this led to resentment when the practice was not followed at Maria Hester Monroe's wedding).
The next day, the couple retreated to his estate in Kentucky. His service as a Supreme Court Justice required him to be in Washington for a few months a year. Lucy customarily accompanied him. The couple went on to have three children: William, Madisonia, and James Madison. After fourteen years of marriage, Thomas died in 1826 at the age of 61. He was buried in a family cemetery, but was later re-interred at the State Cemetery in Frankfort. Lucy lived another twenty years. She was initially buried at Harewood but was later removed, along with the remains of her son Samuel, to be re-interred at nearby Zion Episcopal Church at the request of Samuel's wife Louisa. Her tombstone notes that she was the wife of George Steptoe Washington, not Thomas Todd.