White House Weddings: Nellie Grant and Algernon Charles Sartoris
Nellie Grant was the third child and only daughter of President Ulysses S. Grant and First Lady Julia Grant. She was his only daughter, and was very special to her father. Grant had a number of nicknames for Nellie, including "Missy" and "Martha Rebecca." In letters he wrote to Julia, his wife, he sometimes referred to Nellie using these different pet names. In 1874, Nellie was married at the White House to Englishman Algernon Charles Sartoris in one of the most celebrated social events of the century. The wedding did not make the parents of the bride very happy, and it is said by some accounts that President Grant wept openly during the ceremony, and they were not tears of joy. The marriage would not be a happy one, in spite of the excitement that the ceremony caused initially.
Nellie Grant was born on July 4, 1855, in Wistonwisch, Missouri, near St. Louis, on the estate of Julia Grant's father, known as White Haven. She was first named Julia, at the insistence of her father, but was christened Ellen Wrenshall Grant at 18 months to honor her dying grandmother. She came to be known as Nellie and for the first two years she was raised in a log cabin, called Hardscrabble, that was built by her father Grant.
At the age of 13, Nellie moved into the White House, after her father was elected to the Presidency in 1868. Nellie was very popular and made friends easily. The nation developed a fascination with Nellie, who was the first teenage girl in the White House since Abby Fillmore. Because she was their only daughter, with three brothers, the Grants sent Nellie to Miss Porter's School, an elite boarding school for girls in Connecticut. This arrangement did not last long however. Nellie sent three distressing telegrams to her father, who sent an escort to bring Nellie back to the White House. She shocked Washington society when she danced through the night at a society ball. But her father did not rebuke her for this.
When Nellie turned 16, President Grant was concerned when there were many young suitors who pursued his only daughter. To keep Nellie out of the limelight, Grant sent her to England, accompanied by trusted chaperones. In England, Nellie was received by Queen Victoria and she attended many garden parties. Queen Victoria described Nellie as "rather stiff and off hand in her manner and spoke with a great twang."
It was on the voyage home she met her future husband Algernon Charles Frederick Sartoris (pronounced Sar-tress), He was four years older than Nellie (born August 1, 1851), and is described as an Englishman of "minor gentry" and potential heir to his family's fortune. Sartoris's mother was Adelaide Kemble, a former opera singer, and sister of the famous actress Fanny Kemble. Sartoris's father was a member of Parliament and served as a British European court minister.
Ulysses Grant was opposed to Sartoris's courtship and engagement to his daughter. He learned from his parents that his future son-in-law was a "drinker". Grant, himself, had a reputation of drinking. He did not want his daughter to live in England. Grant invited Sartoris to the White House to play billiards, and at that time Sartoris told Grant he wanted to marry Nellie. Both the fist lady and the President had their suspicions and mistrust about Sartoris. Grant finally relented and on July 7, 1873, writing to Sartoris's father, he gave his daughter permission to marry Sartoris on condition that the wedding take place in a year. Grant was concerned about Sartoris not having permanent employment.
At the age of 18, Nellie Grant and 22-year-old Sartoris were married in a lavish wedding held at the White House on May 21, 1874. The interior of the White House, including the walls, staircases, and chandeliers were decorated with lilies, tuberoses, and spirea. Orange blossoms from Florida had been crated up and sent North to the White House. The bride was described as "probably the most attractive of all the young woman who have ever lived in the White House."
At the ceremony the Marine Band played Mendelssohn's Wedding March, while President Grant escorted Nellie to the East Room, filled with 250 guests. Nellie's wedding dress was trimmed in Brussel pointed lace, and was said to be worth thousands of dollars. After the wedding, the newlywed couple traveled on a special train to New York in a luxurious Pullman palace car, especially made for the Vienna Exposition, covered by British and American flags. The following day Nellie and Sartoris sailed for England. After the wedding, President Grant went to his daughter's bedroom and sobbed uncontrollably.
Grant and Sartoris had four children together, two sons and two daughters. The couple lived together in England. Nelly never fully accepted English society, or had the admiration of the British people like her parents. She was close to her mother-in-law Adelaide Kemble Sartoris. When author Henry James visited the family at Adelaide's home in Southampton, he described having a brilliant dinner conversation, but added "poor little Nellie Grant sits speechless on the sofa, understanding neither head nor tail."
The marriage was not a happy one. Nellie's husband was had a drinking problem and was also a womanizer. By 1889, Sartoris's drinking problem was out of control and his parents believed that Nellie had suffered long enough. They made it clear that they did not blame Nellie for the breakup. Nellie was granted a divorce, given a large annual income, and allowed to take her children back to the United States, where she was given renewed citizenship by a special act of Congress. Sartoris died in 1893 at the age of forty-two.
In 1912, Nellie married Frank Hatch Jones, a lawyer originally from Springfield, Illinois, who lived in Chicago. He was a Yale University graduate, who was Chairman of the Sangamon County Democratic Committee, President of the State League of Democratic Clubs of Illinois and Secretary of the Illinois State Bar Association. Nellie Grant died on August 30, 1922, at the age of 67. She was buried in Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield, the resting place of Abraham Lincoln.
Nellie Grant was born on July 4, 1855, in Wistonwisch, Missouri, near St. Louis, on the estate of Julia Grant's father, known as White Haven. She was first named Julia, at the insistence of her father, but was christened Ellen Wrenshall Grant at 18 months to honor her dying grandmother. She came to be known as Nellie and for the first two years she was raised in a log cabin, called Hardscrabble, that was built by her father Grant.
At the age of 13, Nellie moved into the White House, after her father was elected to the Presidency in 1868. Nellie was very popular and made friends easily. The nation developed a fascination with Nellie, who was the first teenage girl in the White House since Abby Fillmore. Because she was their only daughter, with three brothers, the Grants sent Nellie to Miss Porter's School, an elite boarding school for girls in Connecticut. This arrangement did not last long however. Nellie sent three distressing telegrams to her father, who sent an escort to bring Nellie back to the White House. She shocked Washington society when she danced through the night at a society ball. But her father did not rebuke her for this.
When Nellie turned 16, President Grant was concerned when there were many young suitors who pursued his only daughter. To keep Nellie out of the limelight, Grant sent her to England, accompanied by trusted chaperones. In England, Nellie was received by Queen Victoria and she attended many garden parties. Queen Victoria described Nellie as "rather stiff and off hand in her manner and spoke with a great twang."
It was on the voyage home she met her future husband Algernon Charles Frederick Sartoris (pronounced Sar-tress), He was four years older than Nellie (born August 1, 1851), and is described as an Englishman of "minor gentry" and potential heir to his family's fortune. Sartoris's mother was Adelaide Kemble, a former opera singer, and sister of the famous actress Fanny Kemble. Sartoris's father was a member of Parliament and served as a British European court minister.
Ulysses Grant was opposed to Sartoris's courtship and engagement to his daughter. He learned from his parents that his future son-in-law was a "drinker". Grant, himself, had a reputation of drinking. He did not want his daughter to live in England. Grant invited Sartoris to the White House to play billiards, and at that time Sartoris told Grant he wanted to marry Nellie. Both the fist lady and the President had their suspicions and mistrust about Sartoris. Grant finally relented and on July 7, 1873, writing to Sartoris's father, he gave his daughter permission to marry Sartoris on condition that the wedding take place in a year. Grant was concerned about Sartoris not having permanent employment.
At the age of 18, Nellie Grant and 22-year-old Sartoris were married in a lavish wedding held at the White House on May 21, 1874. The interior of the White House, including the walls, staircases, and chandeliers were decorated with lilies, tuberoses, and spirea. Orange blossoms from Florida had been crated up and sent North to the White House. The bride was described as "probably the most attractive of all the young woman who have ever lived in the White House."
At the ceremony the Marine Band played Mendelssohn's Wedding March, while President Grant escorted Nellie to the East Room, filled with 250 guests. Nellie's wedding dress was trimmed in Brussel pointed lace, and was said to be worth thousands of dollars. After the wedding, the newlywed couple traveled on a special train to New York in a luxurious Pullman palace car, especially made for the Vienna Exposition, covered by British and American flags. The following day Nellie and Sartoris sailed for England. After the wedding, President Grant went to his daughter's bedroom and sobbed uncontrollably.
Grant and Sartoris had four children together, two sons and two daughters. The couple lived together in England. Nelly never fully accepted English society, or had the admiration of the British people like her parents. She was close to her mother-in-law Adelaide Kemble Sartoris. When author Henry James visited the family at Adelaide's home in Southampton, he described having a brilliant dinner conversation, but added "poor little Nellie Grant sits speechless on the sofa, understanding neither head nor tail."
The marriage was not a happy one. Nellie's husband was had a drinking problem and was also a womanizer. By 1889, Sartoris's drinking problem was out of control and his parents believed that Nellie had suffered long enough. They made it clear that they did not blame Nellie for the breakup. Nellie was granted a divorce, given a large annual income, and allowed to take her children back to the United States, where she was given renewed citizenship by a special act of Congress. Sartoris died in 1893 at the age of forty-two.
In 1912, Nellie married Frank Hatch Jones, a lawyer originally from Springfield, Illinois, who lived in Chicago. He was a Yale University graduate, who was Chairman of the Sangamon County Democratic Committee, President of the State League of Democratic Clubs of Illinois and Secretary of the Illinois State Bar Association. Nellie Grant died on August 30, 1922, at the age of 67. She was buried in Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield, the resting place of Abraham Lincoln.