|
| Affiliation | Democratic-Republican |
|
| Name | Elizabeth Kortright Monroe |
| Address |
, Virginia , United States |
| Email | None |
| Website | None |
| Born |
June 30, 1768
|
| Died | September 23, 1830
(62 years)
|
| Contributor | Thomas Walker |
| Last Modifed | Thomas Walker
Feb 04, 2004 10:39am |
| Tags |
|
| Info | Born: June 30, 1768 in New York City
Died: September 23, 1830
Father: Captain Lawrence Kortright (died 1794), merchant and captain in British Army
Mother: Hannah Aspenwall Kortright, who died when Elizabeth was nine
Ancestry: English
Siblings: John Kortright, Hester, Elizabeth, Maria and Sarah, all born in New York City
Physical Description: Very small – just over 5’ tall – with extremely beautiful and youthful features; violet eyes and raven black hair. The two existing portraits of her – one painted when she was quite young and the other as First Lady – testify to her beauty. She wore clothes well and had a good figure. The clean lines of the Empire style dress suited her regal beauty well. Her manner could be cold and aloof, which detracted from the beauty of her face.
Religion: Episcopalian
Education: Raised by a very capable grandmother, Hester Kortright, who maintained her own business, Elizabeth was well read, but we have little information about her education in general. It is also a pity that no letters of hers have survived.
Husband: James Monroe (1758 – 1831)
Courtship and Marriage: She met Monroe in 1785, when she was sixteen and he was ten years older. He was a representative from Virginia who was sent to the then capitol of New York City. Their courtship was short; they married at Trinity Episcopal Church in New York on February 16, 1786 and honeymooned in Long Island. It seemed an odd match at first. She was the daughter of a Loyalist officer who served in the British Army, and he was the hero of the Battle of Trenton, who earned praise equal to that earned by George Washington.
Age at marriage: Seventeen years old; Monroe was twenty-eight
Personality: Many of Monroe’s friends disliked the new Mrs. Monroe for her cold, aloof manner, which hid a shy nature. She was never to overcome her seeming aloofness. What people did not know, and what she was careful to hide, was that she suffered from epilepsy, then often called “the falling sickness”. This illness was viewed as a form of mental illness, and those who suffered from it were treated very cruelly. This only increased Elizabeth Monroe’s desire to withdraw from public view. Her years in France increased her desire for beautiful clothes. She always appeared well dressed, in the latest fashions. She carried herself with grace, style and poise. She often favored dark dresses, ermine shawls and, like Dolley Madison, she wore turbans.
Children: Eliza Monroe (1786-1840), James Spence Monroe (1799-1801) and Maria Hester (1803 – 1850)
Years Before the White House: Early in the marriage, Elizabeth made it clear that wherever James Monroe went, she expected to go as well. After several years in Fredericksburg, Virginia, the young Monroes moved to Charlottesville to be near their close friend, Thomas Jefferson. After his election to the Senate, Elizabeth Monroe, spent most of her time between New York City visiting relatives and Philadelphia.
In 1794, the Monroes left the U.S. for France, where Monroe had been named our minister there. Elizabeth Monroe’s experiences in France would have a direct influence on her years in the White House. To help gain acceptance in the eyes of Europe, both Monroes were successful in blending American virtues of social acceptance, thrift and democratic behavior with European poise, style and elegance. By their dignified manner, the European powers (through their ministers) came slowly to accept America as a reality.
Known as “La Belle Americane”, Elizabeth Monroe’s style and beauty made a deep impression on the French. While there, Elizabeth enrolled Eliza in Madame Campan’s school for girls, where, among her classmates were Hortense de Beauharnais, Josephine’s (the wife of Napoleon Bonaparte) daughter, and Caroline Bonaparte Murat, Napoleon’s youngest sister.
Elizabeth Monroe’s failure to call upon her fellow Americans on their arrival in Paris was seen as haughty and cold, but in this she was simply following the European custom. During the last days of the French Revolution, Elizabeth Monroe made a name for herself by her courageous visit to the imprisoned wife of the Marquis de LaFayette. As others had tried to rescue Adrienne de Noiolles de LaFayette and failed, Elizabeth Monroe, in the American Embassy’s carriage, made it a point to visit the imprisoned woman. Not wishing to offend their American allies, the French government used Madame Monroe’s interest in the wife of LaFayette to release her (and thus save face). The release on January 22, 1795 was directly due to Elizabeth Monroe’s visits.
After their return to the U.S., Elizabeth would spend her time traveling between Richmond and their home in Charlottesville. Debts continued to mount. Her father’s death in 1794 did little to bring any relief. After the long illness and death of her only son, Elizabeth’s health began to decline. She had her last child, Maria Hester, in Paris in 1803. Monroe had been sent there to negotiate with Napoleon for the purchase of Louisiana. For the next four years, they lived intermittently in London and Paris. Living in London taught Elizabeth poise under fire, because, at the time, the U.S. was not regarded highly by the English. Elizabeth Monroe found herself being snubbed. Her reserved manner only hid her hurt and fortified her for the difficult, lonely days in England. She preferred France. Both Elizabeth and her husband were witnesses to Napoleon’s Coronation on December 2, 1804.
After returning to the U.S., Elizabeth Monroe would see much in Washington as the wife of Madison, who was Secretary of War and later, Secretary of State. Never as friendly or outgoing as Dolley Madison, Elizabeth Monroe was rarely seen other than official functions. She, even at this early date, made a point of not returning calls made on her, unlike Dolley Madison, who returned calls even as First Lady. Though they had lived in Washington since 1811, the Monroe’s seemed distant and standoffish to most in the capitol.
First Lady (March 4, 1817 – March 4, 1825): Following in the footsteps of the extremely visible and much loved Dolley Madison would have been a difficult job for any First Lady, but was doubly difficult for the reserved, aloof and often ill Elizabeth Monroe. Turning to her elder daughter Eliza Monroe Hays for help, Elizabeth made her first and perhaps most crucial mistake. Eliza Hays proved to be a difficult, cold and haughty woman whose friendships with royalty (Hortense de Beauharnois had become Queen of Holland and Caroline Bonaparte had become Queen of Naples) had given her an inflated idea of her own importance. Instead of making life easier for her mother, Eliza increased her mother’s problems by her manner, which offended Washington society. After the free and easy manner of Dolley Madison, the regal bearing and reserved manner of the Monroe’s proved unpopular. Eliza Hay’s manner often appeared high handed and dictatorial. Her biggest mistake was snubbing official Washington by failing to invite them to her younger sister’s wedding in 1820.
In December 1817 Elizabeth Monroe, with the help of Louisa Adams (whose husband John Quincy Adams was then Secretary of State), laid out new regulations regarding protocol and social customs. By insisting on more formality and less democratic manner, Elizabeth Monroe was recognizing the European influence of her younger years. She insisted that the diplomatic corps make the first call on her, as fitting the wife of the President of the U.S., and that she would not return calls. By developing these new regulations, Elizabeth Monroe would not only free her successors from the “tyranny of social protocol”, but would also show that she considered her position nearly as great and as powerful as that of her husband. For example, after a dispute with France, President Monroe thought it wise to refuse an invitation to a reception at the French Embassy. Mrs. Monroe was then invited to take his place. She also refused, seeing her refusal as support for her husband’s stand.
There was, of course, another unspoken reason for her curtailment of social calls: her epilepsy. Her health, never robust, had further weakened. She needed to rest to regain as much strength as possible to improve her health. Her illness, although never discussed, was nonetheless a constant factor in many of her decisions. She had several seizures and once even fell in the fireplace and was badly burned. This took a heavy toll on her. However, Washington society knew little of Mrs. Monroe’s illness. With time, their dissatisfaction with Elizabeth Monroe reached epic proportions. They even went so far as to boycott not only Mrs. Monroe, but also Mrs. Hays and Mrs. Adams as well. John Quincy Adams referred to Eliza Hays as “the human firebrand”. The situation became so bad that it began to affect the day-to-day operation of the government. In the end, Elizabeth Monroe sought a compromise by having European style dinners, very formal and elegant, balanced by American style “drawing room” levees. By sticking by the rules she herself set down, Elizabeth Monroe avoided any criticisms of favoritism. She was so stringent in enforcing the rules that she once even turned away a relative who was improperly dressed for an informal levee. The rules she set have served as the basis of Washington society to this day.
Among her last receptions were those in honor of the Marquis de LaFayette and General Andrew Jackson. On both occasions, visitors commented on Elizabeth Monroe’s youthful beauty and gracious manner. She was, on the whole, glad to leave the White House, though her illness kept her there for some weeks longer than the term allowed.
Death: After several severe illnesses, Elizabeth Kortright Monroe died at the Monroe’s new home, Oak Hill, in Loudoun County, Virginia, on September 23, 1830.
Burial: First buried at Oak Hill, in 1903 her remains were moved to Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia to lie beside her husband, who was brought there from New York in 1858.
Legacy: Though retiring and sickly, the beautiful Elizabeth Monroe proved to be a strong and insistent First Lady. She had strong ideals of what her position entailed, and she insisted that certain criteria be met. Though viewed as cold, reserved and haughty, Elizabeth Monroe’s strength of character enabled her to rid the First Ladyship of a number of outdated social obligations, making life much easier for future First Ladies.
|
 | BOOKS |
 |
|
| Title |
Purchase |
Contributor |
|
| Start Date |
End Date |
Type |
Title |
Contributor |
|
| Date |
Category |
Headline |
Article |
Contributor |
|
| INFORMATION LINKS |
|
|
|
