Julia Grant

 

Julia Grant

Julia Grant, wife of Ulysses S. Grant and first lady from 1869 – 1877 when Ulysses S. Grant became President. She is the first, First Lady to write her memoirs which were published in 1975. She was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri to parents who were farmers and merchants. She was also related to Confederate General James Longstreet.

Julia was introduced to Grant by her brother Fred Dent who happened to be a West Point Classmate of Grants. Dent was very Impressed with Grant and thought he was pure gold and he wanted Julia to get to know him. Grant began visiting the Dent family and after a few years of corresponding with Julia, they got married in 1848. Grant was in the Army until 1854, Julia didn’t like him being away so much and he was getting bored and resigned his commission. He tried various business ventures but those didn’t work out for him.

With the Civil War heating up, Grant reenlisted and although he traveled for the Army, Julia was only able to join him on limited occasions. After the war Grant entered politics and even though Julia wasn’t the raving beauty other women were of the time, after all, she was born with an affliction of the eyes called Strabismus which is now known as Cross Eyes which didn’t allow for her to look straight ahead. Her ailment is the reason why we only see photos of her from the side view and never a straight on facial view.

Although Julia wasn’t famous for her good works or even her hosting ability while in the White House, she is known to be the first, First Lady to have been recorded in film, according to the White House Historian.

After President Grant's death, she stayed in Washington, DC often following in the footsteps of Dolly Madison and becoming what is known as the “Queen Mother” style figure of politics. Her strongest friends before her death were Frances Cleveland, Caroline Harrison, and Edith Roosevelt, all first ladies in their own right.

Julia died in Washington, DC in 1902 at the age of 76, she was buried with President Grant at the General Grant National Memorial Cemetery in Manhattan, NY. 

Elizabeth Kilbride is a Writer and Editor with forty years of experience in writing with 12 of those years in the online content sphere. Graduating with an Associate of Arts from Pheonix University in Business Management, then a degree in Mass Communication and Cyber Analysis from Phoenix University, then on to Walden University for her master’s in criminology with emphasis on Cybercrime and Identity Theft and is currently studying for her Ph.D. degree in Criminology, her work portfolio includes coverage of politics, current affairs, elections, history, and true crime. In her spare time, Elizabeth is also a gourmet cook, life coach, and avid artist, proficient in watercolor, acrylic, pen and ink, Gouache, and pastels. As a political operative having worked on over 300 campaigns during her career, Elizabeth has turned many life events into books and movie scripts while using history to weave interesting storylines. She also runs 6 blogs that range from art to life coaching, to food, to writing, and opinion or history pieces each week.