Jefferson, Jackson, Van Buren, Tyler, and Arthur were widowers when they entered the White House.
Van Buren was the Talleyrand of American politics. Secretary of State under Jackson, he had won the heart of his chief, whose influence secured him the Presidency. His son's wife, Angelica Singleton Van Buren, gracefully conducted the ceremonies of the White House during the Van Buren administration.
General William Henry Harrison became President in 1841. His wife never came to Washington. He died one month after his inauguration. It was declared that he was worried to death by the fierce office-seekers of the time. His was the first funeral from the White House.
John Tyler, who succeeded Harrison, was a polished, cultured gentleman from Virginia. His was the literary period, when Washington Irving, Edward Everett, and John Howard Payne received foreign appointments.
His first wife, Letitia Christian Tyler, made her first public appearance at the White House at the marriage of her daughter. She died in 1842. Eight months before Tyler's term expired he was married to Miss Julia Gardner, of New York. The festivities of the time began with her wedding reception, and lasted till the end of that administration.
James K. Polk, of Tennessee, became President in 1845. He was rather small physically, and so spare or thin that the tailor had to make his clothing too large to help out his appearance.
Mrs. Polk much resembled in manners Martha Washington. She dressed well and gave frequent levees, as receptions were then called. She received her guests sitting, with the President standing by her chair. A gentleman once said to her, "Madam, there is a wo pronounced against you in the Scriptures: 'Wo unto you when all men shall speak well of you.'"
In 1849 Gen. Zachariah Taylor was inaugurated as the twelfth President of the United States. He lived sixteen months and five days after he became President. His wife, Margaret Taylor, was an invalid, but his daughter, "Miss Betty" as she was familiarly called, made the White House attractive.
Millard Fillmore, of New York, elected Vice-President, became President July 10, 1852. He was an eminent lawyer from Buffalo. His manners were marked with great simplicity and affability. Mrs. Abigail Fillmore was one of the few literary women who have presided in the White House. She drew to her side the literary men and women of the nation, and her receptions resembled the French _salons_ in their literary tone.