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Show DIGNIFIED IN NAME HAVE BEEN THE MI8TrtS8E9 OF ' THE WHITE HOUSE, 1 But One Woman Haa Had High Honor of Being the Wife of One and the Mother of Another President. Fame Is (lectins onongh In tho enso of men, but when It comos to women the goddess Is twlco ns fickle. Almost any public school pupil moro than ten yenrs old enn repqat tho names of the presidents of tho United Stntcs, but how many know tho presidents' wives? Doubtless 90 per cent, of tho adult population Is unablo to namo offhand off-hand mora than n half dozon women whoso husbands occupied tho Whlto Houso. Everybody knows Martha Washington Washing-ton was Mrs. Custls when sho was married to tho Father of His C!ountry, but how many remember her maiden name was Dandrldgo? Thero aro dozens of families throughout tho country coun-try which, If heraldry obtnln In America, Amer-ica, would be entitled to emblazon the nation's shield, on their cont-of-nrms by reason of having been connected with presidents through their ancestresses. ances-tresses. They represent tho names of Dandrldgo, Custls, Smith, Wnyles, Skclton, I'nyno, Todd, Kortwright, Johnson, Donolson, Itobards, Hoes, Symmes, Christian, Gardiner, Childress, Chil-dress, Powers. Carmlchacl, Mcintosh, Appleton, McCnrdlo, Dent, Webb, Rudolph, Ru-dolph, Herndon, Folsom, Scott, Lord, Dimmtck, Saxon, Loo and Carow. And thoflo aro only names ot presidents' presi-dents' wives. Tho mothors of tho presidents, beginning with Washington's, Washing-ton's, originally boro tho surnames Hall, HojMton, Randolph, Conway, Jones, Smith, Hutchinson, Hoes, Una-sett, Una-sett, Armlstead, Knox, Stroller, Millard, Mil-lard, Kendrlcks, Spoor, Hanks, McDon-ough, McDon-ough, Simpson, Uirchard, Ilallou, Stone, Ncal, Irwin, Allison and Mullock. Mul-lock. Only one woman had tho lienor ol being both tho wlfo and tho mother of presidents. Bho was Abigail Smith, who was married to John Adams, tho second president, and whoso son, John Qulncy Adams, becamo tho sixth president. Anothor woman, Eliza-both Eliza-both linsBOtt, was wlfo and grandmother grand-mother ot presidents. Her huftand was William Henry Hnrrlson, ninth occupant of tho Whlto Houso, her grandson, Dcnjamln Harrison, the twenty-third In lino. That nil tho presidents havo been dignified men from their early years Is shown by tho Christian names of their helpmeets. Among tho wives of tho presidents thero nover hns beon a Flosslo, a Uabotto, n Tossio, a Kitty, nor even a Gwendolyn, Hortcnso or Mabel. Tho only woman whoso given nnmo approached frivolity was Dolly Madison, and ulio no doubt was christened chris-tened Dorothy or Dorothea, unless a mlstako was mado at tho baptismal font Thero wero two Marthas innd as many Abigails, Carolines, Marys, Elizas and Julias. Tho other presidents' wives hnve been, respectively, Dolly, Louisa, Rachel, Hannah, Anna, Letltla, Sarah, Margaret, Jane, Lucy. Lucretla, Ellen, Frances, Ida, Allco and Edith. Equally staid were tho names of tho presidents' mothors. There havo been two each of Jane, Eliza, Anna and Nancy; threo Marys and four Elizabeths, The otli.-r mothers ot tho presidents dlvldo the names Susanna, Nelly, Abigail, Abi-gail, Mnrlu. Sarah, Phoebo, Harriet, Sophia, Malvlna and Martha. Tho wlfo ot tho first president and the mother of the latest wero nr.med Martha. It is hard to conceive of any of thoso women being addressed by undignified diminutives. |