Children
James and Elizabeth had three children:
- Eliza Kortright Monroe Hay (1787–1835): Eliza appeared to many a haughty, pompous socialite, quick to remind others of her good breeding and lofty station. In 1808 she married George Hay, a prominent Virginia attorney who had served as prosecutor in the trial of Aaron Burr. on alienated most of Washington society for her refusal to call on wives of the diplomatic corps, as was the custom. She caused another social furor in closing her sister's wedding to all but family and friends. For all her apparent vanity, however, she demonstrated genuine compassion during the fever epidemic that swept Washington during Monroe's term. She spent many sleepless nights selflessly caring for victims. Following the deaths of her husband and father, she moved to Paris, converted to Catholicism and lived in a convent. Her daughter, Hortense, was named in honor of her friend, Hortense de Beauharnais, step-daughter of Napoleon.
- James Spence Monroe (1799–1801): The only son of the Monroes was sickly and he died in early childhood. His name is merely a speculation, as his grave reads "J.S. Monroe", and not this name.
- Maria Hester Monroe-Gouverneur (1803–1850) was still a child when her father was elected president. Maria finished school in Philadelphia before moving into the White House in 1819. On March 9, 1820, she married her first cousin, Samuel L. Gouverneur, in the first wedding of a president's child at the White House. Many in Washington criticized the Monroes for keeping the wedding private; just 42 members of the family and close friends were invited. Friction between Maria's husband and her outspoken sister strained family relations thereafter. The Gouverneurs moved to New York City. Former President Monroe, upon losing his wife in 1830, moved in with them. President John Quincy Adams appointed her husband postmaster of New York City.
Read more about this topic: Elizabeth Monroe
Famous quotes containing the word children:
“The real dividing line between early childhood and middle childhood is not between the fifth year and the sixth year—it is more nearly when children are about seven or eight, moving on toward nine. Building the barrier at six has no psychological basis. It has come about only from the historic-economic-political fact that the age of six is when we provide schools for all.”
—James L. Hymes, Jr. (20th century)
“Every milestone of a firstborn is scrutinized, photographed, recorded, replayed, and retold by doting parents to admiring relatives and disinterested friends. . . . While subsequent children will strive to keep pace with siblings a few years their senior, the firstborn will always have a seemingly Herculean task of emulating his adult parents.”
—Marianne E. Neifert (20th century)
“Could it be that those who were reared in the postwar years really were spoiled, as we used to hear? Did a child-centered generation, raised in depression and war, produce a self-centered generation that resents children and parenthood?”
—C. John Sommerville (20th century)