![]() Ulysses became ill with malaria and was unable to run his farm. Yet without explanation, when he was in debt and barely able to put food on his family's table, Grant appeared in court on March 20, 1859, and emancipated his slave rather than selling him. Īt one point, Ulysses purchased a slave from Julia's brother Fred, his old West Point roommate. Unhappy to be so far from his family, Ulysses resigned from the Army in 1854 and the Grants moved to a small farm called "Hardscrabble" in St. Julia gave birth to Frederick Dent Grant in 1850 and Ulysses Simpson Grant in 1852 while her husband was dispatched to the West Coast for several years. Grant, Jr., 1854Īfter the Grants were married, Ulysses returned to the Army. Portrait of Julia Dent Grant with her eldest children, Frederic Dent Grant and Ulysses S. Grant's father, Jesse Grant, refused to attend their wedding (August 22, 1848), objecting not to Julia, but to her family's owning slaves. In July 1848, after they had been apart for four years, Grant's regiment returned to the United States, and he took leave so that he could make wedding arrangements in St. Despite the unlikeliness of the dream, Ulysses did return just as Julia had predicted and the two became engaged. Distraught at their separation, Julia had an intense dream, which she detailed to several people, that Grant would somehow return within days, wearing civilian clothes and state his intention of staying for a week. Grant's regiment was then ordered to Louisiana, in preparation for service in the Mexican War. Eighteen-year-old Julia initially demurred. In April of that year, Ulysses asked Julia to wear his class ring, as a sign of their exclusive affection. At one point her pet canary died, and Ulysses crafted a small yellow coffin and summoned eight fellow officers for an avian funeral service. "I want you to know him, he is pure gold." In 1844, Ulysses S. While a student at West Point, New York, Fred Dent wrote his sister Julia about how impressed he was with a fellow student, Ulysses S. ![]() Grant, you had better not make any experiments, as I might not like you half so well with any other eyes." īecause her strabismus was never corrected, Julia almost always posed in profile for portraits.Įngagement and marriage to Grant "I never had the courage to consent, but now that my husband had become so famous I really thought it behooved me to try to look as well as possible." Ulysses objected: "Did I not see you and fall in love with you with these same eyes? I like them just as they are, and now, remember, you are not to interfere with them. Īfter her husband became president, Julia reconsidered surgery. Julia was not keen on surgery, however, and declined. ![]() When she was younger, one of the best surgeons in the country offered to perform the simple operation that would fix them. Julia was born with strabismus (more commonly known as "crossed eyes") which prevents both eyes from lining up in the same direction. Īs a young woman, Julia was a skilled pianist, an expert horsewoman and a voracious reader of novels. William Clark (of Lewis and Clark) and politician Alexander McNair were family friends. The Dent family was highly social with visitors coming from among the elite class of Cincinnati, Louisville and Pittsburgh. Julia was a boarding student during the week and returned home to White Haven on weekends. Louis with the daughters of other affluent parents. From age 10 to age 17, Julia attended the Misses Mauros' boarding school in St. In her memoirs, Julia described her childhood as "one long summer of sunshine, flowers, and smiles…" Īround 1831–1836, Julia attended the Gravois School, a co-educational one-room schoolhouse in St. Julia, a distant maternal relative to Confederate general James Longstreet, was the fifth of eight children. Frederick owned about 30 African slaves, whom he freed only when compelled by law, having previously resisted moral arguments against slaveholding. Her parents were Frederick Dent (1787–1873), a slaveholding planter and merchant, and Ellen Wrenshall Dent. Julia Boggs Dent was born on January 26, 1826, at White Haven plantation west of St. Her memoirs, The Personal Memoirs of Julia Dent Grant were published in 1975. As first lady, she became a national figure in her own right. Julia Boggs Grant ( née Dent Janu– December 14, 1902) was the first lady of the United States and wife of President Ulysses S.
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