Varina - Was She The Perfect Wife for Jefferson Davis?

 Some say that if Jefferson Davis had known at the time of his marriage to Varina Ann Howell in 1845 of the future that awaited him as President of the Confederacy, he could not have chosen a better wife than Varina.

She was born at "The Briars" near Natchez, MS, May 7, 1826. Jefferson Davis was born near  Fairview KY, June 3, 1808. Are you subtracting? She was 18 years younger than he and was only 18 when they married. Her mother objected at first, but the union turned out to be a long and happy one.

Varian was an intelligent, deeply religious woman and was well educated for her day. She was an accomplished hostess and lively conversationalist with a serious interest in politics. I'd say he was a good "picker", would you?

A number of books have been written about her, one of which is "First Lady of the Confederacy: Varina Davis's Civil War" by Joan E. Cashin. Another one is "Crowns of Thorns and Glory: Mary Todd Lincoln and Varina Howell Davis...Two First Ladies of the Civil War by Gerry Van der Heuvel.  A friend did a paper on this one at my literary club and it was extremely interesting.

Varina was an author as well. One of her books is called "Jefferson Davis, Ex-President of the Confederate States of America v2: A Memoir by His Wife".I hope one day to read some of these. I would love to know more about her, i.e. really get to know her as a person rather than an historical figure who lived for a brief time in the First White House in Montgomery!, Alabama!!!