Monday, September 6, 2010

Mrs. Davis' Bedroom in the First White House

Recently  I wrote about President Davis' bedroom. Adjacent to it, the second room on the right off the  entrance hall was Mrs. Davis' bedroom. In it you will see furniture that is of the period and very similar to that used by Mrs. Davis at Brierfield Plantation in Miss. One piece, a fine pine wardrobe was used by the Davises at Beauvoir.

The mahogany tester bed came from The Tavern at Worthington Mass. General Lafayette slept in it the night of June 13, 1825 when he was on his way to make a speech at the dedication of the Bunker Hill Monument.

Other items of interest are a mahogany desk with secret compartments, a wig dresser and bedside steps with compartments for chamber pot and medicine.The focal point of the room is a  magnificent portrait of Varina Howell at age 17 before she married Jefferson Davis.

Varina was a well-educated, forceful woman who had a mind of her own and often spoke it. She was every bit a match for and equal of her famous husband. A book by Variana: Jefferson Davis, Ex-President of the Confederate States of America Part Two: A Memoir by his wife, is available from Amazon.

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