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78-546: The main house at Hurricane was two stories, with two large semi-detached wings for entertaining, and a detached library. There were also numerous outbuildings typical of a plantation of that scale. The residence was described in detail by Varina Davis (Jefferson Davis's second wife), in a memoir of her husband. Davis lived at Hurricane with his wife, Eliza Van Benthuysen Davis , his three illegitimate daughters, and his two adopted children. He had served as surrogate father and de facto guardian for his brother Jefferson Davis, who

156-627: A Linotype . In time the more sensational approach to news, advertising, and content triumphed. On May 16, 2011, the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism announced that it was launching an online publication named The New York World, in honor of the original newspaper published by Joseph Pulitzer, who founded the graduate school. The university said the mission of the publication would be "to provide New York City citizens with accountability journalism about government operations that affect their lives." It

234-865: A publicity stunt for the paper, inspired by the Jules Verne novel Around the World in Eighty Days , she traveled around the planet in 72 days in 1889–1890. In 1890, Pulitzer built the New York World Building , the tallest office building in the world at the time. In 1889, Julius Chambers was appointed by Pulitzer as managing editor of the New York World; he served until 1891. In 1890, Pulitzer, Chambers, et al. were indicted for posthumous criminal libel against Alexander T. Stewart for accusing him of "a dark and secret crime", as

312-414: A color supplement , which featured The Yellow Kid cartoon Hogan's Alley . It joined a circulation battle with William Randolph Hearst 's New York Journal . In 1899 Pulitzer and Hearst were the cause of the newsboys' strike of 1899 , which led to Pulitzer's circulation dropping by 70%. The World was attacked for being "sensational", and its circulation battles with Hearst's Journal gave rise to

390-516: A culture of consumption for working men. He believed they saved money to enjoy life with their families when they could, at Coney Island , for example. By contrast, the long-established editor Charles A. Dana , of The Sun , held to a traditional view of the working man as one engaged in a struggle to better his working conditions and to improve himself. Dana thought that readers in the 20th century followed fewer faddish illustrations and wished newspapers did not need advertising. Dana resisted buying

468-628: A distant cousin of Jefferson Davis and the wife of Joseph Pulitzer , a major newspaper publisher in New York, had met Varina Davis during a visit to the South. She solicited short articles from her for her husband's newspaper, the New York World . In 1891 Varina Davis accepted the Pulitzers' offer to become a full-time columnist and moved to New York City with her daughter Winnie. They enjoyed

546-519: A dowry of 60 slaves and 2,000 acres (8.1 km ) of land in Mississippi. William Howell worked as a planter , merchant, politician, postmaster, cotton broker, banker, and military commissary manager, but never secured long-term financial success. He lost the majority of Margaret's sizable dowry and inheritance through bad investments and their expensive lifestyle. They suffered intermittent serious financial problems throughout their lives. Varina

624-536: A failure." Jefferson Davis resigned from the U.S. Senate in 1861 when Mississippi seceded. Varina Davis returned with their children to Brierfield, expecting him to be commissioned as a general in the Confederate army. He was elected as President of the Confederate States of America by the new Confederate Congress. She did not accompany him when he traveled to Montgomery, Alabama (then capital of

702-645: A fall from the porch at the Presidential mansion in Richmond. A few weeks later, Varina gave birth to their last child, a girl named Varina Anne Davis , who was called "Winnie". The girl became known to the public as "the Daughter of the Confederacy;" stories about and likenesses of her were distributed throughout the Confederacy during the last year of the war to raise morale. She retained the nickname for

780-462: A few relatives and friends of the bride attended, and none of the groom's family. Their short honeymoon included a visit to Davis's aged mother, Jane Davis, and a visit to the grave of his first wife in Louisiana. The newlyweds took up residence at Brierfield, the plantation Davis had developed on 1,000 acres (4.0 km ) loaned to him for his use by his brother Joseph Davis. Their first residence

858-402: A freshman senator because of his connections as the son-in-law (by his late wife) and former junior officer of President Zachary Taylor . Varina Davis enjoyed the social life of the capital and quickly established herself as one of the city's most popular (and, in her early 20s, one of the youngest) hostesses and party guests. The 1904 memoir of her contemporary, Virginia Clay-Clopton , described

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936-479: A lifelong correspondence with some, and called herself a "half-breed" for her connections in both regions. After a year, she returned to Natchez, where she was privately tutored by Judge George Winchester, a Harvard graduate and family friend. She was intelligent and better educated than many of her peers, which led to tensions with Southern expectations for women. In her later years, Varina referred fondly to Madame Grelaud and Judge Winchester; she sacrificed to provide

1014-601: A precisely worded resignation. Cobb had it printed in every New York paper—except the World . Joseph Pulitzer raged at the insult, but slowly began to respect Cobb's editorials and independent spirit. Exchanges, commentaries, and messages between them increased. The good rapport between the two was based largely on Cobb's flexibility. In May 1908, Cobb and Pulitzer met to outline plans for a consistent editorial policy. Pulitzer's demands for editorials on contemporary news led to overwork by Cobb. The publisher sent his managing editor on

1092-737: A prestigious academy for young ladies. Grelaud, a Huguenot , was a refugee from the French Revolution and had founded her school in the 1790s. One of Varina's classmates was Sarah Anne Ellis , later known as Sarah Anne Dorsey, the daughter of extremely wealthy Mississippi planters. (After the Civil War, Dorsey, by then a wealthy widow, provided financial support to the Davises.) While at school in Philadelphia, Varina got to know many of her northern Howell relatives; she carried on

1170-438: A respected novelist and historian, and had traveled extensively. She arranged for Davis to use a cottage on the grounds of her plantation. There she helped him organize and write his memoir of the Confederacy, in part by her active encouragement. She also invited Varina Davis to stay with her. Davis and her eldest daughter, Margaret Howell Hayes , disapproved of her husband's friendship with Dorsey. After Varina Davis returned to

1248-505: A six-week tour of Europe to restore his spirit. Shortly after Cobb's return, Pulitzer died. Cobb then finally published Pulitzer's resignation from 1907. Cobb retained the editorial policies he had shared with Pulitzer until he died of cancer in 1923. When Pulitzer died in 1911, he passed control of the World to his sons Ralph, Joseph and Herbert. The World continued to grow under its executive editor Herbert Bayard Swope , who hired writers such as Frank Sullivan and Deems Taylor . Among

1326-616: A successful planter and major landowner in Virginia and Mississippi, and Margaret Graham, born in Prince William County . Margaret Graham was illegitimate as her parents, George Graham, a Scots immigrant, and Susanna McAllister (1783–1816) of Virginia, never officially married. After moving his family from Virginia to Mississippi, James Kempe also bought land in Louisiana, continuing to increase his holdings and productive capacity. When his daughter married Howell, he gave her

1404-550: A time to Briarfield, where she chafed under the supervision of her brother-in-law, Joseph. The surviving correspondence between the Davises from this period expresses their difficulties and mutual resentments. After her husband's return from the war, Varina Davis did not immediately accompany him to Washington when the Mississippi legislature appointed him to fill a Senate seat. Ultimately, the couple reconciled. She rejoined her husband in Washington. He had unusual visibility for

1482-414: A winning manner of asserting himself. The fact is, he is the kind of person I should expect to rescue one from a mad dog at any risk, but to insist upon a stoical indifference to the fright afterward. In keeping with custom, Davis sought the permission of Howell's parents before beginning a formal courtship. They initially disapproved of him due to the many differences in background, age, and politics. Davis

1560-400: Is young or old. He looks both at times; but I believe he is old, for from what I hear he is only two years younger than you are [the rumor was correct]. He impresses me as a remarkable kind of man, but of uncertain temper, and has a way of taking for granted that everybody agrees with him when he expresses an opinion, which offends me; yet he is most agreeable and has a peculiarly sweet voice and

1638-537: The Bank of the United States . William Howell relocated to Mississippi, when new cotton plantations were being rapidly developed. There he met and married Margaret Louisa Kempe (1806–1867), born in Prince William County, Virginia . Her wealthy planter family had moved to Mississippi before 1816. She was the daughter of Colonel James Kempe (sometimes spelled Kemp), a Scots-Irish immigrant from Ulster who became

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1716-538: The Texas & Pacific Railroad . Gould, like Scott, used the paper for his own purposes, employing it to help him take over Western Union . But Gould, like Scott, could not turn the financial state of the newspaper around, and by the 1880s, it was losing $ 40,000 a year. Joseph Pulitzer bought the World in 1883 and began an aggressive era of circulation building. Reporter Nellie Bly became one of America's first investigative journalists , often working undercover. As

1794-545: The World ' s noted journalists were columnists Franklin Pierce Adams (F.P.A.), who wrote "The Conning Tower"; Heywood Broun , who penned "It Seems to Me" on the editorial page; and future hardboiled fiction writer James M. Cain . C. M. Payne created several comic strips for the newspaper. The paper published the first crossword puzzle in December 1913. The annual reference book called The World Almanac

1872-627: The Brierfield property in 1878 but never lived there again. Joseph Davis's grandchildren (from one of his legally acknowledged illegitimate daughters) received Hurricane. A canal had been cut across the peninsula for flood control. It was claimed by the Mississippi River in 1867 as the main channel when a major flood changed its route. The former peninsula was renamed as Davis Island . The main buildings of Brierfield Plantation burned down in 1931. Despite increasing damage from floods,

1950-426: The Civil War in 1861. After the fall of New Orleans to Federal troops and the increasing military presence near Vicksburg, Davis relocated from Hurricane Plantation with members of his family and some of his enslaved people to Tuscaloosa, Alabama . The main house of Hurricane Plantation was burned by Federal troops in 1862, and the plantation looted numerous times by both armies during the campaign of Vicksburg. Only

2028-483: The Confederate bureaucracy which helped support him. The social turbulence of the war years reached the Presidential mansion; in 1864, several of the Davises' domestic slaves escaped. James Dennison and his wife, Betsey, who had served as Varina's maid, used saved back pay of 80 gold dollars to finance their escape. Henry, a butler, left one night after allegedly building a fire in the mansion's basement to divert attention. In spring 1864, five-year-old Joseph Davis died in

2106-635: The Davis family retained the properties until 1953. It was sold and quickly flipped to a lawyer from Vidalia, Louisiana , who reserved it for hunting. He and his family established the Brierfield Hunting Club, so private that it has people come by invitation only. Varina Davis Varina Anne Banks Davis ( née Howell; May 7, 1826 – October 16, 1906) was the only First Lady of the Confederate States of America , and

2184-540: The Davises lived apart far more than they lived together. Davis was unemployed for most of the years after the war. In 1877 he was ill and nearly bankrupt. Advised to take a home near the sea for his health, he accepted an invitation from Sarah Anne Ellis Dorsey , a widowed heiress, to visit her summer cottage Beauvoir on the Mississippi Sound in Biloxi . A classmate of Varina in Philadelphia, Dorsey had become

2262-523: The North and South. Varina Anne Banks Howell was born in 1826 at Natchez, Mississippi , the daughter of William Burr Howell and Margaret Louisa Kempe . Her father was from a distinguished family in New Jersey: His father, Richard Howell , served several terms as governor of New Jersey and died when William was a boy. William inherited little money and used family connections to become a clerk in

2340-561: The North for work after the war; they were nicknamed "Confederate carpetbaggers ". In the postwar years of reconciliation, Davis became friends with Julia Dent Grant , the widow of former general and president Ulysses S. Grant , who had been among the most hated men in the South. She attended a reception where she met Booker T. Washington , head of the Tuskegee Institute , then a black college . In her old age, Davis published some of her observations and "declared in print that

2418-498: The United States, she lived in Memphis with Margaret and her family for a time. Gradually she began a reconciliation with her husband. She was with him at Beauvoir in 1878 when they learned that their last surviving son, Jefferson Davis, Jr., had died during a yellow fever epidemic in Memphis. That year 20,000 people died throughout the South in the epidemic. During her grieving, Varina became friends again with Dorsey. Sarah Dorsey

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2496-478: The age of two. Varina Davis largely withdrew from social life for a time. In 1855, she gave birth to a healthy daughter, Margaret (1855–1909); followed by two sons, Jefferson, Jr., (1857–1878) and Joseph (1859–1864), during her husband's remaining tenure in Washington, D.C. The early losses of all four of their sons caused enormous grief to both the Davises. During the Pierce Administration , Davis

2574-537: The busy life of the city. White Southerners attacked Davis for this move to the North, as she was considered a public figure of the Confederacy whom they claimed for their own. As Davis and her daughter each worked at literary careers, they lived in a series of residential hotels in New York City. (Their longest residency was at the Hotel Gerard at 123 W. 44th Street.) Varina Davis wrote many articles for

2652-537: The care of relatives and a family servant. Initially forbidden to have any contact with her husband, Davis worked tirelessly to secure his release. She tried to raise awareness of and sympathy for what she perceived as his unjust incarceration. After a few months Varina Davis was allowed to correspond with him. Articles and a book on his confinement helped turn public opinion in his favor. Davis and young Winnie were allowed to join Jefferson in his prison cell. The family

2730-597: The city for reform. Hearst reproduced Pulitzer's approach in the San Francisco Examiner and later in the Journal . Charles Chapin was hired in 1898 as city editor of the Evening World . He was most known for embracing the sensational and showing little empathy in the face of tragedy, only taking a more solemn tone when reporting on the assassination of William McKinley in 1901. He controlled

2808-503: The country beginning around 1905. With Scripps' acquisition of the World newspaper and its syndication assets in February 1931, the World 's most popular strips were brought over to Scripps' United Feature Syndicate . Janet E. Steele argues that Joseph Pulitzer put a stamp on his age when he brought his brand of journalism from St. Louis to New York in 1883. In his New York World , Pulitzer emphasized illustrations, advertising, and

2886-412: The couple became engaged shortly thereafter. Their wedding was planned as a grand affair to be held at Hurricane Plantation during Christmas of 1844, but the wedding and engagement were cancelled shortly beforehand, for unknown reasons. In January 1845, while Howell was ill with a fever, Davis visited her frequently. They became engaged again. When they married on February 26, 1845, at her parents' house,

2964-477: The defeat of Samuel Tilden in the 1876 presidential election , sold the paper after the election to a group headed by Thomas A. Scott , the president of the Pennsylvania Railroad , who used the paper "as a propaganda vehicle for his stock enterprises." But Scott was unable to meet the newspaper's growing losses, and in 1879 he sold it to financier Jay Gould as part of a deal that also included

3042-537: The development of the American comic strip. Notable strips that originated with the World included Richard F. Outcault 's Hogan's Alley (featuring The Yellow Kid ), The Captain and the Kids , Everyday Movies , Fritzi Ritz , Joe Jinks , and Little Mary Mixup . Under the names World Feature Service and New York World Press Publishing the company also syndicated comic strips to other newspapers around

3120-448: The family's property. It was one of several sharp changes in fortune that Varina encountered in her life. She grew to adulthood in a house called The Briars , when Natchez was a thriving city, but she learned her family was dependent on the wealthy Kempe relatives of her mother's family to avoid poverty. Varina Howell was sent to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania , for her education, where she studied at Madame Deborah Grelaud's French School ,

3198-446: The heiress after Jefferson Davis died in 1889. In 1891, Varina and Winnie moved to New York City. After Winnie died in 1898, she was buried next to her father in Richmond, Virginia. Varina Davis inherited Beauvoir. After her husband died, Varina Howell Davis completed his autobiography, publishing it in 1890 as Jefferson Davis, A Memoir . At first the book sold few copies, dashing her hopes of earning some income. Kate Davis Pulitzer,

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3276-487: The highest quality of education for her two daughters in their turn. In 1843, at age 17, Howell was invited to spend the Christmas season at Hurricane Plantation , the 5,000 acres (20 km ) property of family friends Joseph Emory Davis and Eliza Van Benthuysen Davis . Her parents had named their oldest child after Joseph Davis. Located at Davis Bend, Mississippi , Hurricane was 20 miles south of Vicksburg . Davis

3354-500: The inferior sex; and that perhaps it was a mistake to deny women the suffrage before the war. In the summer of 1861, Davis and her husband moved to Richmond, Virginia , the new capital of the Confederacy. They lived in a house which would come to be known as the White House of the Confederacy for the remainder of war (1861–1865). "She tried intermittently to do what was expected of her, but she never convinced people that her heart

3432-533: The land. Jefferson Davis was a 35-year-old widower when he and Varina met. His first wife, Sarah Knox Taylor , daughter of his commanding officer Zachary Taylor while he was in the Army, had died of malaria three months after their wedding in 1835. Davis mourned her and had been reclusive in the ensuing eight years. He was beginning to be active in politics. Shortly after first meeting him, Howell wrote to her mother: I do not know whether this Mr. Jefferson Davis

3510-588: The library, a building independent of the main house, survived the war. After the war Davis sold the property to Ben Montgomery , a former enslaved person whom Davis had assigned before the war as manager of his plantation, and a group of freedmen. They financed the sale by a long-term note. Davis died in 1870. He was buried in the Davis Family cemetery on Davis Island, but his gravestone has been damaged. He had several legally acknowledged illegitimate daughters, but no legitimate children. His heirs foreclosed on

3588-508: The lively parties of the Southern families in this period with other Congressional delegations, as well as international representatives of the diplomatic corps. After seven childless years, in 1852, Varina Davis gave birth to a son, Samuel. Her letters from this period express her happiness and portray Jefferson as a doting father. The couple had a total of six children: The Davises were devastated in 1854 when their first child died before

3666-678: The longtime second wife of President Jefferson Davis . She moved to the presidential mansion in Richmond, Virginia , in mid-1861, and lived there for the remainder of the Civil War . Born and raised in the Southern United States and educated in Philadelphia , she had family on both sides of the conflict and unconventional views for a woman in her public role. She did not support the Confederacy's position on slavery, and

3744-427: The man who "invited guests to meet his mistresses at his table", and as "a pirate of the dry goods ocean." The charges were dismissed by the court. This sort of criminal action was common at the time and both Pulitzer and Chambers were indicted in a number of cases, in some of which they were acquitted, in others convicted. In 1896, the World began using a four-color printing press; it was the first newspaper to launch

3822-514: The new country) to be inaugurated. A few weeks later, she followed and assumed official duties as the First Lady of the Confederacy. Davis greeted the war with dread, supporting the Confederacy but not slavery. She was known to have said that: the South did not have the material resources to win the war and white Southerners did not have the qualities necessary to win it; that her husband was unsuited for political life; that maybe women were not

3900-523: The newspaper, and Winnie Davis published several novels. After Winnie died in 1898, Varina Davis inherited Beauvoir. In October 1902, she sold the plantation to the Mississippi Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans for $ 10,000 (~$ 285,012 in 2023). She stipulated the facility was to be used as a Confederate veterans' home and later as a memorial to her husband. The SCV built barracks on

3978-429: The newsroom with an iron fist, and was commonly despised by the journalists who worked for him. Chapin fired 108 newspaper men during his tenure. However, Stanley Walker still referred to him as "the greatest city editor that ever lived." His time at the World ended when, after falling into financial ruin, he murdered his wife in 1918. He was sentenced to Sing Sing Prison and died there in 1930. Frank Irving Cobb

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4056-544: The next fifteen years before the American Civil War , which gave Varina Howell Davis a broader outlook than many Southerners. It was her favorite place to live. But, as an example of their many differences, her husband preferred life on their Mississippi plantation. Soon he took leave from his Congressional position to serve as an officer in the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). Varina Davis returned for

4134-469: The note with Montgomery & Sons, after they were unable to make payments due to declining cotton prices and losses because of years of floods (1867, 1868, 1871, and 1874) that damaged the property. Montgomery died in 1877. Confusion as to the titles of the Hurricane and Brierfield properties led to lawsuits for control between Jefferson Davis and his brother's heirs. Jefferson ultimately gained title to

4212-474: The one-million mark. It was sold in 1931 and merged into the New York World-Telegram . The World was founded in 1860. From 1862 to 1876, it was edited by Manton Marble , who was also its proprietor. During the 1864 United States presidential election , the World was shut down for three days after it published forged documents purportedly from Abraham Lincoln . Marble, disgusted by

4290-479: The paper to eliminate its competition. He closed the World and laid off the staff of 3,000 after the final issue was printed on February 27, 1931, then merely replaced the word "Evening" on his afternoon paper, the Evening Telegram , renaming it the New York World-Telegram . The New York World was one of the first newspapers to publish comic strips , starting around 1890, and contributed greatly to

4368-627: The presidency of an insurance agency headquartered in Memphis . The family began to regain some financial comfort until the Panic of 1873 , when his company was one of many that went bankrupt. In 1872 their son William Davis died of typhoid fever , adding to their emotional burdens. While visiting their daughters enrolled in boarding schools in Europe, Jefferson Davis received a commission as an agent for an English consortium seeking to purchase cotton from

4446-572: The request of the Pierces, the Davises, both individually and as a couple, often served as official hosts at White House functions in place of the President and his wife. According to diarist Mary Boykin Chesnut , in 1860 Mrs. Davis "sadly" told a friend "The South will secede if Lincoln is made president. They will make Mr. Davis President of the Southern side. And the whole thing is bound to be

4524-537: The rest of her life. When the war ended, the Davises fled South seeking to escape to Europe. They were captured by federal troops and Jefferson Davis was imprisoned at Fort Monroe in Phoebus, Virginia , for two years. Left indigent, Varina Davis was restricted to residing in the state of Georgia, where her husband had been arrested. Fearing for the safety of their older children, she sent them to friends in Canada under

4602-546: The right side had won the Civil War." New York World The New York World was a newspaper published in New York City from 1860 to 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers as a leading national voice of the Democratic Party . From 1883 to 1911 under publisher Joseph Pulitzer , it was a pioneer in yellow journalism , capturing readers' attention with sensation, sports, sex and scandal and pushing its daily circulation to

4680-524: The site, and housed thousands of veterans and their families. The plantation was used for years as a veterans' home. Since 1953 the house has been operated as a museum to Davis. Beauvoir has been designated a National Historic Landmark . The main house has been restored and a museum built there, housing the Jefferson Davis Presidential Library . Varina Howell Davis was one of numerous influential Southerners who moved to

4758-558: The southern United States. He returned to the US for this work. Varina Davis remained in England to visit her sister who had recently moved there, and stayed for several months. The surviving correspondence suggests her stay may have been prompted by renewed marital difficulties. Both the Davises suffered from depression due to the loss of their sons and their fortunes. She resented his attentions to other women, particularly Virginia Clay . Clay

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4836-522: The term yellow journalism . The charges of sensationalism were most frequently leveled at the paper by more established publishers, who resented Pulitzer's courting of the immigrant classes. And while the World presented its fair share of crime stories, it also published damning exposés of tenement abuses. After a heat wave in 1883 killed a disproportionate number of poor children, the World published stories about it, featuring such headlines as "Lines of Little Hearses". Its coverage spurred action in

4914-413: Was 23 years younger. In the 1830s, Joseph Davis gave Jefferson the full use of more than 1,000 acres (4.0 km) adjoining Hurricane. Jefferson Davis developed a plantation here, naming it Brierfield . Specific details of the arrangement are uncertain, as Joseph Davis retained ownership of the land. Jefferson Davis, and later his second wife and children with him, occupied Brierfield until the beginning of

4992-466: Was a Democrat and the Howells, including Varina, were Whigs . In her memoir, Varina Howell Davis wrote that her mother was concerned about Jefferson Davis's excessive devotion to his relatives (particularly his older brother Joseph, who had largely raised him and upon whom he was financially dependent) and his near worship of his deceased first wife. The Howells ultimately consented to the courtship, and

5070-427: Was a two-room cottage on the property and they started construction of a main house. It became a source of contention. Soon after their marriage, Davis's widowed and penniless sister, Amanda (Davis) Bradford, came to live on the Brierfield property along with her seven youngest children. Her brothers decided that she should share the large house which the Davises were building, but they had not consulted Varina Davis. It

5148-506: Was ambivalent about the war. Davis became a writer after the war, completing her husband's memoir . She was recruited by Kate (Davis) Pulitzer, a purportedly distant cousin of Varina’s husband and wife of publisher Joseph Pulitzer , to write articles and eventually a regular column for the New York World . Widowed in 1889, Davis moved to New York with her youngest daughter Winnie in 1891 to work at writing. She enjoyed urban life. In her old age, she attempted to reconcile prominent figures of

5226-466: Was an example of what she would later call interference from the Davis family in her life with her husband. Additionally, her brother-in-law Joseph Davis proved controlling, both of his brother, who was 23 years younger, and the even younger Varina – especially during her husband's absences. At the same time, her parents became more financially dependent on the Davises, to her embarrassment and resentment. Their youngest son, born after her own marriage,

5304-490: Was appointed to the post of Secretary of War . He and President Franklin Pierce also formed a personal friendship that would last for the rest of Pierce's life. Their wives developed a strong respect, as well. The Pierces lost their last surviving child, Benny, shortly before his father's inauguration. They both suffered; Pierce became dependent on alcohol and Jane Appleton Pierce had health problems, including depression . At

5382-646: Was born in Natchez, Mississippi , as the second Howell child of eleven, seven of whom survived to adulthood. She was later described as tall and thin, with an olive complexion attributed to Welsh ancestors. (Later, when she was living in Richmond as the unpopular First Lady of the Confederacy, critics described her as looking like a mulatto or Indian "squaw".) When Varina was thirteen, her father declared bankruptcy. The Howell family home, furnishings and slaves were seized by creditors to be sold at public auction. Her wealthy maternal relatives intervened to redeem

5460-880: Was determined to help support the former president; she offered to sell him her house for a reasonable price. Learning she had breast cancer, Dorsey made over her will to leave Jefferson Davis free title to the home, as well as much of the remainder of her financial estate. Her Percy relatives were unsuccessful in challenging the will. Her bequest provided Davis with enough financial security to provide for Varina and Winnie, and to enjoy some comfort with them in his final years. When Winnie Davis completed her education, she joined her parents at Beauvoir. She had fallen in love when at college, but her parents disapproved. Her father objected to his being from "a prominent Yankee and abolitionist family" and her mother to his lack of money and being burdened by many debts. Forced to reject this man, Winnie never married. Dorsey's bequest made Winnie Davis

5538-498: Was employed on a trial basis by Pulitzer as the editor of the World in 1904. Cobb was a fiercely independent Kansan who resisted Pulitzer's attempts to "run the office" from his home. The elder man was so invested in the paper that he continually meddled with Cobb's work. The two found common ground in their support of Woodrow Wilson , but they had many other areas of disagreement. When Pulitzer's son Ralph took over administrative responsibility of The World in 1907, his father wrote

5616-471: Was eventually given a more comfortable apartment in the officers' quarters of the fort. Although released on bail and never tried for treason, Jefferson Davis had temporarily lost his home in Mississippi, most of his wealth, and his U.S. citizenship. In the late 20th century, his citizenship was posthumously restored by then President Carter. The small Davis family traveled constantly in Europe and Canada as he sought work to rebuild his fortunes. Davis accepted

5694-466: Was founded by the newspaper, and the name World Almanac is directly descended from the newspaper. The paper ran a twenty-one article series that was an exposé on the inner workings of the Ku Klux Klan , starting September 6, 1921. In 1931, Pulitzer's heirs went to court to sell the World . A surrogate court judge decided in their favor; Scripps-Howard chain owner Roy W. Howard purchased

5772-427: Was in it, and her tenure as First Lady was for the most part a disaster," as the people picked up on her ambivalence. White residents of Richmond criticized Varina Davis freely; some described her appearance as resembling "a mulatto or an Indian 'squaw'." In December 1861, she gave birth to their fifth child, William. Due to her husband's influence, her father William Howell received several low-level appointments in

5850-630: Was named Jefferson Davis Howell in her husband's honor. The couple had long periods of separation from early in their marriage, first as Jefferson Davis gave campaign speeches and "politicked" (or campaigned) for himself and for other Democratic candidates in the elections of 1846. He was also gone for extended periods during the Mexican War (1846–1848). Varina Davis was put under the guardianship of Joseph Davis, whom she had come to dislike intensely. Her correspondence with her husband during this time demonstrated her growing discontent, to which Jefferson

5928-570: Was not particularly sympathetic. Jefferson Davis was elected in 1846 to the U.S. House of Representatives and Varina accompanied him to Washington, D.C., which she loved. She was stimulated by the social life with intelligent people and was known for making "unorthodox observations". Among them were that "slaves were human beings with their frailties" and that "everyone was a ' half breed ' of one kind or another." She referred to herself as one because of her strong family connections in both North and South. The Davises lived in Washington, DC, for most of

6006-513: Was planning a gala housewarming with many guests and entertainers to inaugurate his lavish new mansion on the cotton plantation. (Varina described the house in detail in her memoirs.) During her stay, she met her host's much younger brother Jefferson Davis . Then thirty-five years old, Davis was a West Point graduate, former Army officer, and widower. He worked as a planter, having developed Brierfield Plantation on land his brother allowed him to use, although Joseph Davis still retained possession of

6084-410: Was the wife of their friend, former senator Clement Clay , a fellow political prisoner at Fort Monroe. During this period, Davis exchanged passionate letters with Virginia Clay for three years and is believed to have loved her. In 1871 Davis was reported as having been seen on a train "with a woman not his wife", and it made national newspapers. Still in England, Varina was outraged. For several years,

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