Julia Boggs Dent and Ulysses Grant married on January 26, 1826 in St. Louis, Missouri. Mrs. Grant grew up on her family's Missouri plantation White Haven. As a girl, she attended private school in St. Louis. Her brother was Grant's classmate at West Point. (The future president's parents did not attend his wedding. They objected to the marriage because the bride's father was a slaveowner.)
After she married, Julia Grant traveled with her husband to his military posts. She was his closest confidant. She discouraged him from drinking too much alcohol. In 1864, President ABRAHAM LINCOLN made Grant commander of the Union Army. In Washington, D.C., Mrs. Grant lived in grand style. She dressed stylishly and entertained lavishly. She promoted her husband's career. She also became a passionate supporter of the Union cause. (Her father openly favored the Confederacy.)
As first lady, Mrs. Grant entertained a steady stream of guests. She held receptions, dinners, and open houses. Her parties were merry and well attended. In 1874, the Grants' daughter married in a White House ceremony. The wedding was the social event of the season. More than most first ladies, Julia Grant loved living in the White House. She was hurt when the president declined to seek a third term.
After he left office, Grant wanted to ease his wife's transition to private life. He took her on a world tour. The trip lifted her spirits. Mrs. Grant was entertained by the British royal family. She slept at Windsor Castle. She visited the emperors of Austria and Japan. In 1879, the Grants returned to the United States. Julia Grant expected her husband to be reelected president. In 1880, she was deeply disappointed when the Republicans did not renominate him.
By then, Julia Grant realized that her husband had little money. In 1881, she moved with him to New York City. He joined their son's Wall Street firm. But their financial situation did not improve. Just before he died in 1885, Grant completed his memoirs. The book was very successful. Book royalties provided the former first lady with a comfortable income. She died in Washington, D.C. in 1902. Julia and Ulysses Grant are buried at Grant's Tomb in New York City.
Ulysses Grant's Children :
Ulysses and Julia Grant had four children: Fred (West Point graduate; Union officer; minister, Russia; assistant secretary of war); Ulysses "Buck", Jr. (lawyer; president's secretary); Ellen "Nellie" Grant Sartoris; and Jesse (engineer; author).
Ellen "Nellie" Grant married Algernon Sartoris in a White House ceremony on May 21, 1874. Sartoris was a wealthy Englishman. The famous poet Walt Whitman wrote a poem for the ceremony. The marriage ended in divorce. Sartoris died in 1890. He left his fortune to Ellen Grant Sartoris.
