Woodrow Wilson was the 28th president of the U.S. and Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1919. Jessie Wilson was one of his three daughters, and on November 25th, 1913, she got married to District Attorney, Francis Bowes Sayre Sr. Theirs was the thirteenth wedding to be held in the White House.
Born in Gainesville, Georgia, Jessie was the middle sister of Margaret and Eleanor Wilson. Both she and her fiance were Ivy League graduates, Jessie from Princeton University and Francis from Harvard. They had three children and remained married until Jessie’s death in 1933, at a young 45 years of age.
David Eisenhower and Julie Nixon
Below, we see young couple Julie Nixon and David Eisenhower on their wedding day, December 22, 1968, in New York. Julie is Richard Nixon's youngest daughter, and in a political match made in heaven, she married former president, Dwight D. Eisenhower's only grandson, David Eisenhower. The entire wedding had been planned to the last detail when in 1968, her father was elected president; obviously, this changed things for the young couple.
Richard Nixon recalls trying to convince Julie to change her wedding venue and get married in the White House. After all, the wedding was set to take place seven weeks after election day, and why would Julie not want to be part of the very small and exclusive list of people to get married in the White House? But Julie declined. They didn't want their marriage to become a public and political spectacle. The couple has been married for over 50 years, and are still together today.
Margaret Truman and Clifton Daniel
Margaret Truman, President Harry S. Truman's only child, got married to NY Times reporter and editor, Clifton Daniel, on April 21, 1956. It was Margaret's lifelong dream to get married at the same church her parents had tied the knot at 36 years ago.
And so, the couple married in the Trinity Episcopal Church in Independence, Missouri, six blocks from the Truman family home. The couple remained happily married for decades until Daniel's death in 2000.
William McKinley and Ida Saxton
In the photo below, we see 25th President of the U.S., William McKinley, posing next to his wife, Ida Saxton. They had two daughters, but unfortunately, both passed away at a very young age. Already having a fragile, nervous personality, this tragedy led to Ida's slow demise; shortly after their deaths, Ida started to develop epilepsy and became very dependant on William.
The couple had a strong bond. In fact, opposite to what was accustomed at the time, President Mckinley always insisted that Ida sit beside him at state dinners, instead of at the opposite side of the table. Sadly, McKinley was murdered in 1901, and Ida passed away 6 years later, in 1907.
Julia Gardiner and John Tyler
John Tyler was the tenth president of the United States, from 1841 to 1845. Tyler became president sort of "accidentally", after being Vice-President to his predecessor, William Harrison, who passed away one month into his presidency. Tyler got married to Julia Gardiner in 1844, two years after the passing of his first wife, Letitia Christian. John Tyler had more children than any American president, fathering 15 children from both his marriages, seven of which were with Julia.
The engraved portrait above depicts Julia Gardiner Tyler posing for her White House portrait. The couple would remain together until John's death in 1862. Julia passed away in 1889 at the Exchange Hotel in Virginia, the same place her husband had died 27 years earlier.