The U.S. Presidency and Political Hospitality - 1776-1976
John F. Kennedy Hospitality Papers
Mary Edith Wilroy began her profession of Blair House Manager on March 2, 1961 only 40 days after John F. Kennedy took the Presidential oath of office. Mrs. Wilroy recollects of the Kennedy Administration:
The New President: “It did seem that everyone was flying over to see President Kennedy. You could almost imagine the Presidents and the Prime Ministers lined up at airports all over the world waiting to get on the next plane to Washington. During the short administration of President Kennedy, forty-seven foreign guests came to see him.”
On Her First Head of State: “As I watched, a large black limousine, flags flying from both front fenders pulled up to the curb and President John F. Kennedy, and President Habib Bourguiba of Tunisia emerged. Just behind the two men came the First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy, and Mrs. Bourguiba … I admit that I was just a little nervous. But then, as their presidential party reached the door reached the door I realized that this was the young President’s first visit from a head of state as well as mine. It hit me that the Kennedy’s might be just as apprehensive as I was, and that calmed me down.”
On First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy surprise visit: “Mrs. Kennedy wanted to me to tell you that she’d like to come over to see Blair House in a little while, with a few people” the secret service said. ‘Mrs. Kennedy doesn’t want to see the whole house does she?’ I prayed. ‘I am pretty sure she does. We’ll see you in a few minutes.’ … We began to walk through the house, room by room, and Mrs. Kennedy immediately showed that she was very knowledgeable and very interesting in the furnishings. … It took two hours for Mrs. Kennedy to see the whole house. ‘I envy you all these lovely pieces of furniture,’ she said as she was leaving. ‘I’m sure we’ll soon be able to do some redecorating here and show them off in an even better setting.’ She promised. Then she thanked all of us and was gone. Her suggestions had been excellent and set me to thinking about rearranging several of the rooms. And she had sparked one idea I decided to act on right away.”
On The John F. Kennedy Assassination: In the process of an extension renovation of the Blair House on November 22, 1963 the phone rang. “My younger daughter calling me from St. Francis College in Pennsylvania. ‘I can’t believe Mom’ I could tell she was crying. ‘I can’t believe the President was dead.’ I had no idea what she was talking about. We had been too busy to hook up any television sets and we hadn’t thought of turning on the radio. ... I immediately called the department and the news was confirmed. Someone got a radio and plugged it in, and in a while someone hooked up one of our portable television sets. So like everyone else in the country, we sat stunned while the terrible events were replayed in front of our eyes. I was numb. But it suddenly dawned on me. ‘They’re going to need this house,’ I said to Ingrid. ... Several times in the late afternoon I spoke to Robin. ‘If you need the house,’ I told her ‘it will be ready for you.’ That evening when I got home she called me ... ‘Several of the Kennedy’s close friends would like to come over tomorrow at about eleven thirty before going to the White House. You’re sure you can accommodate them?’ I assured her that I would be ready.
I had heard from Mr. West at the White House that President Johnson had invited former President Truman and his family to stay at the Blair House during the days of the funeral. They were coming at about three the next afternoon. ... By eleven-thirty the little army of people we had assembled had managed to get the first floor completely set up. There was a table of refreshments, and parlor maids and butlers in their black and white uniforms were on hand to serve. ... ... The Nosegay had prepared several especially beautiful flower arrangements. The floors were clean, if not sparkling, and the rugs and furniture were in place ... The workman who had accomplished this miracle were now hard at work on the second floor ... they were getting the bedrooms ready for the Truman’s party’s arrival. At eleven thirty Robin and her guests appeared. She couldn’t believe her eyes. After about an hour we all went over to the White House.
President Kennedy’s flag-draped casket rested on a catafalque covered in black velvet and standing in the center of the room. Two lighted candles were placed at the head of the closed coffin. The honor guard stood at rigid attention ate the four corners of the catafalque. With a large crowd of other visitors I walked past the coffin and said a prayer. Then I had to return to the Blair House, where there was work to be done. As I walked back across the street I saw literally hundreds of people outside the White House fence and clustered in Lafayette Park. It was pouring, but they stood there as if somehow just being near the White House would ease their pain and grief.
A short time after I returned to the Blair House a car pulled up to the front entrance and President Truman, with his two military aides and his friend Frank Gavin, got out. The funeral procession passed by the Blair House. We stood on the steps, tears running down our cheeks. The sight of Mrs. Kennedy walking firmly, flanked by her husband’s two brothers, her head held high amid all the foreign dignitaries, was heart breaking. ... I felt enormously proud of her dignity and strength. I can still hear the mournful wail of the bagpipes that seemed to echo what all of us were feeling. ... As I stood on those steps I couldn’t help remembering the day ... when I had watched our young, handsome President running up the steps towards me, bareheaded and so much alive, while his young, girlish-looking wife tried to keep up with him. It was hard to imagine that anything would ever be the same again.
The papers are currently housed at the Loyola University Honors Program and are subjects of academic study under the direction of its Director, Naomi Yavneh, Ph.D.
Naomi Yavneh, Ph.D.
President of the National Collegiate Honors Council
Director, University Honors Program
Director, University Honors Program
Loyola University New Orleans
University Honors Program
6363 St. Charles Ave.
Campus Box 75
New Orleans, LA 70118-6195
Phone: (504) 865-2708
Fax: (504) 865-2709
email: yavneh@loyno.edu
The Congressional Evolution of the United States of America
Continental Congress of the United Colonies Presidents
Continental Congress of the United Colonies Presidents
Sept. 5, 1774 to July 1, 1776
September 5, 1774
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October 22, 1774
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October 22, 1774
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October 26, 1774
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May 20, 1775
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May 24, 1775
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May 25, 1775
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July 1, 1776
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Commander-in-Chief United Colonies & States of America
George Washington: June 15, 1775 - December 23, 1783
Continental Congress of the United States Presidents
July 2, 1776 to February 28, 1781
July 2, 1776
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October 29, 1777
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November 1, 1777
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December 9, 1778
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December 10, 1778
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September 28, 1779
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September 29, 1779
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February 28, 1781
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Presidents of the United States in Congress Assembled
March 1, 1781 to March 3, 1789
March 1, 1781 to March 3, 1789
March 1, 1781
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July 6, 1781
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July 10, 1781
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Declined Office
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July 10, 1781
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November 4, 1781
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November 5, 1781
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January 21, 1789
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Presidents of the United States of America
D-Democratic Party, F-Federalist Party, I-Independent, R-Republican Party, R* Republican Party of Jefferson & W-Whig Party
(1789-1797)
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(1933-1945)
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*Confederate States of America
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(1861-1865)
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United Colonies Continental Congress
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President
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18th Century Term
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Age
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Elizabeth "Betty" Harrison Randolph (1745-1783)
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09/05/74 – 10/22/74
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29
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Mary Williams Middleton (1741- 1761) Deceased
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Henry Middleton
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10/22–26/74
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n/a
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Elizabeth "Betty" Harrison Randolph (1745–1783)
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05/20/ 75 - 05/24/75
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30
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Dorothy Quincy Hancock Scott (1747-1830)
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05/25/75 – 07/01/76
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28
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United States Continental Congress
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President
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Term
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Age
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Dorothy Quincy Hancock Scott (1747-1830)
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07/02/76 – 10/29/77
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29
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Eleanor Ball Laurens (1731- 1770) Deceased
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Henry Laurens
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11/01/77 – 12/09/78
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n/a
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Sarah Livingston Jay (1756-1802)
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12/ 10/78 – 09/28/78
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21
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Martha Huntington (1738/39–1794)
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09/29/79 – 02/28/81
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41
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United States in Congress Assembled
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President
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Term
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Age
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Martha Huntington (1738/39–1794)
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03/01/81 – 07/06/81
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42
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Sarah Armitage McKean (1756-1820)
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07/10/81 – 11/04/81
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25
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Jane Contee Hanson (1726-1812)
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11/05/81 - 11/03/82
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55
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Hannah Stockton Boudinot (1736-1808)
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11/03/82 - 11/02/83
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46
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Sarah Morris Mifflin (1747-1790)
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11/03/83 - 11/02/84
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36
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Anne Gaskins Pinkard Lee (1738-1796)
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11/20/84 - 11/19/85
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46
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Dorothy Quincy Hancock Scott (1747-1830)
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11/23/85 – 06/06/86
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38
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Rebecca Call Gorham (1744-1812)
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06/06/86 - 02/01/87
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42
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Phoebe Bayard St. Clair (1743-1818)
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02/02/87 - 01/21/88
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43
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Christina Stuart Griffin (1751-1807)
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01/22/88 - 01/29/89
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36
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Constitution of 1787
First Ladies |
President
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Term
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Age
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April 30, 1789 – March 4, 1797
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57
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March 4, 1797 – March 4, 1801
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52
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Martha Wayles Jefferson Deceased
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September 6, 1782 (Aged 33)
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n/a
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March 4, 1809 – March 4, 1817
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40
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March 4, 1817 – March 4, 1825
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48
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March 4, 1825 – March 4, 1829
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50
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December 22, 1828 (aged 61)
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n/a
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February 5, 1819 (aged 35)
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n/a
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March 4, 1841 – April 4, 1841
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65
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April 4, 1841 – September 10, 1842
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50
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June 26, 1844 – March 4, 1845
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23
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March 4, 1845 – March 4, 1849
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41
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March 4, 1849 – July 9, 1850
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60
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July 9, 1850 – March 4, 1853
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52
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March 4, 1853 – March 4, 1857
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46
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n/a
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n/a
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March 4, 1861 – April 15, 1865
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42
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February 22, 1862 – May 10, 1865
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April 15, 1865 – March 4, 1869
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54
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March 4, 1869 – March 4, 1877
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43
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March 4, 1877 – March 4, 1881
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45
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March 4, 1881 – September 19, 1881
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48
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January 12, 1880 (Aged 43)
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n/a
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June 2, 1886 – March 4, 1889
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21
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March 4, 1889 – October 25, 1892
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56
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June 2, 1886 – March 4, 1889
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28
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March 4, 1897 – September 14, 1901
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49
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September 14, 1901 – March 4, 1909
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40
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March 4, 1909 – March 4, 1913
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47
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March 4, 1913 – August 6, 1914
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52
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December 18, 1915 – March 4, 1921
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43
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March 4, 1921 – August 2, 1923
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60
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August 2, 1923 – March 4, 1929
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44
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March 4, 1929 – March 4, 1933
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54
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March 4, 1933 – April 12, 1945
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48
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April 12, 1945 – January 20, 1953
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60
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January 20, 1953 – January 20, 1961
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56
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January 20, 1961 – November 22, 1963
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31
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November 22, 1963 – January 20, 1969
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50
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January 20, 1969 – August 9, 1974
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56
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August 9, 1974 – January 20, 1977
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56
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January 20, 1977 – January 20, 1981
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49
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January 20, 1981 – January 20, 1989
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59
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January 20, 1989 – January 20, 1993
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63
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January 20, 1993 – January 20, 2001
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45
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January 20, 2001 – January 20, 2009
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54
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January 20, 2009 to date
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45
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Capitals of the United Colonies and States of America
Philadelphia
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Sept. 5, 1774 to Oct. 24, 1774
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Philadelphia
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May 10, 1775 to Dec. 12, 1776
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Baltimore
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Dec. 20, 1776 to Feb. 27, 1777
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Philadelphia
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March 4, 1777 to Sept. 18, 1777
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Lancaster
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September 27, 1777
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York
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Sept. 30, 1777 to June 27, 1778
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Philadelphia
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July 2, 1778 to June 21, 1783
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Princeton
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June 30, 1783 to Nov. 4, 1783
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Annapolis
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Nov. 26, 1783 to Aug. 19, 1784
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Trenton
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Nov. 1, 1784 to Dec. 24, 1784
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New York City
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Jan. 11, 1785 to Nov. 13, 1788
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New York City
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October 6, 1788 to March 3,1789
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New York City
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March 3,1789 to August 12, 1790
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Philadelphia
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Dec. 6,1790 to May 14, 1800
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Washington DC
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November 17,1800 to Present
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The United Colonies of North America Continental Congress Presidents (1774-1776)
The United States of America Continental Congress Presidents (1776-1781)
The United States of America in Congress Assembled Presidents (1781-1789)
The United States of America Presidents and Commanders-in-Chiefs (1789-Present)
The United States of America Continental Congress Presidents (1776-1781)
The United States of America in Congress Assembled Presidents (1781-1789)
The United States of America Presidents and Commanders-in-Chiefs (1789-Present)
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