 |
| James Monroe 5th President of the United States |
Married: February 16, 1786 to Elizabeth Kortright (1768-1830) in New York City. 3 children: Eliza Monroe Hay (1786-1840), James Spence Monroe (1799-1800), and Maria Hester Monroe (1802-1850)
Maria Hester Monroe was the first child of a US President to be married in the White House. On March 8, 1820, she married her first cousin Samuel L. Gouverneur who was working as President Monroe's private secretary. There were 42 guests and the event was managed by Maria's sister Eliza who took over the First Lady duties from her mother who was ill. (see White House Weddings in our Topics)
The First Penitentiary
Helping to establish the first penitentiary is only one of Monroe's many accomplishments before he became President. In 1800 during his term as Governor of Virginia (1799 to 1802), there was a slave rebellion on a plantation near Richmond. It was called "Gabriel's Rebellion" in honor of Gabriel Prosser, the slave leader of the group. Monroe called out the state militia to suppress the uprising and arrest the slaves. According to the law, Gabriel Prosser and 27 of the slaves were hanged for treason. The rest of the group were free Africans and spared from being put to death. They were arrested and held in local jails.
This caused another dilemma - the jails became overcrowded. Governor Monroe secretly worked with President Thomas Jefferson to find a solution. The result was establishing the Virginia State Penitentiary, the first penitentiary in the United States which was in service from 1800 until it was demolished in 1991. The execution chamber was moved to Greensville Correctional Center near Jarratt Virginia. The land was sold to Afton Chemical Corporation and is used as a business park.
Please give our link to your friends so they can enjoy reading our posts too.
https://thehistorybuff-presidentsoftheusa.blogspot.com
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for your comment