Elizabeth Kortright Monroe

Elizabeth Kortright Monroe was the wife of James Monroe, the fifth President of the United States, and served as First Lady of the United States from 1817 to 1825. A noted beauty from a prominent New York City family, her time in the White House was marked by a formality that contrasted with the more accessible style of her predecessor, Dolley Madison. Her most famous independent act was her intervention to secure the release of Madame de Lafayette from prison during the Reign of Terror while her husband was serving as United States Minister to France.

Early life and family

Born in New York City, she was the daughter of Lawrence Kortright, a wealthy merchant and former British Army officer, and Hannah Aspinwall Kortright. Her family was part of the city's elite social circles, having accrued significant wealth through trade and privateering during the American Revolutionary War. The Kortrights were affiliated with Trinity Church and moved within the same social milieu as families like the Livingstons and the Schuylers. Her upbringing in the bustling port city provided her with the poise and sophistication that would later define her public persona in Washington, D.C. and European capitals.

Marriage and family life

She married James Monroe, then a young lawyer and veteran of the Continental Army, in 1786 at Trinity Church, New York. The couple had three children: Eliza, James Spence Monroe, and Maria Hester Monroe Gouverneur. Her husband's political career took the family to various diplomatic posts, including London and Paris, where they lived during the tumultuous period of the French Revolution. In Paris, she famously visited Madame de Lafayette at the Luxembourg Palace, which was then being used as a prison, an act of courage that garnered international attention and likely aided in the marchioness's release. The family's primary residences included Highland in Albemarle County, Virginia, and later Oak Hill in Loudoun County, Virginia.

First Lady of the United States

As First Lady, she presided over the Executive Mansion with a reserved and formal European-style etiquette, influenced by her years abroad in courts like that of Napoleon. This contrasted sharply with the open, gregarious style of Dolley Madison and led to some criticism from Washington society. She curtailed the practice of large public receptions and made New Year's Day and Fourth of July the only days for public visiting. Due to frequent ill health, her eldest daughter, Eliza Monroe Hay, often acted as the official hostess. During the Monroe administration, she oversaw the refurbishment of the White House following its burning by the British Army during the War of 1812, selecting furniture from Paris in the fashionable Empire style.

Later life and death

Following her husband's retirement from the presidency in 1825, she lived with him at their estate, Oak Hill, in Virginia. Her health, which had been fragile for many years, continued to decline. She died at Oak Hill on September 23, 1830, and was initially interred in the Gouverneur family vault in New York City. After the death of James Monroe in 1831, their bodies were moved and re-interred in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia, in 1858, following a decision by the Virginia General Assembly.

Legacy and honors

While less publicly celebrated than some of her contemporaries, she is remembered for her dignity, her courageous act in Paris, and her role in establishing a more formal tone for the First Lady's office. A portrait of her by John Vanderlyn hangs in the White House. The James Monroe Museum in Fredericksburg, Virginia, holds several of her personal artifacts. Her legacy is also preserved through the continued study of the Era of Good Feelings and the diplomatic history of the early American republic.

Category:First Ladies of the United States Category:1768 births Category:1830 deaths Category:People from New York City Category:Monroe family