Elizabeth Jane Barkley (née Rucker, formerly Hadley; September 23, 1911 – September 6, 1964), also commonly known as Jane Hadley Barkley, was the
second lady of the United States
The second gentleman or second lady of the United States (SGOTUS or SLOTUS respectively) is the informal title held by the spouse of the vice president of the United States, concurrent with the vice president's term of office. Coined in contrast ...
from 1949 to 1953, as the wife of
Vice President
A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...
Alben W. Barkley.
Early life
She was born in
Keytesville, Missouri
Keytesville is a city in and the county seat of Chariton County, Missouri, United States. The population was 440 as of the 2020 census. Keytesville is the hometown of U.S. Army General Maxwell D. Taylor, who commanded the "Screaming Eagles" 101 ...
; her father was a lawyer and her mother a pianist who had studied in Europe. She married her first husband, Carleton Hadley, a lawyer, in 1931. Hadley, whom she met at
Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...
, became a prominent railroad attorney. They had two daughters before his death in 1945 at 42.
Carleton Sturtevant Hadley (Dec. 23, 1902 in
Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, in the United States. Alongside Cambridge, It is one of two traditional seats of Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in 2020, it was the fifth most populous city in Massachusetts as of ...
– Feb. 16, 1945
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
) came from the prominent Massachusetts Hadley family. He earned a B.A. (1923), LL.M. (1927), and M.A. (1929) from Washington University. He married Rucker in 1931, and had two children. He was a revered attorney nationally and a prominent member of the St. Louis Republican Party, and died from a heart attack aged 42 in St. Louis on February 16, 1945.
Marriage to Alben Barkley
She married Vice President Alben Barkley, a widower, on November 18, 1949. She was his second wife, and he was her second husband. At the time of marriage Barkley was 33 years her senior. He was 71 years old and she was 38. Barkley's first wife, Dorothy, had died in 1947. Until her courtship with Barkley, Jane Rucker Hadley had been a devoted Republican. In 1940, Mrs. Hadley was working in the
St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
office of GOP presidential nominee
Wendell Willkie
Wendell Lewis Willkie (born Lewis Wendell Willkie; February 18, 1892 – October 8, 1944) was an American lawyer, corporate executive and the 1940 Republican nominee for President. Willkie appealed to many convention delegates as the Republican ...
. When her milkman expressed fondness for President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
, she left a note saying, "No Willkie, no milkie".
After meeting the young widow in May 1949 at a party in Washington, the Vice President courted her ardently. He was not deterred by her politics or a long-distance relationship. The Vice President began making regular commercial airline stops in St. Louis. Their courtship captured national attention. She resided in a seven-room apartment in St. Louis's prestigious
Central West End
The Central West End is a neighborhood in St. Louis, Missouri, stretching from Midtown's western edge to Union Boulevard and bordering on Forest Park with its outstanding array of free cultural institutions. It includes the Cathedral Basilica of ...
neighborhood, near both Washington University and the renowned Forest Park. On October 30, 1949, they announced their engagement.
They married at St. John's Methodist Church in St. Louis on November 18. The ceremony was attended by 33 family members and one vice presidential aide, along with about 60 reporters. Outside, an estimated 5,000 people cheered the couple as they departed in a black convertible the groom gave as a wedding gift. When asked about his wife's politics, the vice president said, "She got swept off her feet by Willkie, but now she's back in the fold."
Her husband retired from the Vice Presidency in January 1953. He was elected for another term in the U.S. Senate in 1954, serving until his death in 1956.
Death
After Barkley's death, Jane Barkley accepted a position as a secretary at
George Washington University
The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Chartered in 1821 by the United States Congress, GWU is the largest Higher educat ...
in
Washington, D.C.
)
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, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
Mrs. Barkley published a memoir in 1958 with New York's
Vanguard Press
The Vanguard Press (1926–1988) was a United States publishing house established with a $100,000 grant from the left wing American Fund for Public Service, better known as the Garland Fund. Throughout the 1920s, Vanguard Press issued an array of ...
, entitled ''I Married the Veep''. She died on September 6, 1964 from a heart attack at the age of 52, and was still employed at George Washington University.
["Milestones", Time, September 18, 1964]
Barkley was buried at Valhalla Cemetery in
Bel-Nor.
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Barkley, Jane Hadley
1911 births
1964 deaths
Second ladies of the United States
Spouses of Kentucky politicians
Barkley family
Alben W. Barkley
Missouri Democrats
Missouri Republicans
People from Keytesville, Missouri
People from St. Louis
Brown University alumni