Mary Elizabeth Bliss
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Mary Elizabeth "Betty" Taylor Bliss Dandridge, born Mary Elizabeth Taylor (April 20, 1824 – July 25, 1909), was the youngest of the three surviving daughters of President
Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...
(1849–1850) and
Margaret Mackall Smith Taylor Margaret "Peggy" Mackall Taylor ( ''née'' Smith; September 21, 1788 – August 14, 1852) was the first lady of the United States from 1849 to 1850 as the wife of President Zachary Taylor. She married Zachary in 1810 and lived as an army wif ...
. In 1848, after her father was elected President, Mary Elizabeth married
William Wallace Smith Bliss William Wallace Smith Bliss (August 17, 1815 – August 5, 1853) was a United States Army officer and mathematics professor. A gifted mathematician, he taught at West Point and also served as a line officer. In December 1848 Bliss married M ...
, an army officer who had served with her father. Taylor appointed William Bliss as Presidential Secretary. At the age of 24, Mary Elizabeth Bliss served as First Lady during her father's presidency, as her mother declined the social role.


Early life and education

Betty Taylor was the youngest of five daughters (two of whom died before she was born) of Peggy and Zachary Taylor in
Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...
, then on the frontier. She also had a younger brother,
Dick Taylor Richard Clifford Taylor (born 28 January 1943) is an English musician, best known as the guitarist and founding member of the Pretty Things. Taylor was an early bassist for the Rolling Stones, but left the band to resume his studies at Sidcu ...
. She and her siblings grew up alternately at their
plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...
in Louisville and U.S. Army
fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
s, where her father, a career Army officer, was often in command. Her mother mostly taught the children at home, sometimes with the help of tutors or young army officers. In the late 1820s, the family moved to a plantation near Baton Rouge, as her father was purchasing land in the area. In the early 1830s, the family was with Taylor at
Fort Crawford Fort Crawford was an outpost of the United States Army located in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, during the 19th century. The army's occupation of Prairie du Chien spanned the existence of two fortifications, both of them named Fort Crawford. The ...
as he waged the
Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis (Fox), and Kickapoos, known as the " British Band", cros ...
. Later they returned to Baton Rouge, when he went to territorial Florida for the Second Seminole War and then to
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
.


Marriage and political career

On December 8, 1848, Betty married
William Wallace Smith Bliss William Wallace Smith Bliss (August 17, 1815 – August 5, 1853) was a United States Army officer and mathematics professor. A gifted mathematician, he taught at West Point and also served as a line officer. In December 1848 Bliss married M ...
, an army officer who had served with her father. Zachary Taylor was elected to the presidency in 1848, and was inaugurated in 1849. He appointed William Bliss as his Presidential Secretary. As President Taylor's wife declined the role, Betty Bliss – addressed as "Miss Betty" – served as First Lady for her father during official
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
functions. She and her husband were excited about their roles in Washington, D.C. In many respects, it was Betty Bliss who assumed responsibility for the family's primary interaction with the general public. The President's daughter was the public hostess of the Administration. At the Inaugural Ball, following the Russian Minister's wife in red silk and diamonds, "Miss Betty" appeared in a simple white dress with a white flower in her hair, and her naturalness became her trademark. She presided over all public functions in the White House as the official hostess of the Taylor Administration. The public face of the Taylor women duo, Betty Bliss even had a popular dance song written in her honor. On July 9, 1850, the Taylor presidency ended prematurely with Zachary Taylor's death. Betty and her husband accompanied her widowed mother Peggy Taylor to
Pascagoula, Mississippi Pascagoula ( ) is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States. It is the principal city of the Pascagoula Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is part of the Gulfport– Biloxi–Pascagoula Combined Statistical Area. The population was 2 ...
, where Mrs. Taylor lived with another married daughter until her death two years later. The following year, William Bliss died of
yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. ...
contracted in New Orleans, leaving Mrs. Bliss a widow at 29. On February 11, 1858, Betty married again, to Philip Pendleton Dandridge (1817-1881). She died on July 25, 1909, at 85, and was buried at Mount Hebron Cemetery in
Winchester, Virginia Winchester is the most north western independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Frederick County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Winchester wit ...
. She was the last surviving child of Zachary Taylor.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bliss, Mary Elizabeth 1824 births 1909 deaths Acting First Ladies of the United States Children of presidents of the United States Zachary Taylor family Zachary Taylor People from Louisville, Kentucky 19th-century American women 20th-century American women Burials at Mount Hebron Cemetery (Winchester, Virginia) Dandridge family of Virginia Pendleton family