![]() After Mary held the post for five months, she resigned saying that it was inappropriate for a woman. When he died in 1870, President Grant offered the position of Postmistress in the Thibodaux Post Office to his friend of thirty years’ acquaintance. John Fulford lost his property and work after the Civil War. She cared for seven children, of whom several died in childhood, and played a strong role in the Thibodaux Presbyterian Church. Fulford, they moved to Memphis, then in 1845 to Thibodaux. Mary King Fulford was a childhood sweetheart of U.S. John’s Historic Cemetery in Thibodaux, Louisiana, provides the following details of Mary’s adult life: The historical marker for “Mary King Fulford” at St. Fulford died in 1870, though, Grant apparently offered her the position of the postmaster at Thibodaux, Louisiana, where she was living. Grant appears to have had minimal correspondence with Mary King after their childhood interactions. Her father, old Victor King, didn’t think Grant was a very promising young man, and bitterly opposed the match” (p. While the reason for Mary and Grant’s split is unclear, an article in the January 18, 1890, issue of The Kansas City Gazette gives one possible explanation: “When Grant was a young man he was very much in love with a young girl named Mary Ann King. ![]() Before Julia, though, Mary seems to have been one of the few women who drew his attention. 31) that “ chances are” the woman in question was Mary King.Īs readers familiar with Grant’s biography know, Grant would eventually meet and marry the love of his life, Julia Dent (who was the recipient of many, often poetic, love letters from Grant 4). Hamlin Garland’s 1898 biography of Grant supports the idea that Mary was the woman who occupied Grant’s West Point dreams by noting “the tradition that Miss King was the boyhood sweetheart who had made West Point seem a long way off.” Furthermore, Geoffrey Peret writes in his 1997 biography of Grant (p. The romance ended as do so many others, for the young woman did not become Mrs. Sitting over his camp-fire in front of Petersburg one night, General Grant told the writer of this biography that his cadet days were filled with dreams of a young lady he intended to marry as soon as he graduated, and his one thought at West Point was of her. William Conant Church’s 1897 biography of Grant includes a brief account of Grant’s youthful infatuation with a young woman who, while unnamed, may well have been Mary: ![]() Mary King would have first met Grant in Georgetown, Ohio, where they apparently grew up together. Even without this note, the poem itself makes its addressee quite evident: it is an acrostic poem, and the first letters of each line spell out “Mary King.” 3 The poem concludes with a note from Victor King Chestnut (“V.K.C.”) indicating that it was dedicated to his aunt, Mary King. ![]() The Library of Congress’s copy of the poem gives a clear answer. remember me,” and gives his assurances that he will “often think of thee.” In particular, Grant asks the “you” to whom the poem is addressed to “kindly. Though he will soon be off to “gain the field of glory,” Grant thinks fondly of the friends and family he will be leaving behind. The poem captures a teenage boy’s feelings at the moment he’s about to leave his home to prepare for a possible career in military service. Here is the poem as it appears in the Library’s digitized Grant Papers: 2 Poem attributed to Ulysses S. Since Grant left for West Point in May 1939, he would have been seventeen at the time. Grant Papers online, I want to look at a little-known poem attributed to President Grant that he may have written for one of his early love interests.Īccording to some scholars, 1 Grant is thought to have written the poem around Spring 1839, before his departure for the U.S. This year, given the recent publication of the Library’s Ulysses S. In previous years I’ve looked at the idealistic love poems of a teenage George Washington, as well as the more sensual poetry written by Warren G. Given the proximity of Presidents Day to Valentine’s Day, I’m always tempted this time of year to celebrate both holidays at once by exploring love poetry written by U.S.
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