When her husband, Zachary, became president-elect of the United States in 1848, Margaret "Peggy" Taylor did not want to be first lady. The primary reason for this is that Peggy was grieving the loss of several of her children. Mrs. Taylor's reclusiveness led to the proliferation of wild gossip and myths about her.
The Smiths of Maryland
Margaret Mackall Smith was born on September 21, 1788, in Calvert County, Maryland. Her father, Walter Smith, was a wealthy planter and Revolutionary War veteran. Her mother, the former Ann Mackall, was the daughter of General James John Mackall, one of the wealthiest landowners in Calvert County. Very little is known about Peggy's early years, but her upbringing was certainly a privileged one.
A Date with Destiny
In 1809, 21-one-year-old Peggy Smith traveled to Jefferson County, Kentucky, to visit her sister. It was there she met a young Army lieutenant named Zachary Taylor. Peggy and Zachary began a relationship and were married on June 21, 1810, in Peggy's sister's log cabin.
The Taylors were the parents of six children-- five daughters and one son: Ann Margaret Mackall (1811-75); Sarah Knox (1814-35); Octavia Pannel (1816-20); Margaret Smith (1819-20); Mary Elizabeth (Betty) (1824-1909); Richard (1826-79). Motherhood would prove to be a heartbreaking endeavor for Peggy.
Army Wife
During the early years of their marriage, the Taylors were stationed at numerous military forts. Peggy's reclusive behavior began during this time. The life of an army wife is stressful, and it was especially so for the wife of a nineteenth-century officer assigned to the often dangerous American frontier.
Tragedy in the Bayou Country
By 1819, Lieutenant Taylor had been promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. That August, Zachary, Peggy, and their four daughters were transferred to Bayou Sara in the Louisiana delta. In July of 1820, the bayou would become the site of a family tragedy. The bayou country was a breeding ground for malaria, and it struck Peggy and two of her children. While Peggy eventually recovered, Octavia, who was not quite four years old, died in the summer of 1820. In October, 15-month-old Margaret Smith Taylor contracted "a violent bilious fever" and passed away.
Malaria would claim yet another member of the Taylor family in 1835. Daughter Sarah-- who was referred to as "Knox" due to her birthplace of Fort Knox at Vincennes, Indiana Territory-- met and married a young lieutenant named Jefferson Davis, who was stationed at Fort Crawford in the Michigan Territory. Knox and Jefferson wed on June 17, 1835, and moved to Louisiana, where Jefferson planned to start a plantation. On September 15, 1835, Knox died of malaria. This tragedy turned Peggy into a permanent recluse. (Interestingly, the Taylors remained close with Jefferson Davis, who would later become the president of the Confederate States of America. In fact, one of the only people Peggy would see in her later years was Jefferson's second wife, Varina, whom he married in February, 1845.)
Rumors About First Lady Circulate Throughout the Nation's Capital
In 1848, Zachary-- now a general and a Mexican-American War hero-- ran as the Whig Party's presidential candidate. Zachary won the election, much to his wife's chagrin. Peggy did not want to be first lady. As a result, the press and general public concocted a series of rumors about her. For example, it was claimed that Peggy was illiterate, came from the backwoods, and smoked a corn-cob pipe. In actuality, Mrs. Taylor was very well educated, highly cultured, and hated the smell of tobacco.
Mrs. Taylor's Final Years
Fortunately, Peggy would not have to be first lady for very long, for Zachary died suddenly on July 9, 1850. This was the beginning of the end for Peggy. She died on August 14, 1852, at son Richard's home in East Pascagoula, Mississippi. The cause of death is believed to be complications from chronic depression.
Sources:
Barzman, Sol. The First Ladies, p. 110-18. New York: Cowles Book Company, Inc., 1970.
Harris, Bill. The First Ladies Fact Book, p. 185-91. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, Inc., 2005.
