Glamour and excitement...dashing about Washington behind four white horses, picnicking in the woods around Rock Creek, and presiding over an abundance of luncheons, dinners and elegant social occasions in the White House. This was the beautiful - and young - Julia Gardiner Tyler, second wife of President John Tyler. Julia, the daughter of Senator David Gardiner, was twenty-two when she met the newly widowed John Tyler, who was fifty-three. John was immediately taken with her breathless beauty and managed to kiss her on her second visit to the White House. Two weeks later he proposed! Julia responded in the fashion of the day, by crying "No,No,No", which really meant, it would be scandalous to say yes this early in our relationship...but don't stop asking.
The President continued his pursuit with flowery love letters. And then fate stepped in. Tyler invited Julia and her father to join other guests for a cruise on the Potomac River aboard the U.S. Navy's new steam frigate, Princeton. The frigate was equipped with a new cannon called the Peacemaker. The male guests gathered on the deck to watch a demonstration of the new cannon. It exploded, killing eight people, including Julia's father, as well as the secretaries of the Navy and State. Julia collapsed and John carried her ashore. A few months later, the couple slipped into a church in New York City and were married.
The new Mrs. Tyler recovered and became a popular Washington figure. She became interested in politics and frequently could be seen in the gallery at the House of Representatives. At a White House ball, she introduced the polka - considered a racy dance and previously forbidden in the White House. She solved the problem of having to wear mourning clothes due to the death of her father, by wearing black only in the daytime and white at night. Or she would combine the two colors by covering white with black lace. She loved ropes of pearls and a jewel on her forehead. Quite the flamboyant lady in 1844.
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