Today's DAR
Meet Miss Angelica, the 2022 National Junior Doll, who honors the youngest woman to ever serve as hostess of the White House. While it is custom that the fundraising Junior Doll of the final year of a President General’s term in office honors that particular woman, I requested that we instead use the project (a fundraiser for the Juniors) as a history lesson. And so, the doll honors Angelica Singleton Van Buren and her stunning and elaborate wardrobe salutes all 46 women who have served as First Lady or hostess since the birth of our republic, beginning with Martha Washington.
Honoring the Youngest Woman to Serve as White House Hostess
Eighth U.S. President Martin Van Buren had been a widower for 18 years when he moved into the Executive Mansion in 1837. The Van Buren White House lacked a hostess until that role was filled by Angelica. She was born in 1817 in South Carolina, the daughter of a wealthy and well-connected cotton planter and a relative by marriage of Dolley Madison. It was through Mrs. Madison that Angelica met Van Buren's son and private secretary, Abraham, at the White House. Eight months later, they were married in November 1838; and on New Year's Day 1839, Angelica became the president's official hostess.
After Martin was defeated for re-election in 1840, Angelica and her husband lived at the Van Buren home, Lindenwald, in Kinderhook, NY, and wintered at her family home, Melrose House, in So. Carolina. From 1848 until her death in 1877, she lived in New York City, and was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx. Members of three local DAR Chapters – New York City, White Plains and Knickerbocker – gathered recently to clean Angelica’s headstone. With the help of cemetery groundskeeper, they used D2 and a handheld pressure washer to return her grave marker to its original sparkling white color.
Meanwhile, Angelica’s 1842 portrait still hangs prominently in the Red Room of the White House. The beautiful dress she wears in the portrait was loving created by my own chapter, Melzingah, as part of the project. In fact, each of the 46 ensembles was painstakingly sewn by volunteers from one of New York State’s Chapters. I am so grateful to these women for their support (for this and so many other things!).
All 46 First Ladies (or White House hostesses) are represented in Miss Angelica’s massive wardrobe through meticulously researched and hand-crafted dresses and accoutrements, including Abigal Adams. Louisa Adams’s ensemble includes her beloved harp; Martha Patterson (daughter of Andrew Johnson) brings along a stuffed cow to represent the two she brought to the White House from Tennessee; Julia Grant has her horse; and Lady Bird Johnson carries a basket of wildflowers to symbolize those she inspired to be planted along our nation’s highways. Jacqueline Kennedy’s ensemble salutes her iconic fashion sense.
Caroline Scott Harrison, our First DAR President General, is also prominently featured; she put up the first Christmas tree in the White House and raised funds for Johns Hopkins Medical School under the condition that it admit women. Nellie Taft, Edith Wilson, Grace Coolidge and all of the other First Ladies can be found in Miss Angelica’s elaborate wardrobe, too. The lucky winner will even receive two beautiful trunks, a miniature tea set, a Colonial-era bed, a wooden wardrobe and many other stunning accessories. In short, this is a legacy collection to be treasured by its lucky winner.
Allow me to express my deep appreciation to the New York Juniors who have made possible this outstanding history lesson: National Co-Vice Chairs Julianna Minus and Emily Rich. In addition, New York Junior Membership State Chair Maura Reilly and Regent Patrice Birner have been exceptionally supportive of bringing to life the women who have served as hostess at the President’s House.
All proceeds benefit the Helen Pouch Memorial Fund, named in memory of Helen Pouch, who died at age 18 as a victim of the 1919 Spanish Flu epidemic. Her mother was Helena Pouch, a member of the Staten Island Chapter, the first chair of the Junior Membership Committee in 1937 and President General during the difficult World War II years of 1941-1944. The fund is used to support educational purposes.
Follow Miss Angelica, who is an American Girl Doll, on Facebook (NSDAR Junior Doll Miss Angelica). She will go home with the lucky winner after Continental Congress 2022 (and yes, she can be shipped). The Junior Membership Chair of each state has voices for sale – they may be purchased one for $5 or five voices for $20. Voices may be purchased at any time by visiting: https://juniordoll.square.site/. This doll would make a wonderful addition to any teacher’s classroom, local library display case or the home of anyone of any age who appreciates dolls, history and the women who have helped to lead our nation forward.
