Floride Calhoun
| Floride Calhoun | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Second Lady of the United States | |
|
In role March 4, 1825 – December 28, 1832 |
|
| President |
John Quincy Adams Andrew Jackson |
| Preceded by | Hannah Tompkins |
| Succeeded by | Letitia Tyler (1841) |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
February 15, 1792 Charleston, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Died | July 25, 1866 (aged 74) Pendleton, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Spouse(s) | John Calhoun (1811–1850; his death) |
| Children | 10 |
| Religion | Episcopalianism |
Floride Bonneau Calhoun (February 15, 1792 – July 25, 1866) was the wife of prominent U.S. politician John C. Calhoun. She is best known for her leading role in the Petticoat affair, which occurred while her husband was serving as Vice President. During the affair, Mrs. Calhoun led the Cabinet wives in ostracizing Peggy Eaton, the wife of Secretary of War John Eaton, whom they considered a woman of low morals. The affair helped damage relations between John C. Calhoun and President Andrew Jackson, and effectively ended any legitimate chance of John Calhoun becoming President of the United States.
She was born Floride Bonneau Colhoun to U.S. Senator John E. Colhoun and Floride Bonneau. She was a niece of Rebecca Colhoun Pickens, wife of Andrew Pickens. On January 8, 1811, she married John C. Calhoun, her first-cousin-once-removed (her father's first cousin). Soon after their marriage, her husband was elected to Congress, leaving his wife in charge of his plantation, Fort Hill, in present-day Clemson, South Carolina. Within the next eighteen years, she gave birth to ten children, five sons and five daughters, although three daughters died in infancy: 1. Andrew Pickens Calhoun (1811–1865); 2. Floride Pure Calhoun (1814–1815); 3. Jane Calhoun (1816–1816); 4. Anna Maria Calhoun (1817–1875); 5. Elizabeth Calhoun (1819–1820); 6. Patrick Calhoun (1821–1858); 7. John Caldwell Calhoun, Jr. (1823–1850); 8. Martha Cornelia Calhoun (1824–1857); 9. James Edward Calhoun (1826–1861); and 10. William Lowndes Calhoun (1829–1858). Her fourth child, Anna Maria, married Thomas Green Clemson, founder of Clemson University in South Carolina.
...
Wikipedia