First Ladies: Harriet Lane, Jane Irwin, and Grace Coolidge

by Cheryl M. Keyser

Mercersburg, a small town in south central Pennsylvania, has a special connection to the White House. It was home to one of the few women who served as official hostess without being married to the President, another whose time at the Presidential Mansion was cut tragically short, and a third who visited the town on a ceremonious occasion. 

The town, whose Main Street buildings still reflect its mid-18th century character, can trace its history from its location on the western frontier to a prominent educational institution, Mercersburg Academy (now co-ed) which numbers many prominent leaders, and two movie stars, among its graduates. 

Harriet Lane - Image courtesy of Jefferson County Museum, Charles Town, WV www.jeffcomuseumwv.org.JPG (240497 bytes)Here Harriet Lane was born (1830-1903) who became the First Lady of the White House for her bachelor uncle, James Buchanan (1791-1808), the 15th President of the United States. She served in this capacity during his four years in office. 

The house where she was born, at 14 N. Main Street, still stands, although it is privately owned and not open for touring. She and her siblings were orphaned at an early age, losing both mother and father, and of her sister and brothers, several also died young. Whether Buchanan officially adopted her or not, he always referred to her as his "adopted daughter" and saw to her upbringing and education.

After her early years in Mercersburg, she attended private school in Charles Town, West Virginia, whose lovely small museum, recently renovated, contains "a large collection of items that belonged to her, including a tussy-mussy," said Museum Director Jane Rissler. She then went on to Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School in Washington, D.C. while her uncle served as Secretary of State. 

In 1820, having suffered the loss of his financeé, Buchanan entered public life, serving in the House of Representatives and Senate and as Ambassador to Russia and Great Britain. 

In 1853, he was appointed minister to the Court of St. James in England, where Lane joined him. She is said to have been very popular, attracting the attention of Queen VIctoria who gave the young woman, then 24, the rank of an Ambassador's wife. She had many suitors drawn by her charm, education, and physical beauty, described as "tall with red-blond hair, and dark blue eyes, often described as violet-colored" according to the website of the National First Ladies Library. But, she refrained from any serious relationship, following the advice (admonition) of her uncle to wait and choose wisely. 

As the election campaign in the United States got underway, Buchanan, a Democrat, was still in England and not at all sure if he wanted to be President. Defeating the other two candidates, he assumed his post at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Lane, now 26, came with him serving as his hostess, handling all the social functions. Just as Jacqueline Kennedy and Michelle Obama, she became known for her style, including her décolleté evening dresses. Among the guests invited were artists and musicians and during her tenure, the presidential yacht was named for her.

There is also a tale, questioned by some, that during this time she also became an advocate for American Indians.

Buchanan was not re-elected and retired to his home, Wheatland, in Lancaster, Pa. Lane accompanied him there, not marrying until she was 36. Her husband was Henry Elliott Johnston, a Baltimore banker, with whom she had two sons. But sustaining joy was not to be hers, as over the next few years, she lost her uncle, husband, and both of her children.

In her widowhood, she returned to live in Washington, D.C. where she donated her European art collection to the Smithsonian Institution, endowed a pediatric medical facility at Baltimore now known as Johns Hopkins Children's Center, and provided in her will for the building and maintenance of a boys school, the prestigious St. Alban's on the grounds of the Washington National Cathedral. (Every year, the pediatric nurses from the Center put flowers on her grave in Baltimore.)

Three Coast Guard cutters were named for her. In 1861, the original one fired "the first naval shot of the Civil War," according to Coast Guard history, and the third is still on active duty.

Lane was not the only woman from Mercersburg to serve as a White House hostess. Jane Irwin, daughter-in-law of William Henry Harrison, born just outside of Mercersburg, intended to do the same temporarily. But tragedy struck Harrison's election as the ninth U.S. President. 

Due to an illness, Harrison's wife was unable to accompany her husband to the capital city for his 1841 inaugural. Jane Irwin agreed to substitute for her. At that event, held on a cold March day, Harrison gave an exceptionally long address and caught a severe cold, which turned into pneumonia. He was President for only 23 days. Irwin returned to her home in Ohio, remarried, and died five years later. 

Her sister, Elizabeth, married John Harrison, and their second son, Benjamin, became the 23rd President.

The final connection comes through Mercersburg Academy. The head of the Academy, Dr. William Mann Irvin, often entertained distinguished guests, among them several presidents, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Woodrow Wilson, and Howard Taft. In 1922, Mrs. Grace Coolidge, then First Lady, attended a special event at the Academy, laying the cornerstone of its Chapel.

Today, visitors to Mercersburg, about an hour and a half from Washington, D.C, can see the home of Harriet Lane, on the National Register of Historic Places; located almost directly across the street is the John Buchanan Pub and Restaurant, formerly owned by Buchanan's father; Mercersbug Academy, now the site of Buchanan's log cabin birthplace and the Chapel dedicated by Mrs. Coolidge; and the Irwinton home where Jane Irwin was born.

For additional information, visit the website of the National First Ladies Library at www.firstladies.com,,the Mercersburg Historical Society at mhs.mercersburg. org, and the Jefferson County Historical Society at www.jeffersonhistoricalwv.org.

Harriet Lane image courtesy of Jefferson County Museum, Charles Town, W. Va. (www.jeffcomuseumwv.org)