Caroline Harrison

First Lady

• Born: October 1, 1832
• Birthplace: Oxford, Ohio
• Died: October 25, 1892
• Place of death: Washington, D.C.

President:Benjamin Harrison 1889-1893

Overview

Caroline Harrison brought friendliness, courtesy, and gracious dignity to the White House and was a social asset to the reserved President Benjamin Harrison. She was a loving, supportive wife and a devoted caregiver to her close-knit family. She was also committed to performing her duties of First Lady, and yet she made time for her personal artwork. Known for her thoughtfulness, she gave regularly of her services to charity.

Early Life

Caroline Lavinia Scott was born on October 1, 1832, in the quiet college town of Oxford, Ohio. Her parents, Mary Neal Scott and John Witherspoon Scott, provided a secure home environment of culture and refinement, imbued with Christian and intellectual education. Although Dr. Scott was an ordained Presbyterian minister, he was employed for most of his life as a professor of mathematics and sciences. An advocate for women’s education, he established the Oxford Female Institute in 1849.

While she was First Lady, Caroline told a reporter at the White House that she remembered a happy childhood in Oxford, enjoying a close relationship with her parents and siblings: an older sister Elizabeth, a younger sister, Mary, and two younger brothers, John and Henry. Caroline was an active, fun-loving child. Her father, although known to his students and colleagues as being buoyant and genial, was anxious about Caroline’s lively behavior. In a letter to his wife he wrote, “Tell Caroline she must try and act the lady now, and leave off her romping and venturesomeness.” He complained of her mirthfulness when he thought she should have been solemn.

Caroline’s talents in art and music were nurtured from childhood. Her aunt Caroline Neal often visited the Scott family in Oxford and gave her niece Caroline many hours of instruction and guidance in drawing. Examples of fifteen-year-old Caroline’s artistic ability are contained in an unpublished book at the Harrison Home: Floral and Poetical Album, by Caroline Scott at Pleasant Hill, Ohio in 1847, composed of selections of poetry on death, carefully penned in fine dainty script, and embellished with charming floral and landscape illustrations in pencil and watercolors. Caroline inherited her musical talent from her mother, who taught her to play the piano. Sometimes they delighted children by making exquisite little dolls dance to the music of their piano playing. By the age of nineteen, Caroline was an accomplished musician.

When she met Benjamin Harrison, Caroline was an attractive young woman. She was five feet, two inches tall, with large brown eyes, thick brown hair, and tiny hands and feet. She was vivacious and optimistic, with a keen sense of humor. While Ben was a student at Farmer’s College in Cincinnati, Ohio, he frequently visited the home of his mathematics and physics teacher, Dr. Scott, and there became acquainted with Caroline. When Dr. Scott moved with his family back to Oxford, Ben transferred to Miami University, also located in Oxford. Caroline enrolled as a student at Oxford Female Institute, where her father served as principal.

Ben and Caroline began to spend many evenings together, often on buggy and sleigh rides. Caroline had a busy senior year at the Institute, where she taught in the music department, and earned her degree in language, music, and art on June 22, 1852. The following year she went to Carrollton, Kentucky, to teach music and sewing in a girls’ school. In the meantime, Ben was an honors student at Miami. Upon his graduation from the university, he went to Cincinnati to read law with the prestigious Bellamy Storer law firm. He soon was concerned and distressed about Caroline, who was becoming ill from exhaustion and overwork. That August, even though Ben was not earning an income, he and Caroline decided to marry within two months.

Marriage and Family

On the morning of October 10, 1853, in the parlor of the Scott family home in Oxford, Ben and Caroline were married in a simple ceremony officiated by Dr. Scott, attended by family members and a few close friends. Caroline wore a gray traveling dress, and Ben wore a black suit with a satin vest and a frock coat. Following a wedding breakfast, the newlyweds traveled to the home of Ben’s father, John Scott Harrison, in North Bend, Ohio, where they lived until Ben completed his law training. After Ben was admitted to the bar association in 1854, he and Caroline moved to Indianapolis, Indiana.

They both endured hardships during their first year in Indianapolis. Because Caroline was pregnant and ill, she went to her parents’ home in Oxford, where she gave birth to a boy, Russell, who was born on August 12, 1854.

Active church membership was of primary importance to both Ben and Caroline. They regularly attended services at the First Presbyterian Church. While Ben taught young men’s classes and served as deacon and elder, Caroline played the organ, taught children’s classes, and became superintendent of the primary department of the Sunday school. Most of the family’s social life was centered on church activities, to which Caroline generously contributed her time. Her vivacious, friendly leadership influenced and attracted a following of the younger women.

On April 3, 1858, the Harrison family increased with the birth of a daughter, Mary. These were good, secure years for the young couple. Ben was concentrating his efforts to increase success in the law practice, and Caroline was busy with domestic responsibilities, church, and charity work.

The Civil War interrupted their contented family life. In 1862, while Caroline stayed at home with two small children, Ben departed Indianapolis as commander of the Seventieth Volunteer Regiment from Indiana. He survived many battles without injury or serious illness and returned when the war was over.

In Indianapolis, prosperity followed the traumatic war period. Industry and new businesses caused the city to grow quickly, drawing an influx of job seekers. Ben established partnerships with different attorneys, and his law practice prospered. In 1875 the Harrisons moved into their newly completed, stately sixteen-room house on North Delaware Street.

Caroline quickly established a daily schedule for the family and the household staff. At 6:00 a.m. she was usually at the market, selecting meats and vegetables. The meals were served regularly, with breakfast at 7:30, followed by prayers led by Ben, lunch at 1:30 p.m., and dinner at 6:30 p.m. The Sabbath was strictly observed; no work was done, two meals were served, and the evening was usually spent quietly at home. Social responsibilities increased at the Delaware Street home. Visitors were received on Thursday afternoons for Caroline’s calling days, and guests were often entertained with dinner parties and receptions. A remembered social event was a lawn party for President and Mrs. Rutherford B. Hayes on October 3, 1879, following a parade headed by presidential dignitaries.

In spite of her full calendar, Caroline found time for her own work. One of the rooms on the north side of the second floor of the home was used as an art studio, where Caroline produced floral compositions in watercolors and painted china. She took lessons from the gifted artist Paul Putzki, who had moved to the city from Chicago. For several years her work was entered in the Indiana Exposition, where she won prizes. Caroline enjoyed playing the piano, creating fine needlework, and reading the classics, history, and contemporary writing. A leader in Impromptu, a local literary club, Caroline became well known for her portrayal of scenes from the works of author Charles Dickens. She also increased her charity work as a board member for the local orphanage.

July 4, 1888, marked the beginning of Ben’s campaigning for U.S. president. He became known as a front porch campaigner, giving more than eighty speeches at his front door to the multitudes of eager supporters gathered in the front yard. Caroline prepared refreshments and welcomed hundreds of well-wishers into the home. The morning after the election, Ben learned that he had lost the popular vote, but had won the election through the electoral college.

Presidency and First Ladyship

Strong winds and torrential rain prevailed on Harrison’s inauguration day on March 3, 1889, but did not dampen the spirits of the incoming Republicans. A crowd of twelve thousand gathered at the Pension Office Hall for the Inaugural Ball. At 10:30 p.m., Ben and Caroline descended from the balcony to lead the grand promenade to the music of the Marine Band and its director John Philip Sousa. Caroline’s elegant inaugural ball gown, styled by New York artists, received approval. The gown was made of silver-gray satin, and the skirt featured alternate panels of brocade with a burr oak leaf design and apricot crepe covered with lace. Beads of gold, silver, crystal, and pearls trimmed the dress. To support Ben’s platform favoring high tariffs to protect American industry, the fabric and gown were made in the United States. The oak leaf pattern, designed by Mary Williamson of Lafayette, Indiana, was manufactured into the fabric by Logan Silk Mills in Auburn, New York. Because of an injury she had received by catching her hand in a door, Caroline did not attempt to shake hands but carried a floral bouquet.

Ben and Caroline continued their thoughtful and affectionate relationship throughout the White House years. Ben did not hesitate to discuss with Caroline plans of his administration or affairs of the state, and he valued her advice.

Four generations of Harrisons lived together at the White House; eleven people occupied five rooms, sharing one bathroom. Caroline organized her close-knit family with a domestic schedule similar to the one she had in her own home, including morning family prayers. She usually supervised the care of the grandchildren. Their grandson Baby McKee became nationally famous through reporters who wrote feature stories about him, ignoring the Harrisons’ requests for privacy. It was for the grandchildren that the first elaborately decorated Christmas tree was set up on the second floor of the White House on December 24, 1889. After dinner, both Ben and Caroline were trimming the tree and stuffing gifts in the branches.

Caroline became the first First Lady to plan and supervise a major White House renovation project. She made creative plans, with the help of architect David Owen, for major architectural changes for the White House and enlisted the enthusiastic support of Senator Leland Stanford. “Caroline Harrison’s work on the President’s house represents not only the first major effort to give the house new functions, but also the first to bring it in historic perspective,” according to the White House Historical Association. The formal plans were rejected by Congress, and instead thirty-five thousand dollars was allocated to renovate the historic building.

The First Lady was determined, as she said, to “see the family of the president provided for properly, and . . . get the present building put into good condition.” After inspecting the dilapidated White House, she supervised the cleaning and refurbishing of the entire house, from attic to basement. In her White House diary, Caroline notes the problem of infestation of rats: “The rats have nearly taken the building so it has become necessary to get a man with ferrets. They have become so numerous and bold they get up on the table in the Upper Hall and one got up on [Harrison’s private secretary] Mr. Halford’s bed.”

Two private bathrooms became available for the first time on September 16, 1891. One bathroom was exclusively for the president and First Lady, with new white tile and a porcelain-lined marble tub. The other bathroom, called the double bath, had several tubs and basins and was shared by everybody else. The black, dirty basement, with damp floors and moldy walls, housed the laundry, kitchen, and living quarters of the servants, as well as storage areas for wood and coal. Five layers of rotting wood floors were removed and replaced with crushed brick and cement. The kitchen was completely remodeled.

The Edison Company hired Ike Hoover to install the first electric lights and electric bells throughout the White House beginning on May 6, 1891. The chandeliers, built for gas, were converted to either electric or gas fixtures, and the candle wall brackets were replaced with electric lamps. While he was working on the installation, the electrician sometimes felt surrounded by the friendly and curious Harrisons. They were afraid to turn the lights on and off for fear of electric shock, and at first they did not use the lights in their private rooms. Because electricity was not entirely dependable, it was for a time a supplement to gaslight. The entire White House was illuminated with electric lights on September 15, 1891.

One of Caroline’s successful social events was the opening in 1892 of the new Blue Parlor, redecorated and installed with electric lights, for the annual New Year’s Reception. Each room extravagantly displayed hundreds of flowers and decorative plants grown in the restored conservatory. Caroline had added numerous exotic plants to the collection, including orchids.

Caroline was aware of the popularity of her predecessor Frances Cleveland, who had given the White House social events a youthful and stylish flair. However, The Washington Post wrote, “Mrs. Harrison has mastered the art of entertaining. . . . She has a friendliness of manner that is proof against criticism.” Caroline’s events were praised for “an air of genteel gaiety” and beautiful floral decorations.

In her diary she wrote, “One feature of entertainment which I was very pleased with—that was the lack of stiffness which generally characterized all such dinners & I believe all felt at ease and at home.” Dancing became a regular part of Harrison public receptions, with daughter Mary and other young relatives helping Caroline as hostesses, although illnesses and deaths caused cancellations of many events on the social calendar.

Caroline organized cultural classes, such as French language classes, at the White House for Washington, D.C., women. Caroline persuaded her Indianapolis art teacher to move to Washington, where he instructed weekly classes in watercolor and china painting at the Executive Mansion. A room in the attic became Caroline’s art studio. Literary society meetings were also regularly attended.

Caroline was interested in improving the status of women. When Johns Hopkins Medical School in Baltimore, Maryland, asked her to help with fund-raising, she accepted on the condition that women be admitted on the same terms as men. She served as president of the Washington committee, recruiting the support of influential women from the capital. The committees of women together raised $100,000.

As First Lady, Caroline’s charity work continued. She served as director of the Washington City Orphan Asylum and worked on the board of the Garfield Hospital. Her frequent contributions of hand-embroidered cloths and hand-painted china for bazaars brought high sales with recognition of her name. In October, 1890, Caroline was appointed the first president-general of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. The First Lady’s acceptance of this position brought before the public her personal and official approval of the new patriotic and educational enterprise.

Caroline was deeply hurt and distressed by political attacks on her husband and herself and was shocked by slurs on Ben’s integrity and partisan lies. She was criticized for being overly domestic; cleaning the White House was not considered an appropriate task for the First Lady. When department store founder John Wanamaker gave the Harrisons a sixteen-room house on the New Jersey shore, journalists called it a political bribe. Caroline was particularly dismayed at the ridicule of her grandchildren in national newspapers.

In the winter of 1891-1892, while she tried to fulfill her social obligations, Caroline was frequently ill with bouts of bronchial infection. In March she developed catarrhal pneumonia, followed by hemorrhages of the lungs. That July, on the advice of their family physician, she was taken five hundred miles by train to Loon Lake in the Adirondack Mountains. Ben rented a three-bedroom cottage with a scenic view of the lake. Boughs of evergreen were hung across windows and doorways because of the theory that the fragrance of the sap would enhance healing of lung problems. After initial improvement, Caroline’s condition deteriorated. The medical diagnosis was finally announced as tuberculosis, with little hope of recovery.

Surgery was performed to drain the fluids from the pleural cavity of the right lung, and repeated two days later. From the time Ben arrived at Loon Lake in August after Congress recessed, he was at Caroline’s bedside constantly, helping with the nursing care. On September 20, she was brought back to the White House, where she died after a painful struggle on October 25, 1892. Following funeral services at the White House and at the First Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis, she was buried at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis.

Legacy

Caroline Harrison should be remembered for her charm and grace as official White House hostess and as a supportive wife. The annual tradition of the decorated Christmas tree at the White House was begun by the Harrisons in 1889, for their grandchildren. Caroline should be remembered for bringing public attention to the need to preserve the historic White House and its collections. She organized the presidential china collection and designed the Harrison White House china, which was used by three administrations. Caroline’s enthusiastic interest in china painting increased the popularity of the art form across the United States at the end of the nineteenth century.

Caroline also provided leadership and influence to the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. The organization has continued to uphold and enlarge upon its original goals.

Bibliography

Carpenter, Frank. Carp’s Washington. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1960. Contains information based on a prominent journalist’s interview with Caroline Harrison.

Hoover, Irwin Hood (Ike). Forty-two Years in the White House. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1934. The chief usher when electricity was installed at the White House for President Benjamin Harrison records a chapter of his experiences with and opinions of the Harrisons.

Klapthor, Margaret Brown. Official White House China, 1789 to the Present. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1975. Detailed descriptions and illustrations of various administrations’ official White House china.

Sievers, Harry Joseph. Benjamin Harrison. 3 vols. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1968. An accurate biography of Benjamin Harrison; contains details illustrating Caroline Harrison’s political acumen.

Whitcomb, John, and Claire Whitcomb. Real Life at the White House: Two Hundred Years of Daily Life at America’s Most Famous Residence. New York: Routledge, 2000. Includes information about the Harrisons at the White House.