Mary Elizabeth Bliss

Mary Elizabeth Taylor Bliss, also known as Betty Dandridge, was born 10 Apr 1824 in Kentucky and died 25 July 1909 in Winchester, Franklin County, Virginia. She is buried in Mount Hebron Cemetery, Winchester City, Virginia.

Parents: Daughter of General Zachary Taylor "Old Rough and Ready", President of the United States and Margaret Mackall Smith.

Married:

1. On December 8, 1848, Mary married William Wallace Smith Bliss, the future president's secretary. Bliss died in 1853.
2. On February 11, 1858, she married Philip Pendelton Dandridge.

Notes

• Reference-Children of the Presidents: https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_children_of_the_President...

"Betty" assumed the role of official hostess for her father due to her mother being a semi-invalid. She received high praise for the manner in which she preformed the required duties. She was only 25 at the time.

She became widely acquainted with noted men and women during her brief but brilliant regime in the White House and she was known far and wide as a young woman of rare fascination and beautiful character. It was regarded as a high honor to be asked to one of her entertainments.

A southern sympathizer during the civil war she saw fit to save a young scout, John E. Boyd who was captured by Federal officials and sentenced to death. He lived and served as one of the pallbearers that carried Betty to her final rest place.

served as White House hostess for her father

Mary Elizabeth Taylor is listed in R. Whitney Tucker's "The Descendants of the Presidents"' ©1975 Delmar Printing Company, Charlotte, N.C., Chapter XII. Zachary Taylor, page 103, Second generation, Descendant XII-5 (Mary Elizabeth Taylor ("Betty"), born in Jefferson Co.,(Ky.) April 20, 1824; died in Winchester, Va., July 25, 1909. Married first, December 5, 1848, Col. William Wallace Bliss (born August 17, 1815; died August 4, 1853), son of Capt. John Bliss, USA., and Olive Hall (Simmonds) Bliss; He graduated from West Point (USMA), 1833; served in the Mexican War. She married second, February 11,1858, her cousin Philip Pendleton Dandridge, of Winchester.)

Links

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Elizabeth_Bliss
• http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=19066269 http://www.ourfamtree.org/browse.php/Mary-Elizabeth-Taylor/p60050

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Ancestry.com Ohio, Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center Obituary Index, 1810s-2013 Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2010; @R1@

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Yates Publishing U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2004; @R1@

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Source number: 5002.000; Source type: Electronic Database; Number of Pages: 1; Submitter Code: LSS

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Ancestry.com U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1700s-Current Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2012; @R1@

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Dalby, John Minnesota Cemetery Inscription Index, Select Counties Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2003; @R1@

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Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 1880 United States Federal Census Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2010; @R1@

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Year: 1880; Census Place: Winchester, Frederick, Virginia; Roll: 1367; Family History Film: 1255367; Page: 445D; Enumeration District: 046

GEDCOM Source

Ancestry.com North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000 Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2016; @R1@

GEDCOM Source

Book Title: The Brewster Genealogy : 1566-1907 : A record of the descendants of William Brewster of the "Mayflower," ruling Elder of the Pilgrim Church which founded Plymouth Colony in 1620: Volume 1

GEDCOM Source

Ancestry.com U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1700s-Current Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2012; @R1@

GEDCOM Source

GEDCOM Source

Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 1880 United States Federal Census Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2010; @R1@

GEDCOM Source

Year: 1880; Census Place: Winchester, Frederick, Virginia; Roll: 1367; Family History Film: 1255367; Page: 445D; Enumeration District: 046

GEDCOM Source

Ancestry.com Ohio, Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center Obituary Index, 1810s-2013 Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2010; @R1@

GEDCOM Source

GEDCOM Source

Ancestry.com U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1700s-Current Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2012; @R1@

GEDCOM Source

GEDCOM Source

Dalby, John Minnesota Cemetery Inscription Index, Select Counties Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2003; @R1@

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Ancestry Family Trees Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.; @R1@ This information comes from 1 or more individual Ancestry Family Tree files. This source citation points you to a current version of those files. Note: The owners of these tree files may have removed or changed information since this source citation was created.

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Ancestry Family Trees http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=15094190&amp...

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Ancestry.com Ohio, Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center Obituary Index, 1810s-2013 Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2010; @R1@

GEDCOM Source

GEDCOM Source

Yates Publishing U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2004; @R1@

GEDCOM Source

Source number: 5002.000; Source type: Electronic Database; Number of Pages: 1; Submitter Code: LSS

GEDCOM Source

Ancestry.com U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1700s-Current Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2012; @R1@

GEDCOM Source

GEDCOM Source

Dalby, John Minnesota Cemetery Inscription Index, Select Counties Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2003; @R1@

GEDCOM Source

GEDCOM Source

Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 1880 United States Federal Census Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2010; @R1@

GEDCOM Source

Year: 1880; Census Place: Winchester, Frederick, Virginia; Roll: 1367; Family History Film: 1255367; Page: 445D; Enumeration District: 046

GEDCOM Source

Ancestry.com North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000 Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2016; @R1@

GEDCOM Source

Book Title: The Brewster Genealogy : 1566-1907 : A record of the descendants of William Brewster of the "Mayflower," ruling Elder of the Pilgrim Church which founded Plymouth Colony in 1620: Volume 1 "Mrs. Dandridge was in the eighty-sixth year of her age, having been born at what is now Fort Snelling, on the Mississippi River, in Minnesota, on April 20, 1824. She was the third daughter of President Taylor. Mrs. Dandridge's mother was Margaret Mackall Smith, a member of a distinguished Maryland family. Her first husband was Col. William Wallace Bliss, whom she married in 1848. Colonel Bliss died near New Orleans on August 5, 1853. "As Mrs. Bliss Mrs. Dandridge presided over the White House at Washington during the 16 months her father was president, her mother being an invalid. She was noted for her grace and charm and the elegance of her entertainments. "Some years after the death of Colonel Bliss she married Philip Pendleton Dandridge, member of the prominent Virginia family of that name and came to WinChester to live in 1858. Her second husband died in 1882. "The elder sister of Mrs. Dandridge, Sarah Knox Taylor, was the first wife of Jefferson Davis. Another sister was the wife of Dr. Wood, former surgeon general of the United States Army. Her only brother was Gen. Richard Taylor, a distinguished Confederate general. "The pallbearers were Dr. William P. McGuire, John W. Rice, H. D. Fuller, Dr. William S. Love, Major Holmes Conrad, Major Eugene W. Baylor, Major Robert W. Hunter and Shirley Carter, all of Winchester; John E. Boyd, of Martinsburg, W. Va., and L. P. Dandridge, of the Bower, Jefferson county, W. Va. "One of the pallbearers, Mr. John E. Boyd, of Martinsburg, W. Va., owes his life to the late Mrs. Dandridge. During the Civil War she was a strong Southern sympathizer and was a friend of many soldiers in the Confederate Army. While General Sheridan and his troops were encamped in this city John Boyd, a Confederate soldier, started to visit his home, at the Lefever place, near Bunkerhill, Berkeley county, W. Va., and when it became known that he was here and his presence betrayed by servants he was arrested, imprisoned and condemned to die. "From the window of his lonely cell he could see workmen erecting his scaffold and others making his coffin. Efforts made by friends to save him were futile, and Mrs. Dandridge, upon learning of his plight, went in person to General Sheridan and interceded for him, with the result that his death sentence was changed to that of imprisonment, and later he was exchanged and returned to the Confederate Army."

~Seldens of Virginia and Allied Families, Volume 2; Mary Selden Kennedy; Frank Allaben Genealogical Company, 1911.

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Mar 27 2020, 23:12:30 UTC