The White House was first occupied in 1800, according to the White House website, when John Adams moved in. Two administrations later, James and Dolley Madison called it home. Mrs. Madison loved being First Lady, according to the Miller Center, and in particular, loved hosting parties and social events. So when her widowed sister, Lucy Payne Washington (pictured above), accepted a marriage proposal from Supreme Court Associate Justice Thomas Todd, it simply wouldn’t do to have the wedding anywhere but the hottest social destination in Washington: the White House.
It seems that the wedding was put together rather quickly, as the Heroes, Heroines & History blog notes, saying that Mrs. Madison wrote to her father to complain about how the event was unexpected and had seemingly upset the White House servants. The blog describes the event as small, in keeping with the custom of the time, but likely “lovely and tasteful.” Mr. and Mrs. Todd went on to have three children. Unfortunately, however, after 14 years of marriage, Lucy was widowed a second time.
