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First Family Life

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First Children

What was it like to grow up in a home where some of the most important political decisions are being made at the same time as you are trying to pass your driver's license exam? We all remember our childhood firsts, but for most of us, these quintessential memories did not take place in one of the country's most famous

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White House Ghost Stories

1862-1863: Mary Todd Lincoln, grieving over her son Willies death in February, began to participate in spirit circles or seances in the Red Room at the White House and the presidential cottage at the Soldiers Home. Spiritualism was wildly popular during the height of the Civil War as families sought comfort for the loss of loved ones. 1901-1904: Jeremiah Jerry

Scholarship

An Introduction to "Away From the White House"

America's presidents have been trying to get away from it all for more than two hundred years and never quite succeeding. The job and its responsibilities follow no matter where they are. But vacationing presidents find that time away from the White House can clear the mind, rest the body, restore energy, and perhaps add a touch of humanity to