Julia Robertson Pierpont
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July 28, 1828
Julia Robertson Pierpont | |
|---|---|
 Photograph circa 1863 | |
| First Lady of Virginia | |
| In role May 15, 1861 – April 4, 1868 | |
| Governor | Francis Harrison Pierpont |
| Preceded by | Susan Holt Letcher |
| Succeeded by | Olive E. Evans |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Julia Augusta Robertson July 28, 1828 Dryden, New York, U.S. |
| Died | March 25, 1886 (aged 57) |
| Resting place | Woodlawn Cemetery Fairmont, West Virginia |
| Spouse | Francis Harrison Pierpont |
| Children | 4 |
Julia Augusta Pierpont (née Robertson; July 28, 1828 – March 25, 1886) was the first lady of Virginia from 1861 to 1868 as the wife of Governor of Virginia Francis Harrison Pierpont. She is credited by some as an early founder and adopter of "Decoration Day" (now known as Memorial Day) in the United States, and has been referred to as "The Mother of West Virginia" due to her husband's founding role in the state's history.[1][2][3]
Marriage and children
Julia Augusta Robertson was born on July 28, 1828, in Dryden, New York, the daughter of a Presbyterian minister, Reverend Samuel Robertson, and Dorcas Platt, who was a descendant of Richard Platt, one of the founders of New Haven, Connecticut.[4][5][6]
She was born into a family of abolitionists and developed strong anti-slavery views as a young woman.[1] In 1847, she graduated from a Washington Female Seminary in Pennsylvania.[4]
In 1854, she married Francis Harrison Pierpont while she was working as governess to his neighbor, Thomas Haymond.[7]
They spent their honeymoon at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C. They also called on President Franklin Pierce with whom they had a private audience.[4] They had four children, including:[8][1][9]
- Samuel Robertson Pierpont (1855–1920)
- Anna Pierpont Siviter (1855–1932)
- Mary Augusta "Mamie" Pierpont (1860–1864)
- Francis W. Pierpont (1860–1920)
Public life
Before being married to Francis, she worked as a schoolteacher in Newville, Pennsylvania.[4] After becoming married, Pierpont supported her husband in his political career, including his antislavery and pro-Union campaigns throughout northwestern Virginia.[1][10]
First lady
When her husband was elected unanimously as the governor of the Restored Government of Virginia, she became Virginia's first lady.[11] She moved with her husband to Wheeling (the capital of the restored government at the time) and later to Alexandria in 1863 when the state government relocated there. During the Civil War, Pierpont served the Union cause by helping to manufacture and send flags and supplies to servicemembers.[11] After the Civil War, she moved with her husband to Richmond, where he continued to serve as governor during the early years of Reconstruction.[1]
In May 1866, Pierpont and a teacher from a local African American school cleaned the neglected graves of Union soldiers in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia, and decorated them with flowers.[2][12] It may have been Pierpont's actions that partially inspired General John A. Logan, Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic to declare May 30 to be Decoration Day.[11] Pierpont was also the first West Virginia woman to be made a member of the Grand Army of the Republic.[11]