Elizabeth Monroe

Elizabeth Kortright was born to Lawrence and Hannah Kortright in New York City on June 30, 1768.¹ On February 16, 1786, she married James Monroe in New York, and together they had three children: Eliza (1786), James (1799), and Maria (1802).²

Very little is known about Elizabeth Monroe’s personal life; according to family tradition, James Monroe burned his wife’s letters after she died. Only a handful of her letters survive.³ However, we can glean information about her from her environment and relationships with others.

In 1794, James Monroe was appointed minister to France, followed by similar posts in Spain and Great Britain.⁴ Elizabeth traveled with her husband, learning the art of diplomacy while surrounded by different cultures and languages. She also played a role in diplomatic affairs. In Paris, Adrienne de Lafayette, wife of the Marquis de Lafayette, had been imprisoned and sentenced to die by the guillotine during the French Revolution; Mrs. Monroe visited Adrienne on her husband’s behalf at Plessis prison, and soon after, they arranged for her release.⁵

She and her husband also oversaw the operation of their Virginia plantations, Highland and Oak Hill, and the dozens of enslaved men, women, and children who labored there.⁶

When James Monroe became president in 1817, the reconstruction of the White House, burned by the British in 1814, was nearing completion. A few months later, the Monroes moved in.⁷ It is likely that Mrs. Monroe played a part in the refurnishing of the new and improved Executive Mansion; the Monroes imported many decorative pieces from France, including the Bellangé suite that resides in the Blue Room today.⁸ She may also have managed the free and enslaved workers at the White House, as women often oversaw household staff in the nineteenth century.⁹

Compared to her predecessor, Dolley Madison, Mrs. Monroe’s entertaining schedule was far more limited.¹⁰ This was in part due to her health—documentation indicates that the first lady was chronically ill.¹¹ Even her daughter Maria’s White House wedding on March 9, 1820, was a small, family affair.¹² Occasionally, their eldest daughter, Eliza, stepped in as hostess, especially during Monroe’s second term.¹³

After leaving the White House in 1825, the Monroes returned to Oak Hill. Elizabeth Monroe died on September 23, 1830, and was buried there; her gravesite was later moved to Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia.¹⁴