Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2020 March 20

= March 20 =

The First Lady in a Samuel J. Tilden White House?
Had Samuel J. Tilden won the U.S. Presidency in 1876 (Tilden almost won it in real life, with him arguably being the Al Gore of his day), who would have been the U.S. First Lady in a Samuel J. Tilden White House? Tilden was unmarried, so I'm wondering who are the potential candidates who could have served as the White House hostess in place of a hypothetical Tilden wife. Futurist110 (talk) 01:56, 20 March 2020 (UTC)


 * He may in fact have been gay; certainly, his political opponents entertained this rumour. These were not the days for being a role model and bringing in a "First Gentleman". Since Tilden apparently had no involvement with any woman, the primary White House hostess could have basically been anyone with a good upbringing and standing. I looked at Van Buren's daughters, but apparently he only had sons. Benjamin Franklin Butler and John W. Edmonds had daughters, but I see nothing promising. On the one hand it is an upside for this function if the lady in question is unmarried; on the other hand, one would want the lady to be both experienced and have a spotless reputation. These two are somewhat at odds. --Lambiam 10:22, 20 March 2020 (UTC)


 * Who was Tilden's closest available female relative during this time? Did he have any living sisters in 1877?


 * As for Tilden being gay, Yes, it's certainly very possible and perhaps even likely that Tilden was either gay or asexual. Futurist110 (talk) 21:39, 20 March 2020 (UTC)


 * Tilden had one living sister, Mary Tilden, wife of William Snow Pelton. She died in March 1887. There were also four living nieces, daughters of his brother Henry Augustus Tilden. - Nunh-huh 10:50, 26 March 2020 (UTC)
 * Did Tilden have any other siblings who died before 1877? Futurist110 (talk) 06:47, 27 March 2020 (UTC)
 * Apparently no other sisters. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 09:33, 27 March 2020 (UTC)


 * The precedent for a bachelor president was James Buchanan, and the then-most-recent White House hostess who was not a president's wife was Buchanan's niece Harriet Lane... AnonMoos (talk) 13:19, 20 March 2020 (UTC)


 * There have been a number of presidents, both before and after Buchanan, who had someone other than a wife take the role. See List of first ladies of the United States. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 16:17, 20 March 2020 (UTC)