America's First Families: An Inside View of 200 Years of Private Life in the White House

by Carl Sferrazza Anthony

Packed with more than 300 photographs from archives and private collections -- many published here for the first time -- entertaining anecdotes, political analysis, the dynamics of family relationships, and behind-the-scenes gossip, America's First Families offers the first up-close look at the families -- from John and Abigail Adams in 1800 to Bill and Hillary Clinton -- who have intrigued and entranced the American public for two centuries. Carl Sferrazza Anthony opens the door to the world's most famous residence to reveal life as it was actually lived there. He takes readers into the heart of loyalties and estrangements, and the emotional pressures that politics brings to bear upon the forty White House families, from their arrivals to their "notices to vacate." Readers will enjoy an unprecedented tour of the previously unseen private rooms as used and decorated by each family. Revealed too are the personal proclivities of the presidents and how their families both sustained them through public crises and were used for political advantage. They'll get a firsthand look at the preparations for White House weddings and other occasions; meet the parents and children of the presidents -- as well as eccentric relatives; and discover the patterns of working, resting, and relaxing that shaped the nuts and bolts of family life. A magnificent combination of visual delights and insider information, America's First Families is an irresistible invitation to spend some time at 1600

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History, Presidents, Biography, Biography Memoir, Reference

416 pages, Hardcover

First published November 2, 2000

Reviews

[Gary Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book chock full of trivia about our presidents. In case you ever get on Jeopardy, you will win the big money knowing about some of the interesting bits of trivia about our presidents. One fun part was the pictures of the presidents and their families in the private quarters of the White House.

Grover Cleveland as you may know served two terms as president, but not consecutive. When Cleveland was defeated when he ran for re-election, his wife told the incoming staff “Now I want you to take care of everything….I want to see everything just as it is now when my husband and I move back in here precisely four years from now”. Surprise, she and her husband did.

The book gets very specific. The author tells the story about how Bess Truman asked one of the staff people to fix the slats under the bed, that she and her husband shared, as a couple of them broke during the night.

Nancy Reagan did not feel comfortable letting her daughter sleep in the same bedroom with her fiancé during the 1981 Inaugural festivities, but soon afterwards allowed a gay couple to stay in the same bedroom.

Some interesting items regarding religion and the presidents. George Washington once wrote: The Government of the United State of America is not in any sense, founded upon the Christian religion. When Jefferson was running for president, his opponents were sending out warnings that if Jefferson was elected, he would take away all Bibles. Their fear was based on Jefferson’s belief that Jesus was not divine. In addition, John Quincy Adams, Millard Fillmore and William Taft were all Unitarians, who do not believe in the divinity of Jesus. So the next time someone says, “This country was based on Christian principles”, you can tell them about Washington, Adams, Fillmore, Taft and Jefferson.

Franklin Roosevelt, one of our greatest presidents, had no real interest in religion, but attended on Inauguration Day and during times of crisis.

Then we had the Reagan’s, who consulted astrologers. President Reagan would not schedule an appointment unless his astrologer said it was a good day. Garfield consulted the spirit world through séances, as did Mary Lincoln. President Lincoln felt there were meanings in dreams. One dream he had was a funeral in the White House several weeks before he died. He woke up the next morning to say, “I shall meet with some terrible end”.

Many presidents and/or their families have claimed to have seen ghosts in the White House including Maureen Reagan, the president daughter. Her dog, on several occasions, would bark at the Lincoln Bedroom and would refuse to go in.

As we moved from the l9th to 20th to 21st Centuries, it became harder and harder for the President’s family to attend church. Nowadays if a member of the President family attends church, all kinds of security has to be provided. As security began to be a problem, they started to hold church services in the White House, but received complains about “church and state”.

The book also has a list of children who married while their President father was still in the White House. There were 13 such marriages and 6 of the 13 ended in divorce. The Taft’s celebrated their 25th anniversary while he was serving in the White House. The House of Representatives gave the Taft’s a silver service worth $1700. The First Lady took all the silver that was given to them and removed all wording. She put everything in cold storage until she was ready to give the items away as gifts.

[Shawn Thrasher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not brilliantly written, not going to change your life, but a great way to pass the time between books you actually care about.

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my book club’s October selection. It’s filled with trivia from all the families who have made the White House their home through 2000. Instead of covering each family one at a time, the author breaks it up into 18 sections such as The Family’s First Day, The Grandchildren, and Recreation. I understand why he had to do it this way, but I found it difficult to keep track of who did what. There were a lot of photos, a diagram of the White House, and charts with useful information. I especially enjoyed the sections on the children and pets. The last section on farewells and reunions was especially interesting to read how both gracious and ungracious departing families could be to the incoming families. Makes me wonder what will happen if 🙏 🤞🏻Trump loses.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was published before the George W. Bush administration, so it’s a bit dated, but it’s full of so many interesting anecdotes and stories about U.S. Presidents and their families. It also includes a vast array of photos, all in black and white.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bit of a jumpy read but I really enjoyed it.

[Michell Karnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book giving loads of facts about the families who lived in the White House. A book that gives non-political information. Excellent and well worth reading!

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a great book for reading about about life in the White House, with lots of interesting facts and trivia. I found it difficult to keep track of the different families, however, because it was divided into chapters based on topics, not families (such as "The Family's First Day," "The Children,", and "Pets and Pastimes"). It would go from one interesting quip about one family to an incident that happened with another family. I finished reading it, not sure I could remember who exactly took part a particular event while in the WH. I was hoping for more pictures of the rooms of the WH, too, but I guess I'll have to do some further reading if I want to find out more about the house itself.

[Avis Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good social history, and worthwhile for fans of Americana.

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

It has lots of "not the usual" pictures. That's a plus. It goes from the John Adams family (the second president and the first family to live in the White House) to the Clintons, so it's not up to date. Not such a plus if you want the George W. Bushes and the Obamas; but, although it covers all families, I think the fullest anecdotes are of the families of the 20th century. That's not bad. Many other books cover the Madisons, Monroes, Adamses, Lincolns and Grants, and a few cover the lesser known 19th century presidents. The 20th century is closer to the present time, and from Hoover onward, within the memories of most North Americans.

It is not chronologically arranged but in three parts.
"Entrances" cover the first encounters of the new "First Family" with the White House and with presidential family life: the domestic employees, the Secret Service surveillance, the feeling of not being a private individual but a public symbol.
"Relationships" covers the families themselves: spouses, children and grand-children, parents (and parents-in-law, adoptive parents) and the extended family of best friends, siblings, cousins, nieces and nephews, including in-laws. I found that a plus. Other books I've read about the first families will discuss the sisters and nieces only if they were acting as hostesses, and the parents if they were very influential to the development of their sons, such as Sarah Delano Roosevelt and Joseph P. Kennedy. Other than Billy Carter and Jeb Bush, none of the brothers or nephews get a mention in those other books. This book shows that a quite a number of sons, fathers, uncles, brothers, brothers-in-law, cousins or nephews and good friends acted as personal secretaries, information scouts and unofficial advice givers and sounding boards to their Presidents, especially in the 19th century, just as the female relations and friends bolstered the First Ladies.
"Life in the White House" is what the families have done to make the place "home": the family ceremonies, the pets and pastimes, the "living a 20th century life with the Lincoln Bedroom down the hall", entertaining and worshipping with anyone outside the mansion when the Secret Service has to clear and secure the venue and pass the wand over each person who attends a theatre, church, auditorium, sports arena that the First Family will attend. (The First Family - or at least the President and First Lady - can't attend church because of security issues. "What if the assassin hits other people? How can we get the President when he is surrounded by crowds and chairs / pews / fastened seats?") A pretty mucked-up existence for a family, not to go where they please.

The book is a "trivia" book rather than an in-depth study of the presidency or the effect of the presidency on family life. It is also not a history of the White House as a building or an institution.