Born: May 7, 1826 Died: Oct. 16, 1905 Biography: Varina Howell Davis was born Varina Howell, May 7, 1826 in Natchez, Mississippi. She was the daughter of William B. Howell and Margaret Louisa Kempe. Her paternal grandfather, Richard Howell, was Governor of New Jersey numerous times. Varina attended Madame Greenland's finishing school in Philadelphia, Pa. In 1844, when she was 17 years old, Varina met the 36 year old Jefferson Davis. A year later the couple was married at "The Briars", her parent's home in Natchez, Miss. At first her mother objected to her marriage with Davis, who was 18 years her senior, but the union was a happy one. Jefferson Davis served in both houses of the U.S. Congress as a Representative and Senator and was the U.S. Secretary of War in the Franklin Pierce cabinet. Varina adjusted well to life as a Washington hostess. She was a lively conversationalist with a serious interest in politics. In May of 1861, she became the First Lady of the Conferederate States of America, when her husband became its first (and only) President. They moved to Richmond, Va., and lived in the White House of the Confederacy from 1861-1865. As living conditions in Richmond deteriorated during the second year of the war, Varina found herself increasingly under public scrutiny. Some claimed that she was insensitive to the hardships endured by the city's residents because she entertained at the Confederate White House. Others complained she didn't entertain lavishly enough. Many felt her influence over the President was too great, and challenged her loyalty because of her father's Northern roots. Varina bore 6 children. One child was born during the Civil War years, and another child died tragically. Yet through all her family's public and private trials, Varina provided Davis with loyalty, companionship, and a great reserve of strength. Varina was with her husband when he was arrested in Georgia. He was imprisoned at Fort Monroe, in Phoebus, Virginia for 2 years. During his imprisonment the children were sent to Canada in the charge of their maternal grandmother. Varina was prohibited by federal authorities to leave Georgia without permission, but she lobbied incessantly to secure her husband's release from jail. In May of 1867 he was eventually released. Although he was never tried, he lost his home in Mississippi and his U.S. citizenship as well. Varina and Jefferson lived near poverty until the early 1870's, when Sarah Doherty, a friend of theirs, made it possible for them to purchase "Beauvoir", the Mississippi estate where they retired. Varina stayed on at Beauvoir after Jefferson Davis's death is 1889. In 1890, Varina published "Jefferson Davis, A Memoir". After the publication of her book, Varina moved to New York, giving "Beauvoir" to the state as a Confederate veterans home. In New York she supported herself by writing articles for magazines and periodicals. On October 16, 1905, Varina Howell Davis died, survived by only one of her 6 children. The former "First Lady of the Confederacy" was laid to rest beside the tomb of her husband at Hollywood Cemetery, in Richmond, Va.