Margaret (peggy) Timberlake Eaton Essays -- essays research papers

Margaret (Peggy) ONeal (who preffered to be called Margaret) was born in 1799 in uppercase DC. She was the daughter of William ONeal, who owned a thriving boarding house and tavern called the Franklin House in that same township. It was frequented by senators, congressmen, and all politicians. She was the oldest of six children, evolution up in the midst of our nations emerging political scene. She was ceaselessly a favorite of the visitors to the Franklin House. She was sent to i of the best schools in working capital DC, where she studied English and French grammar, needlework and music. She also had quite a talent for dance, and was sent to private lessons, becoming a very good dancer. At the age of twelve, she danced for the First Lady Dolley Madison. Visitors of the Franklin House also commented on her piano playing skills. During Margarets teenage age, there were many rumors circulating about her romances. The stories include one of a suitor who sw kicked poison after s he refused to return his affections, one of her being briefly linked to the son of President Jeffersons treasury secretary, and one of her botched elopement to a young aide of General Winfield Scott. As the story goes, she accidentally kicked over a flowerpot during her climb down from a chamber window, which woke her father, who promptly dragged her back inside.When Jackson first met Margaret at the age of 24, he took an immediate liking to her. The tavern had been recommended to him by his close friend John enthalpy Eaton, who would later marry Miss ONeal and cause quite a scandal. Jacksons wife, when meeting Margaret a year later, was equally taken with her. Margaret unify a navy purser named John Bowie Timberlake. They had three children together, one whom died while still an infant. When John was gone at sea, John Eaton entered the picture again, escorting Margaret on drives and to parties. The rumors flew around town of Margaret and Eatons supposed affair, and of her husband s drunkenness. The people around town were all saying that the reason Timberlake kept sailing was to avoid his wifes obvious philandering. Timberlake was soon reassigned to the Mediterranean squadron. The Mediterranean was very hot and contained few friendly ports in those days, making it a less than pleasant assignment. Timberlake died while in the Mediterranean, the strikeicial cause was pulmonary disease. ... .... It was common protocol that if two members of the cabinet resigned, the rest would do so out of courtesy in order to allow the president to reorganize his cabinet. With some resistance, all of the cabinet members resigned, allowing Jackson to rename the members and hopefully end the affair once and for all. The newspapers attributed the cabinets fall the Margaret Eaton, and everyone conception that Jackson had doomed any hope for reelection. Jackson was reelected, with Van Buren as a running mate. He quickly sent Eaton to the Florida territory, where he became govern or. Two years later, Jackson appointed Eaton as the United States minister to Spain. Margaret and John thoroughly enjoyed their lives in Spain for a period of four years. John Eaton died in 1856, leaving Margaret a small fortune. She lived in Washington DC with her two daughters, both of whom married into high society. It seemed as though Margaret finally had the societal life and respect she had always wanted. She changed all of that when, at the age of 59, she married her granddaughters 19 year old dance tutor, Antonio Buchignani. A mere five years later, he ran off to Italy with her money and her granddaughter.