Elizabeth Monroe: Life Before the White House

Elizabeth Jane Kortright was born in New York City on June 30, 1768. Her father, Lawrence Kortright, was a wealthy merchant who was also one of the founders of the New York Chamber of Commerce. Her mother was Hannah Kortright, formerly Hannah Aspinwall. Hannah died on September 6 or 7, 1777, and a few days later her 13-month old baby also died. Elizabeth was only nine years old at the time. On August 3, 1778, her family home caught on fire, and was almost destroyed. The fire at their home was a result of a larger fire that caused damage and destruction to almost fifty homes. Fortunately, no one in the family was hurt.

In 1785, when James Monroe was living in New York City and serving as a member of the Continental Congress, he met Elizabeth. They were married on February 16, 1786, at her father's home by Reverend Benjamin Moore. Monroe was twenty-six at the time, Elizabeth was seventeen. They honeymooned briefly on Long Island, before returning to New York to live with her father until Congress adjourned. Monroe then retired from Congress, and they moved to his home state of Virginia first in Fredericksburg then in Charlottesville to be close to Thomas Jefferson who was a close friend of Monroe's. It was in Virginia that Elizabeth gave birth to their first child in December of 1786, they named her Eliza Kortright Monroe.

Monroe was elected to the Senate in 1790, so the family moved to Philadelphia although Elizabeth spent a lot of time in New York visiting with her sisters and their families. Then in 1794 President George Washington appointed James United States Minister to France, and the family moved again, this time to Paris. Elizabeth was welcomed with open arms by the community in Paris, and she immediately fell in love with the city and its people. While in France, Elizabeth made an important political statement when she visited Madame Lafayette in prison using the American Embassy's carriage. This sent a very strong, and yet unofficial statement by the U.S. government that they wanted her released from her imprisonment. The French complied, freeing Madame Lafayette on January 22, 1795. Monroe was later recalled from France in 1796.

The family moved back to Virginia, where James became governor. The couple had two more children: James Monroe Jr. who was born in 1799 but later died in 1801, and Maria Hester who was born in 1802. Around the time her son died, Elizabeth had her first series of seizures caused by what people now think was a type of late-onset epilepsy. She would struggle with the sickness the rest of her life, and it would cause her to limit her social interactions. This is part of the reason that her eldest daughter Eliza took over some of her mother's duties as first lady when Monroe took office in 1817.