Main Content

First Family Life

Featured Collection

First Children

What was it like to grow up in a home where some of the most important political decisions are being made at the same time as you are trying to pass your driver's license exam? We all remember our childhood firsts, but for most of us, these quintessential memories did not take place in one of the country's most famous

clear filters
Page

First Ladies' Private Lives

In the early decades of the republic a president's wife, like other wives, seldom displayed her private life to the eyes of the public. Few images of first ladies in recreational roles appeared until the early twentieth century, when American women gained new status and freedom in a fast-changing society. Today along with the title first lady, the president's wife

Page

White House Pets

Animals -- whether pampered household pets, working livestock, birds, squirrels, or strays -- have long been a major part of life at the White House. Some pets simply provided companionship to the president and his family. Others gained fame for a role in shaping the president's public image. No matter what job was bestowed upon them, White House pets usually

Page

White House Pets: Merry Menagerie

Two of the youngest presidents to reside in the White House brought their families and a menagerie of pets along with them. A pony, sheep, dogs, cats, a macaw, guinea pigs, rats, a snake, and many more animal friends lived at the Theodore Roosevelt White House. In 1908 the Washington Evening Star observed, "There is no home in Washington so full

Article

Reflections: A Secret Garden

Tucked away on the South Lawn, behind a tall hedge of hollies, is the White House Children’s Garden, a special jewel, created by President Lyndon B. Johnson and First Lady "Lady Bird" Johnson as their family’s time in the White House drew to a close. Mrs. Johnson wrote of the opening in her diary, “Sunday, January 19 [1969]. Today dawned gray a