Zachary Taylor
For four long, agonizing days, President Zachary Taylor was bedridden inside the White House, suffering from severe cramps, diarrhea, nausea, and dehydration. Taylor ultimately succumbed to his acute illness on July 9, 1850, just 16 months into his term. The exact cause of death has always been disputed by historians, many of whom have claimed that the 12th president contracted cholera, while others hinted at possible foul play due to arsenic poisoning.
This theory led to the exhumation of Taylor’s remains at the National Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky, on June 17, 1991. Given that 141 years had passed since his death, a team of medical examiners found no organs or skin on Taylor and, thus, had to rely on bone, eyebrows, and pubic hair in order to test for traces of arsenic. They found only small amounts of the chemical consistent with any human being on planet Earth. In addition, no traces of mercury, lead, or other toxic metals were found, indicating that the president was not poisoned. In fact, the only thing that stood out to the medical examiners was Taylor’s “unusually good set of teeth,” especially for a 65-year-old man living in pre-fluoride days. As for the cause of his unexpected and sudden demise, historians continue to cite gastroenteritis as the fatal culprit.[9]
Willie Lincoln
On the cold winter day of February 20, 1862, 11-year-old Willie Lincoln took his last breath, casting a pall over the White House that would linger for the remainder of his father’s presidency. The child, who is believed to have contracted typhoid fever from the mansion’s contaminated water supply, was clothed in usual everyday attire and placed in a plain metallic coffin in the East Room of the White House.
The weeks prior to his death were an agonizing stretch for the president and first lady, who, on the inside, died along with their son, plunging the couple into insurmountable sorrow. According to Elizabeth Keckley, a former slave who had become Mrs. Lincoln’s seamstress and confidante, President Lincoln’s grief “unnerved him, and made him a weak, passive child. I did not dream that his rugged nature could be so moved.” Mrs. Lincoln was inconsolable to the point that the president led her to a window and pointed toward St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, an insane asylum, stating, “Mother, do you see that large white building on the hill yonder? Try and control your grief, or it will drive you mad, and we may have to send you there.”
Following a long procession through unpaved streets, Willie’s remains were placed in a marble vault in Oak Hill Cemetery as a temporary resting place until the Lincoln family returned to Illinois. Even as he tried to hold the country together, the president consistently visited his son’s tomb until his assassination on April 15, 1865. In the end, the caskets of father and son were placed beside one another aboard the presidential funeral train for their journey home.[10]
Share This Post
