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Varina Davis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| First Lady of the Confederate States | |
| In role February 22, 1862 – May 5, 1865 Provisional: February 18, 1861 to February 22, 1862 | |
| President | Jefferson Davis |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Varina Anne Banks Howell May 7, 1826 Natchez, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Died | October 16, 1906 (aged 80) New York City, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Pneumonia |
| Resting place | Hollywood Cemetery Richmond, Virginia, U.S. |
| Spouse | |
| Children | Samuel Emory Davis, Margaret Howell Davis, Jefferson Davis, Jr., Joseph Evan Davis, William Howell Davis, Varina Anne Davis |
| Parents |
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| Occupation | Writer |
Varina Anne Banks Davis (née Howell; May 7, 1826 – October 16, 1906) was the only First Lady of the Confederate States of America, and the longtime second wife of President Jefferson Davis. She moved to the presidential mansion in Richmond, Virginia, in mid-1861, and lived there for the remainder of the Civil War. Born and raised in the Southern United States and educated in Philadelphia, she had family on both sides of the conflict and unconventional views for a woman in her public role. She did not support the Confederacy's position on slavery, and was ambivalent about the war.
Davis became a writer after the war, completing her husband's memoir. She was recruited by Kate (Davis) Pulitzer, a purportedly distant cousin of Varina’s husband and wife of publisher Joseph Pulitzer, to write articles and eventually a regular column for the New York World. Widowed in 1889, Davis moved to New York with her youngest daughter Winnie in 1891 to work at writing. She enjoyed urban life. In her old age, she attempted to reconcile prominent figures of the North and South.