Julia Gardiner Tyler: The traitor president’s wife

In the fractious world of politics, rumors and half-truths can take on lives of their own, to circulate as gospel. Leaked stories can muddy the reputation of political hopefuls or even bring down a sitting president. Although Julia Gardiner Tyler, President John Tyler’s wife, never held office, her life was mired in controversy. It started when she was 19 and committed what came to be known as a scandalous act, continued after marrying Tyler, and led to her defending a president whom The New York Times labeled “the most unpopular public man that had ever held any office in the United States.” MUSIC, POETRY, AND MANNERS She was born in 1820 into Long Island royalty, the politically influential Gardiner family, on their private East End island. Her father, David Gardiner, was a New York State senator and her mother, Juliana Gardiner, was the daughter of a wealthy Scottish brewer in New York City.

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