Varina Davis

Varina Anne Banks Davis, née Howell, was born on May 7, 1826, in Natchez, Mississippi. She was the daughter of William Burr Howell and Margaret Louisa Kempe. Her paternal grandfather was Richard Howell, who served several terms as governor of New Jersey. William Howell, her father, was involved in various professions including banking, merchant activities, and politics, but experienced financial instability throughout his life. Margaret Louisa Kempe was from a wealthy planter family with roots in Virginia and Mississippi; her father was Colonel James Kempe, a Scots-Irish immigrant and landowner.

The Howell family experienced significant financial hardship when Varina was thirteen, culminating in her father declaring bankruptcy and the seizure of their estate. Her maternal relatives intervened to help restore the family’s property, which included land and slaves. Varina was the second of eleven children, seven of whom survived into adulthood. She was described as tall and thin, with an olive complexion.

For her education, Varina was sent to Philadelphia and attended Madame Deborah Grelaud’s French School, a prestigious academy founded by a French refugee from the French Revolution. After about a year, she returned to Natchez and was privately tutored by Judge George Winchester, a Harvard graduate. Her education was noted as superior to that of many peers, leading to tensions with traditional Southern gender expectations.

In 1843, at age 17, Varina visited Hurricane Plantation in Mississippi, owned by family friends Joseph Emory Davis and Eliza Van Benthuysen Davis. During her stay, she met Jefferson Davis, then a 35-year-old widower and planter. Jefferson Davis had previously been married to Sarah Knox Taylor, daughter of General Zachary Taylor, who died of malaria shortly after their marriage.

Varina and Jefferson Davis developed a courtship, which initially faced resistance from her parents due to differences in social background, age, and political views. Davis was a Democrat while the Howell family identified with the Whig Party. Their engagement was delayed and complicated but eventually culminated in their marriage on February 26, 1845, at her parents’ home.

Following their marriage, the couple resided at Brierfield Plantation, which Davis developed on land loaned by his brother Joseph Davis. Their initial residence was a modest two-room cottage, with plans to build a larger house, which later became a source of family tension. Soon after marriage, Davis's sister Amanda Bradford moved into their residence with her children, causing additional strain. Her brother-in-law Joseph Davis was influential in controlling aspects of Davis’s life and finances, affecting the dynamics within the family.

The couple's first child was Jefferson Davis Howell, named in her husband's honor. Varina’s life was shaped by her family background, education, and the social and political milieu of the Southern United States during the mid-19th century.