Grant Young mother - Julia Dent Grant

[Cavalry Charger]

Came across this image on Pinterest of Julia Dent Grant and children. I had never seen it before, and it was a rare occasion when Julia was willing to face the camera due to her 'lazy eye'. I've always thought that was such a shame. This is a lovely photo. I'm guessing the children are Fred and Ulysses?

 

[Cavalry Charger]

I have to admit, when I look at young Ulysses in this photo, I feel like I can see Grant staring back at me ....

 

[Zella]

I have to admit, when I look at young Ulysses in this photo, I feel like I can see Grant staring back at me ....

Yes, I was thinking the exact same thing! He looks just like his dad. Great family picture!

 

[Cavalry Charger]

Yes, I was thinking the exact same thing! He looks just like his dad. Great family picture!

Thanks @Zella Great minds think alike!

 

[Zella]

Thanks @Zella Great minds think alike!

Now that I'm looking at the other little boy, I'll have to admit that he looks a lot like his dad too. I didn't pay as much attention to him the first time around because I was so distracted by Grant's Mini-Me!

 

[Cavalry Charger]

Grant's Mini-Me!

Now that I'm looking at the other little boy, I'll have to admit that he looks a lot like his dad too.

Agreed. And I've seen a picture of one of them when they were much older in another thread (probably Fred), and I thought he was very like his father at an older age, too.

 

[Zella]

Agreed. And I've seen a picture of one of them when they were much older in another thread (probably Fred), and I thought he was very like his father at an older age, too.

I couldn't resist googling some later family pics, and it does look like one of the sons as an adult retained a strong resemblance in adulthood to his father.

 

[Cavalry Charger]

First image is the fellow that looks very much like his father: Brigadier General Frederick Dent Grant.
Ulyssess S. Grant Jnr is the second image. Both brothers had sons called Ulysses, Fred (III) and Ulyssess (IV)
and both had daughters called Julia

 

[JPK Huson 1863]

Never ran into that before, thank you! You know, I'm smitten by Julia's eye. Here's why- Grant thought Julia the most beautiful woman walking and was just astonished she would wished to change a thing. It came up, that she could correct it and he was baffled, why fool with perfection, Julia? So she didn't.

Married to a man like that, you could sail off and win a war too.

 

[Cavalry Charger]

Married to a man like that, you could sail off and win a war too.

Totally agree

 

[Cavalry Charger]

Here's why- Grant thought Julia the most beautiful woman walking and was just astonished she would wished to change a thing. It came up, that she could correct it and he was baffled, why fool with perfection, Julia? So she didn't.

'Decades later, Julia changed her mind. "Now that my husband had become so famous I really thought it behooved me to try to look as well as possible," she explained in her autobiography.

Her appearance bothered her so much that Julia was willing to overcome her fear of surgery. She consulted the same doctor who had offered to help her so many years earlier, but he informed her that it was too late to correct the condition. When General Grant found out his wife was trying to change her eyes, he asked why on earth she would consider such a thing. She explained her reasoning, saying, "Why, you are getting to be such a great man, and I am such a plain little wife. I thought if my eyes were as others are I might not be so very, very plain, Ulys; who knows?"

Grant was horrified. "Did I not see you and fall in love with you with these same eyes?" he asked. "I like them just as they are, and now, remember, you are not to interfere with them. They are mine, and let me tell you, Mrs. Grant, you had better not make any experiments, as I might not like you half so well with any other eyes."

Though she put the idea of surgery to rest, from that point on, the First Lady was careful about how she posed for pictures.'

http://mentalfloss.com/article/74226/why-ulysses-s-grants-wife-always-posed-profile

I really admire that about Grant on the personal level. Though Julia was conscious of her 'imperfections', he was not, and basically instructed her not to change a thing.

 

[JPK Huson 1863]

I really admire that about Grant on the personal level. Though Julia was conscious of her 'imperfections', he was not, and basically instructed her not to change a thing.

Weren't they wonderful? We still ' looks shame ' today so I cannot imagine what it was like in that era. ( Ok, maybe not as bad? Advertising has flattened us and whomever came up with whatever in blazes a 10 is supposed to be, I say row out to a desert island and leave there, with no sun screen )

She was lovely, IMO. Spruced up the photo- worst thing about it is how self conscious she is.

 

[Cavalry Charger]

Spruced up the photo-

Thanks JPK, and her condition never appears to be as severe to me as it seems to have been in Julia's own mind. This self-consciousness obviously grew as Grant's stature grew, and he was most marvellous in reassuring her that he loved her just the way she was ... the way she had been when he fell in love with her. He did not seek to change her, even though she sought to change herself. And this is what their relationship was renowned for - the unconditional nature of their love.

 

[Cavalry Charger]

I must also give a special mention to the fact that today is Ulyssess S. Grant Jnrs birthday - born 22 July 1852.

 

[Zella]

I always really liked Grant for what he told his wife about her eyes.

 

[Canadian]

First image is the fellow that looks very much like his father: Brigadier General Frederick Dent Grant.
Ulyssess S. Grant Jnr is the second image. Both brothers had sons called Ulysses, Fred (III) and Ulyssess (IV)
and both had daughters called Julia

Fred Grant looks a lot like his father in this photo.

 

[JPK Huson 1863]

Thanks JPK, and her condition never appears to be as severe to me as it seems to have been in Julia's own mind. This self-consciousness obviously grew as Grant's stature grew, and he was most marvellous in reassuring her that he loved her just the way she was ... the way she had been when he fell in love with her. He did not seek to change her, even though she sought to change herself. And this is what their relationship was renowned for - the unconditional nature of their love.

Thanks for posting her photo- we simply never see Julia as a young woman. It is nice, though- at least some rumor mill never got busy ( until this era ) about her, kinda separating her from her husband. Who knows why? Maybe they were such an obviously close couple, no one bothered.

The Lincolns and Lees suffered that fate. Of course, neither Lincoln nor Lee offered to punch anyone in the head for attacking their wives, which could have slowed things down. Guessing Grant would have.

 

[Cavalry Charger]

Guessing Grant would have.

Julia was definitely a great defender of her husband and could see no 'wrong' in him.

I'm sure that's what bouyed him up in the times he needed it most. That level of acceptance is worth a mention.

 

[wausaubob]

I think it was Julia's mother, Grant's mother-in-law, that was the big influence behind the marriage. Mrs. Dent first regretted somewhat that she had been married to a slave owner who was not nearly as wealthy as he pretended to be. She sent her daughter to the O'Connor household for finishing. She saw something in the way Grant was able to stand up to old man Dent and get what he wanted: the daughter, without getting flustered. I think the mother told the daughter to marry for love, and take her chances on material success.
Julia Dent Grant was definitely an early feminist. She definitely believed in partnership marriage, and was friends with Susan B. Anthony.

 

[Mrs. V]

Came across this image on Pinterest of Julia Dent Grant and children. I had never seen it before, and it was a rare occasion when Julia was willing to face the camera due to her 'lazy eye'. I've always thought that was such a shame. This is a lovely photo. I'm guessing the children are Fred and Ulysses?

Wow! Those little apples did not fall far from the tree did they?