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Julia Grant Facts & Worksheets

Julia Grant was the First Lady of the United States when her husband, war hero Ulysses S. Grant, served as the 18th president of the United States.

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Julia Grant became a public figure as First Lady of the United States when her husband, war hero, Ulysses S. Grant, served as the 18th president of the United States. She played a significant role in advancing her husband’s candidacy and became popular in her own right.

See the fact file below for more information on Julia Grant, or you can download our 26-page Julia Grant worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

EARLY LIFE AND FAMILY

  • Julia Grant was born Julia Boggs Dent on January 26, 1826, at the White Haven plantation located in the western region of St. Louis, Missouri.
  • She was born to Frederick and Ellen Wrenshall Dent. 
  • Julia’s father was a planter and merchant who held 30 enslaved Africans; he refused to free them until the law mandated their emancipation.
  • Julia Grant’s ancestry was primarily English. 
  • She was raised in a household that subscribed to the Methodist faith.
  • In 1816, Julia’s parents and their first child moved from the state of Pittsburgh to “Upper Louisiana,” now known as St. Louis, Missouri.
  • Julia was born the fifth child of Frederick and Ellen’s eight children; she had four brothers and three sisters.
  • Julia revealed that she had a happy childhood; in fact, Julia detailed her younger days as “one long summer of sunshine, flowers, and smiles” in her memoir. 

STRABISMUS

  • Julia was born with a vision disorder called strabismus, known as “crossed eyes.”
  • Strabismus is a disorder in which both eyes don’t line up in the same direction or are unable to look at the same place at the same time.
  • During her younger days, she received an offer from one of the best surgeons in the United States to get her eye condition fixed through simple surgery; however, Julia declined the doctor’s offer. 
  • Following the election of her husband Ulysses as president of the United States, Julia reconsidered undergoing surgery to correct her eye disorder. 
  • Declaring he had fallen in love with Julia as she was, Ulysses objected to her plan to fix her strabismus.
  • Since her eyesight was never corrected, Julia always posed in side view for portraits.

EDUCATION

  • Julia Grant received her first formal education at Gravois School in St. Louis, where she studied from 1831 to 1836. 
  • The classroom where Julia studied was a simple co-educational one-room school set-up primarily made from logs. 
  • The classes were categorized according to the age of the students.
  • The male students were also separated from the female students.
  • At least four male teachers handled the classes in The Gravois School, one of whom was John F. Long, a neighbor and family friend of Julia’s family.
  • Later on, John also became a friend of Ulysses.
  • After attending the Gravois School, Julia Grant attended the Mauro Academy for Young Ladies from 1836 to 1843. 
  • She studied at the academy from the age of ten until she was 17.
  • The academy, a private school for girls, was also located in St. Louis, Missouri.
  • Julia boarded at the school during weekdays and returned to White Havens, where her family lived, during weekends. 
  • According to Julia, she spent most of her time studying history, mythology, and philosophy and treated other subjects as less priority. 
  • Julia disliked studying grammar and mathematics.
  • Julia also developed a fondness for reading and literature: an interest that she attributed to her mother, Ellen, who taught her to read classical literature and poetry.
  • Her brother Louis also influenced Julia in reading and reciting the literary works of William Shakespeare and Lord Byron.

BEFORE MARRIAGE

  • After studying, Julia spent her time playing music, as she was also a skilled pianist.
  • Traveling across the southern states, Julia Grant performed as a singer. 
  • The music she sang was traditional Scottish ballads and contemporary music.
  • Not only was Julia good at music, but her skill set also included various art forms, such as sketching, 
  • Julia’s aunt, Ruth Caroline Schutz O’ Fallon, her father’s first cousin, was a Baltimore heiress.
  • Ruth was the one who taught Julia proper social etiquette, especially when socializing in the world of the “elite.”
  • Her brother Fred introduced Julia to Ulysses S. Grant.
  • Fred met Ulysses as his classmate at West Point Academy, New York, in 1844.
  • Fred spoke highly of Ulysses to Julia.
  • Ulysses Grant declared his affection for Julia before leaving for war, from which he returned in July 1848.

MARRIED LIFE

  • Julia Boggs Dent and Hiram Ulysses Grant officially married on August 22, 1848, in the Dent family’s home.
  • By the time they were married, Grant had already graduated from West Point Academy, holding the rank of brevet second lieutenant.
  • Ulysses’ parents, Jesse and Hannah Grant refused to attend the wedding because of their objection to Julia’s family owning slaves.
  • Following their marriage, Ulysses returned to the army, serving as a quartermaster during the Mexican-American War.
  • Julia and Ulysses Grant had three sons and one daughter:
    • Frederick Dent Grant (Born May 30, 1850)
    • Ulysses S. “Buck” Grant, Jr. (Born July 22, 1852)
    • Ellen Wrenshall “Nellie” Grant (Born 1855) 
    • Jesse Root Grant (Born 1858)
  • Choosing to be with his family, Ulysses resigned from the army in 1854.
  • Ulysses relocated his family to a small farm in St. Louis.
  • After Ulysses became unable to run the farm,  their family moved into Julia’s family home in White Haven.
  • Ulysses went on to work in his father’s leather business until he earned enough money to relocate Julia and their children to Illinois.

CIVIL WAR

  • At the onset of the Civil War (1861–1865), Ulysses played a role in organizing volunteers and commanding troops in Illinois.
  • Afterward, he went up the ranks and became brigadier general, and then major general.
  • Because Ulysses felt lonely without his wife, Julia joined him in a number of campaigns during the Civil War.
  • Abraham Lincoln appointed Grant as commander of the Union armies in 1864.

FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES

  • Julia Grant held the role of First Lady from March 4, 1869, until March 4, 1877.
  • Julia was reportedly more excited about her husband’s presidential nomination in 1868 than he was himself.
  • Julia Grant played a major role in advancing her husband’s candidacy.
  • As First Lady, Julia quickly became a popular hostess.
  • Julia was known for organizing luxurious events that featured expensive wine and liquor. 
  • However, she kept her spending in check to avoid public criticism.
  • After learning about Ulysses’ decision not to run for the third time, Julia was utterly disappointed.

DEATH

  • Julia Grant died on December 14, 1902.
  • She was buried next to her husband in General Grant’s National Monument in New York.
  • Insights into the life of Julia Grant can be found in “The Personal Memoirs of Julia Dent Grant,” published in 1975.

Julia Grant Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about Julia Grant across 26 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use worksheets that are perfect for teaching kids about Julia Grant, who was the First Lady of the United States when her husband, war hero Ulysses S. Grant, served as the 18th president of the United States. She played a significant role in advancing her husband’s candidacy and became popular in her own right.

Complete List of Included Worksheets

Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.

  1. Julia Grant Facts
  2. Brief Biography
  3. Life Timeline
  4. The Love of Her Life
  5. President Grant
  6. Love Letters to Julia
  7. About Strabismus
  8. Julia’s Skill Set
  9. Preceding First Ladies
  10. Succeeding First Ladies
  11. A Letter for Mrs. Grant

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Link will appear as Julia Grant Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, November 10, 2022

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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