Julia Tyler, the Most Controversial First Lady of the 1800s

By Stuart Wolf - Jun 9, 2025

Wikimedia Commons // Francesco Anelli // Public Domain

After President John Tyler's wife passed away, he secretly married 24-year-old Julia Gardiner, a notoriously flirtatious New York socialite and siren. The first celebrity First Lady turned the White House into a European Court, introduced the Waltz and Polka dances, and rode around Washington, DC in a coach pulled by eight white Arabian horses! So join us as we get to know Julia Gardiner Tyler, the most controversial First Lady of the 1800s.

The Future First Lady Is Born

Julia Gardiner was born into an elite family on Gardiner's Island, New York, on May 4th, 1820. Her mother, Juliana MacLachlan Gardiner, was born in Jamaica. When Juliana’s father — successful brewer and real estate owner Michael McLachlan — passed away in 1819, she inherited "thirteen pieces of commercial and residential Manhattan real estate" and became one of New York's wealthiest women.

Picture Courtesy of American Aristocracy.com // Public Domain

Julia's father, David Gardiner (pictured), had been a highly respected and well-paid lawyer before serving as New York State Senator and becoming a landowner.

Gardiners Island

Julia, her two brothers, David Lion and Alexander, and her sister, Margaret, were all born on Gardiners Island, the family's home off Long Island. The Gardiners had owned the six-mile-long, three-mile-wide island since Julia's fifth great-grandfather, English colonist Lion Gardiner, bought the land from the Montaukett chief Wyandanch in 1639.

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Gardiner's Island is the second-biggest privately owned island in the United States. That said, for most of Julia's childhood, the family lived in the town of East Hampton and later the smaller hamlet of Bay Shore.

Julia's Education

Julia was raised as a Presbyterian and was homeschooled at Gardiners Island Manor House until she was 16. Then, from 1835 to 1837, she attended New York's prestigious Madame N.D. Chagaray Institute for Young Ladies. There, she studied music, French literature, ancient history, arithmetic, and composition.

Wikimedia Commons // Quintin Soloviev // CC BY-SA4.0

In her home and school life, she learned to value ladylike poise, etiquette, and social class. The idea of marrying up to climb further up the social ladder would have been drilled into her from a young age.

She Blossomed Into a Great Beauty

As Julia became a woman, she blossomed into a great beauty. Standing 5'3" tall, she had brown hair, often styled in fashionable ringlets, and striking gray eyes that conveyed a a fiery intelligence and undeniable charm. She also possessed a radiant smile that lit up every room.

Picture Courtesy of Pinterest

She was buxom yet had a slender waist. According to several biographies, right up until the eve of her wedding to Tyler, she fretted that she had grown a little plump.