Keuka College Professor of History Dr. Christopher Leahy has long helped students discover the stories that shape American history. Now, he and his wife, independent scholar Sharon Williams Leahy, are helping reshape a small piece of that history.
The Leahys are the authors of “Presidentess: The Life of First Lady Julia Gardiner Tyler,” the first-ever comprehensive biography of the second wife of the nation’s 10th president, John Tyler. The book, which is scheduled for release on Sept. 29 and is available for pre-order, challenges longstanding assumptions about one of the most misunderstood first ladies in American history.
Dr. Leahy said the project is a direct outgrowth of his previous scholarship. His acclaimed 2020 biography, “President without a Party: The Life of John Tyler,” established him as one of the country’s leading authorities on the often-overlooked president. Along the way, he became intrigued by Tyler’s second wife, Julia Gardiner Tyler, who was 30 years younger than the president and has often been portrayed as little more than a socialite who brought European-style formality to the White House.
The historical record, however, told a different story.
“I think the thing that surprised us most was how terribly wrong previous interpretations of her really were. The typical portrayal of her was that she was frivolous and a coquette. You know, someone who toyed with the affections of men. Just ridiculous portrayals.”
The Leahys discovered a more complex, savvy, and historically significant political actor, thanks in large part to thousands of letters and documents, many of which had never been used by historians.
The project began when Sharon Leahy began transcribing Julia Tyler’s correspondence. What initially seemed destined to become an edited collection of letters evolved into a full-scale biography after fellow scholars encouraged the couple to tell Julia Tyler’s complete story.
That decision dramatically expanded the scope of the project, requiring years of archival research at institutions including Yale University’s Sterling Memorial Library, the Earl Gregg Swem Library at the College of William & Mary, and a collection of letters at the East Hampton Public Library on Long Island – “hundreds of letters that had never been used before,” said Dr. Leahy.
Those resources allowed them to challenge some of the most persistent myths surrounding Julia Tyler. Among them was a decades-old claim that she had posed for a scandalous advertisement as a teenager and was brought to Europe by her embarrassed family until the furor died down.
“We have utterly demolished that myth,” said Dr. Leahy. “We have figured out that the interpretation that came before us – that has really existed since the 1960s – was completely wrong. And everybody had her completely wrong.”
The biography, which is to be released on Sept. 29, benefits from a rich trove of personal letters at the East Hampton Public Library on Long Island, near the family home on Gardiner Island.
The Leahys found that, though she served only eight months in the White House after marrying President Tyler in 1844, Julia Tyler left a legacy. She introduced a greater degree of formality to White House social functions, expanded the public role of the first lady, and carefully built upon traditions established by earlier presidential spouses such as Dolley Madison.
“She really contributed to the evolution of the role of first lady,” said Dr. Leahy. “She was very much a person who respected tradition, knew that her role was a serious role, and knew that her place in history depended upon what she did in that role.”
Dr. Leahy said his historical research is closely connected to his work in the classroom, with his scholarship regularly finding its way into courses at Keuka College.
“When I was finishing the John Tyler biography, I used many of those documents in my classes,” he said. “And two years ago, I taught a course on American First Ladies. A lot of the material, particularly the primary source material, was connected to the work on Julia Tyler.”
That integration of scholarship and teaching has become a hallmark of Dr. Leahy’s career at Keuka College. In addition to his books and classroom instruction, he serves as editor of the newly launched “Journal of First Ladies Studies,” an academic publication dedicated to advancing scholarship about presidential spouses to which Sharon Leahy also contributes.
Even as publication of the Julia Tyler biography approaches, Dr. Leahy is turning his attention back to Keuka College history. During his recent sabbatical, he began research for a new project tentatively titled “Two Visits: Eleanor Roosevelt, Martin Luther King, and the Transformation of Keuka College.” The work will examine the impact of the two historic visits to campus, Eleanor Roosevelt’s in 1938 and Dr. King’s in1963.
But first comes the launch of a book that gives one of America's forgotten first ladies a long-overdue second look.
“Back in 1963, there was a scholar named Robert Seager who did a joint biography of John and Julia Tyler,” Dr. Leahy said. “But there has not been one single book devoted solely to Julia Tyler. We’re the first ones to do that.”
