By Page H. Gifford
Correspondent
The Friends of the Library will kick off the new year with local author Barbara VornDick, who will speak on January 7 at 10 a.m. about her book *Eliza’s Story*, a biography of James Monroe’s eldest daughter, Eliza Monroe.
VornDick, born and raised in Virginia, holds a Master’s Degree in Education and worked for three decades in private and public schools across the state. She also served as an adjunct professor at Germanna Community College. After retiring, she accepted a part-time position as a historical interpreter at James Monroe’s Highland, where she was encouraged to continue her independent research.
“I became interested in the Monroe women, particularly Eliza,” VornDick explained. What began as a project to uncover more about Eliza turned into five years of digging through primary sources on both sides of the Atlantic to discover the truth about her life and the tragic circumstances of her death.
VornDick’s groundbreaking research uncovered newly discovered documents that challenged the standard historical narrative about Eliza. This research sparked a campaign to repatriate Eliza’s remains from Paris to Virginia. Since August 2023, VornDick has actively coordinated the Bringing Eliza Home Project, planning and facilitating the repatriation process.
“Very little had been written about her, and what had been written seemed unusually unkind,” she noted. “There were only a few sentences about her in Monroe biographies over the past century, and those few sentences were always the same. I found that suspicious—it was too much like a script repeated for decades. Surely, there was more to this woman, daughter of a president.”
The standard narrative portrayed Eliza as bossy and obstinate. John Quincy Adams infamously called her “an obstinate little firebrand!” It was also believed that later in life she abandoned her family and country to live out her days in France. To VornDick, this did not make sense.
Her goal was not initially to write a biography, but as little was known, her curiosity deepened. “It turned into a real detective story,” she said. After five years, VornDick discovered that the common narrative was false. New information showed that Eliza died under tragic circumstances and had lain in an unmarked grave for nearly two centuries.
“Her true story needed to be told. She lived a life devoted to family and country, and the record needed to be set straight.”
Growing up next door to Thomas Jefferson and with James and Dolly Madison as close family friends, Eliza was influenced from a young age. “Having a father who corresponded and spent time with the movers and shakers forming our new government certainly made an impression on Eliza.”
While Monroe served abroad as minister to France, Spain, and Great Britain, Eliza accompanied him. During his two assignments in France, she attended the prestigious Paris boarding school of Madame Campan, receiving an excellent education.
“During her years at this school, Eliza was well-grounded and confident,” VornDick said. “Evidence shows she demonstrated extraordinary devotion to family, a strong sense of duty, faith, and fortitude.”
Eliza was also known for nursing the sick—family, friends, and strangers alike—during two epidemics in Washington, D.C., during her father’s presidency.
After researching Eliza’s life and the expected norms for women in the 1800s, VornDick concluded that Eliza was likely ahead of her time. “In a society that expected women to be quiet, demure, and defer to men, Eliza rose to the situations and tasks presented to her. People then did not know how to handle such assertiveness.”
For example, Eliza took charge of social functions at the White House during Monroe’s presidency, as her mother was too ill to fulfill many first lady duties. Eliza moved her family into the White House and managed the demanding social calendar, demonstrating her deep devotion to both family and country.
“Many in Washington did not know how to deal with an assertive woman,” VornDick said. “Eliza and her mother received negative press for changing White House protocols to limit access to the presidential family.” These changes were made to protect Mrs. Monroe’s declining health.
Mrs. Monroe suffered from debilitating arthritis and epilepsy—the latter unknown as such at the time and then called “the falling sickness,” surrounded by superstition. The family sought to shield her from overexertion and gossip. “It took fortitude to stand firm against the criticism. The matter was even discussed in cabinet meetings, but Eliza and James Monroe refused to relax the protocols. This reflects Monroe’s devotion to his wife.”
Primary source documents reveal Eliza as caring, compassionate, and no-nonsense. She fearlessly took charge when needed and devoted herself to family and country. VornDick found many examples of Eliza’s dedication, including caring for her mother for the last 13 years of her life—who died two days after Eliza’s husband—and tending to her father for nine months before he succumbed to tuberculosis.
VornDick highlights Eliza’s intelligence, fortitude, and nursing skills, making her a relatable figure for modern women who often know little of women from Eliza’s time. “She saved her mother’s life after a seizure caused her to fall into a burning fireplace. Having burns over a third of her body, Mrs. Monroe survived thanks to Eliza’s care.”
Though Eliza took on the matriarchal role, she was maligned for asserting herself as acting First Lady.
“Eliza was content living as a wife and mother running her own home for eight years before taking on unofficial First Lady duties during her father’s presidency,” VornDick said.
Eliza was likely influenced by her mother, Elizabeth Kortright Monroe, though little is known about her. “Mrs. Monroe’s strength, education, and savvy financial skills influenced Eliza’s life. She spoke fluent French, and Monroe often consulted her on important matters. For example, during Monroe’s 1794 trip to France, Mrs. Monroe successfully secured the release of the Marquis de Lafayette’s wife from prison—an effort where others had failed. Eliza was likely inspired by her mother’s bravery at a young age.”
VornDick emphasizes that the Monroe historical community knew little of these facets of Eliza’s character. “Everyone only knew those few repeated sentences in biographies, along with embellished, incorrect stories—such as claims that Eliza became a nun or died in a convent. My research uncovered never-before-seen documents that reframe her life and death.”
Despite all Eliza had done, she was left penniless and in debt before her death. Her story is also a significant point in women’s history, illustrating how women of the era could be vulnerable to financial exploitation.
In Eliza’s case, the executor of her father’s will withheld her inheritance. As a widow, she waited nine years and hired lawyers to claim it—without success.
“Much of my research focused on uncovering this individual’s actions over 50 years. The evidence was overwhelming and sent shockwaves through the Monroe historical community.”
The tragedy lies in the life of a woman from wealth and historic celebrity, well-educated and having witnessed history firsthand, yet dying forgotten and impoverished long after her family’s fame had faded.
“It was rewarding to uncover the truth about Eliza’s life and death and to restore her reputation. The never-before-seen 1840 Paris embassy documents showed she had never established residence in Paris nor intended to die there, contrary to what was believed for two centuries.”
This discovery led VornDick to initiate the repatriation of Eliza’s remains from Paris so she could be reinterred with her family in Virginia—a process that took two years.
On October 23, 2025, nearly 200 years after her death, Eliza Kortright Monroe Hay’s remains were reinterred in the Monroe family plot at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia. Prior to this, she had rested in an unmarked grave in Paris’s Père Lachaise Cemetery since 1840.
https://fluvannareview.com/2025/12/local-author-to-speak-about-her-book-on-eliza-monroe/