[Ads-l] Antedating of "First Lady" (OED Sense 2)

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Nice find, Fred.
Here are some more details. The newspaper name was “The Louisville
Daily Journal” as suggested by James. The article was “From our New
York Correspondent”. Hence, "Long Branch" probably referred to Long
Branch, New Jersey.

The phrase “our first lady” occurred twice in the article. (See the
newspaper image by clicking on the link below.) The role of Mrs.
Lincoln was also referred to as “President-ess” within the article.

Date: August 27, 1861
Newspaper: The Louisville Daily Journal
Newspaper Location: Louisville, Kentucky
Article: From our New York Correspondent
Author: CURT
Quote Page 4, Column 1
Database: Newspapers.com

https://www.newspapers.com/clip/113984690/ourfirstlady/

[Begin excerpt - double-check for typos]
[From our New York Correspondent.]
New York, August 16, 1861.
. . .
We are expecting Mrs. Lincoln here this week
on her way to Long Branch. She will take
apartments at the Metropolitan, in order to
exchange courtesies with the Princess Clotilda.
There is much discussion among the leaders of the
ton as to the etiquette of this matter; some
contending that it would be in the highest degree
improper for our first lady to call upon the foreign
princess. If Bobby Lincoln's wife (supposing that
he had one) were in Paris, would the Empress
Eugenie make her a call? Probably not. But
why should we forever ape the autocracy? It
may be the etiquette of courts for the Princess to
call upon the President-ess, but who cares? It
would be true Western hospitality to reverse the
iron custom here, and give the fair girl, for her
father's and country's sake, an unceremonious and
hearty greeting. Our first lady will not suffer
in the world's eye, because she is kind and
courteous.
[End excerpt]

Garson

On Thu, Dec 1, 2022 at 7:03 PM Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> I think there's a significant difference in nuance between 1861 "our first
> lady" as the "pre-eminent woman of the land" and the current "first lady,"
> fully lexicalized as "the wife of the president."
>
> JL
>
> On Thu, Dec 1, 2022 at 6:40 PM Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.edu> wrote:
>
> > First Lady (OED, 2., 1870)
> >
> > 1861 _Courier-Journal_ (Louisville) 27 Aug. 4/1 (Newspapers.com)  We are
> > expecting Mrs. Lincoln here this week on her way to Long Branch. ... Our
> > first lady will not suffer in the world's eye, because she is kind and
> > courteous.
> >
> > Fred Shapiro
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
>
> --
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
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