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

[Dan Goncharoff]

I've seen websites referring to Mary Lincoln visiting Long Branch in 1871,
but nothing referring to visits of any important people in 1861.

On Fri, Dec 2, 2022, 10:16 PM ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com>
wrote:

> 1861 does seem like an early date, but the Encyclopaedia Britannica
> entry suggests that Long Branch was a summer coastal resort before
> 1861.
>
> Website: Encyclopaedia Britannica
> Topic: Long Branch, New Jersey, United States
> https://www.britannica.com/place/Long-Branch-New-Jersey
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> Long Branch, city, Monmouth county, eastern New Jersey, U.S. It lies
> along the Atlantic Ocean, 50 miles (80 km) south of New York City.
> Settled in 1668 on land purchased from the Delaware Indians, it was
> named for its location on the Long Branch of the South Shrewsbury
> River. Its development as a summer coastal resort began in the 1780s.
> By the 1830s gambling and horse racing brought an influx of visitors
> into Long Branch. During the Gilded Age (1870s and ’80s) it was
> frequented by many notables, including Lillie Langtry, Lillian
> Russell, and “Diamond Jim” Brady. It became the summer capital of U.S.
> Presidents Ulysses S. Grant, James A. Garfield, and Woodrow Wilson.
> [End excerpt]
>
> Wikipedia has a wood cut illustration by Winslow Homer of a social
> scene at Long Beach in 1869.
>
>
> https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brooklyn_Museum_-_The_Beach_at_Long_Branch_-_Winslow_Homer_-_overall.jpg
>
> On Fri, Dec 2, 2022 at 9:25 PM Dan Goncharoff <thegonch at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > 1861 also feels early for a visit to Long Branch, NJ, which didn't exist
> > until 1867, and wasn't really a place to visit as early as 1861.
> >
> > On Fri, Dec 2, 2022, 9:07 AM James Landau <
> > 00000c13e57d49b8-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
> >
> > > On  Thu, 1 Dec 2022 23:40:06 Zone + 0000  "Shapiro, Fred" <
> > > fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU> posted: >>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 Courier-Journal did not come into existence until 1868, when the
> > > Louisville Morning Courer and the Louisville Morning Journal were
> merged.
> > > As a native of Louisville, I do not recognize the place name "Long
> Branch".
> > > Numerous sources say that President Buchanan's niece Harriet Lane was
> > > "First Lady" for her bachelor uncle, who was President from 1857 to
> 1861/.
> > > James Landau
> > > jjjrlandau at netscape.com
> > >
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> > >
> >
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