This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!
The Ball at the Polk White House and a Secret Love
In May 1846 a grand Washington ball unfolds amid the Mexico Texas border tensions. Helena von Ritz dances with John Calhoun while Elisabeth Osten seeks love with the narrator, and a covert, hopeful bond forms between them as political and social currents swirl around the era’s diplomacy and power.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Napoleon I
Rio Grande
Nueces
James Polk
Palo Alto
Washington
Taylor
Resaca de la Palma
Capital
Salo Alto
Galveston
New Orleans
White House
Mr. Polk
Jack Dandridge
Mexico
Beth Kiter
Venus Terese Chalfant
Pugh
Denmirk
de Amelia
Harriet Williams
Henreetown
Fumssia
Bdward Everett
Sam Ebousten
Texas
America
John Calhoun
Helena von Ritz
Calhoun
Mr. Calhoun
Doctor Samuel Ward
Doctor Ward
Baroness von Ritz
Helena von Rite
California
Oregon
Europe
Cregen
Elisabeth
Jack
Elmhurst
Tam
Mr. Dandridge
Nat
Jacek
Godedey