Jefferson Davis Married Sarah Knox Taylor and Varina Howell Davis

             Sarah Knox Taylor                          Varina Howell Davis

The Moneychanger

On 17 June 1835 27 year old soldier Jefferson Davis married 21 year old Sara Knox Taylor, daughter of his commanding officer, Zachary Taylor, later president of the US. Taylor refused his permission because Davis was a soldier, so Davis resigned his commission and against his commander's wishes married Sara in Louisville.

The couple moved south, where Davis' elder Brother Joseph had an 1800 acre plantation on the Mississippi near Vicksburg. His brother gave them use of Brierfield plantation next door. Both Jefferson and Sara contracted malaria or yellow fever. After only three months of marriage, Sarah died in September, 1835. Davis himself nearly died. He became a recluse for several years after Sarah's death, but eventually re-married Varina Banks Howell in 1845. She was 18