her older and younger sisters died . The Taylors were stationed at Fort Crawford -LRB- now Prairie du Chien , Wisconsin -RRB- in 1832 , when Sarah met and fell in love with a young officer named Jefferson Davis . Zachary Taylor opposed the relationship , and accounts vary as to why -- because he did n't want his daughter to continue to be exposed to the hardships of army life , or because he and Davis did n't get along . Or both . Davis was transferred , so he and Sarah conducted a long-distance relationship for two years . They even planned their wedding by mail . The ceremony took place in June 1835 , in Louisville , Kentucky . Sarah 's parents did not attend . Once again there is disagreement over why they were absent . The newlyweds immediately headed south , and they visited Davis 's relatives in Louisiana . Sarah , mindful of the family tragedy the last time the Taylors traveled those parts , wrote home , `` Do not make yourself uneasy about me , the country is quite healthy . '' But while staying with Davis 's oldest sister at ``
-LRB- Mental Floss -RRB- -- There have been presidential daughters almost as long as there have been presidents . -LRB- George Washington had no children . -RRB- President Warren Harding made child-care payments to his mistress for years until his death in 1923 . What these women did -- both under the influence of and independent from their influential fathers -- make fascinating stories . Here are five you might not have heard : 1 . Sarah Knox Taylor Davis She packed a lot of drama into her 21 years . The second daughter of future U.S. President Zachary Taylor , Sarah also was the first wife of future Confederate President Jefferson Davis . Her parents gave her the middle name Knox after Fort Knox , in pre-state Indiana , where her military father was stationed and where she was born in 1813 or 1814 . Sarah was often called Knox or Knoxie . The life of an army brat was certainly more dangerous in the early 19th century . During Taylor 's posting in Louisiana , Sarah and her two sisters came down with `` bilious fever , '' now thought to be malaria . Sarah survived , but