Mrs. Benton McMILLIN, the lovely young wife of the Governor of Tennessee, is an ideal first lady of the State. Not only is she blessed with youth and beauty, but she has a brilliant mind and possesses rare tact and quick wit. She remembers faces and names, and has the great gift of personal magnetism. Her manner is vivacious, and in conversation her freedom from affectation is very attractive. It is easy for her to make friends; indeed, she is said to rival her distinguished husband in popularity, and it is safe to say there is not a young woman in the State more admired than the young wife of the Chief Executive. This is especially remarkable, as Mrs. McMILLIN is a Tennessean by adoption and has lived in the State only since her husband became Governor, in 1899.
Mrs. McMILLIN is one of those rare women who know their husbands’ affairs and keep their own counsel concerning them. She is filled with ambition for him, and the Governor’s close friends say he has a wonderful helpmeet in his clever wife. These traits are an inheritance with Mrs. McMILLIN, as her father, the late Hon. J.M. FOSTER, of Louisiana, was a leader among men and stood high in the councils of his State. In reviewing his life, the New Orleans States of December 12, 1900, said of him: “Although he was always ready in the councils of his party to give the benefit of his ripe experience and the high prestige of his name and had taken so prominent a part in the government of his State, he never sought reward in the shape of office, which he could have had for the asking, but retired to the quiet life of a country gentleman, devoting himself to his large business interests, in which he was so eminently successful.” Mrs. McMILLIN inherits her father’s strong character, with the beauty and charm of her mother, who, as Eleanor LONG, was one of the noted belles of the “Creole State,” and is now one of the foremost brilliant women of Louisiana. Mrs. FOSTER is a fine type of that “new woman” who keeps her head and heart young, though called upon to wear a grandmother’s honors. She is progressive and keenly interested in literary and philanthropic movements. She has many times been honored by the women of her State in being elected first president of the Louisiana Federation of Women’s Clubs. Mrs. FOSTER is remembered in Nashville as a gifted and brilliant woman.
Mrs. McMILLIN comes of old colonial stock – descended on one side from Col. Ellis COOKE, who commanded a battalion in the War of the Revolution, and was a personal friend of Washington; on the other side, from John BOGGS, of Virginia, who owned large tracts of land in Virginia, the deeds to which, signed by Lord Fairfax “in the reign of His Most Christian Majesty, George III.” are preserved in the archives of the Foster family. Her father and three uncles served with distinction in the Civil War.
In appearance Mrs. McMILLIN is one of the spirituelle type, tall and graceful. Her chief beauty lies in her eyes. They are so dark and lustrous they quite dominate her face.
She was Miss Lucille FOSTER, of Louisiana, having been born near Shreveport, at the beautiful country home of her father, a man of wealth, who gave his children exceptional advantages of education and travel. Like many other Southern girls, she received her early education in her own home under tutors; but later she spent three years at the Mary Baldwin Seminary, of Staunton, Va., from their going to New York, afterwards to Paris, France, where she made special study of the languages and dramatic reading with the best masters. She has traveled extensively both in her own country and in Europe.
While yet a schoolgirl, she visited Washington and captured the heart of the brilliant Tennessean, who pressed his suit so successfully that the romantic courtship culminated in an ideally happy marriage. She laughingly admits that she thinks her husband is the greatest man in the world, and the devotion of the distinguished Governor to his beautiful young wife is very charming. Mrs. McMILLIN is the proud mother of a dear little girl, Eleanor FOSTER, who bears the name of her grandmother.
Ever since coming to Nashville, Mrs. McMILLIN has been a prominent figure in society. During her husband’s administration she has been called upon to act as hostess on two occasions of national importance – the visit to Nashville of Admiral and Mrs. DEWEY, and, later, of Admiral and Mrs. SCHLEY. At the many brilliant functions in honor of these noted guests Mrs. McMILLIN’s tact and graciousness won for her new laurels.
Mrs. McMILLIN took a prominent part in the social world at the national capital as a bride. The admiration she received there was enough to turn her pretty head, were it not that she is as sensible as she is charming. The Washington Post said of her: ”The lovely young bride of the distinguished member from Tennessee, Hon. Benton McMILLIN, has the honor of being one of the youngest, if not the youngest, of the ladies of the official set of Washington. She is very girlish in appearance, slight and graceful, and dresses with exquisite taste. Mrs. McMILLIN is a woman of rare conversational powers, and her tact is as delightful as her wit is attractive.
We take the following from the Utica (N.Y.) Globe: “One of the brides of the congressional circle who has created a decided furore in Washington society is Mrs. McMILLIN, the wife of Tennessee’s most distinguished representative. From the first Mrs. McMILLIN has been immensely popular, and has been entertained in the most exclusive homes of the capital city. She is a beautiful woman – or “girl,” as she might better be called; for she is only a year or so past-twenty, with a slender, graceful figure, clear complexion, and eyes of remarkable beauty and expression.
While she is devoted to society and thoroughly enjoys its “frivols,” Mrs. McMILLIN is a great deal more than simply a society woman, having fine intellectual attainments and being a very gifted reader.
Source: Gilchrist, Annie S. Some Representative Women of Tennessee. Nashville: McQuiddy Print. Co, 1902.
