CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Eliza Monroe Hay, the daughter of President James Monroe, will be laid to rest alongside her family in Richmond’s Hollywood Cemetery on Thursday, Oct. 3.
Research by Barbara VornDick, a part-time guide at Highlands, Monroe’s Virginia home, tells the story of how President Monroe’s first child wound up in France, where she died at age 53.
According to her letters, Eliza went to Paris to improve her health, not abandon her family and country. While there, her inheritance was stolen, leaving her penniless. Eliza was buried in a Paris cemetery plot purchased on her behalf by American diplomat, Daniel Brent, who had worked in the Monroe administration and recognized her name.
Through efforts by Barbara VornDick and her team at the Bringing Eliza Home Project, Eliza Monroe Hay’s remains were brought back to the U.S. in May.
A reinterment ceremony will be held on Thursday, Oct. 23, at 2 p.m. at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, where she will be able in her family’s plot after 200 years.
Mass for the repose of Eliza’s soul will be held at 11 a.m. the same day at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart.
Both events are open to the public.
