Mr. and Mrs. Ben F. Allen’s Invitation to a White House Wedding

 

In the fall of 1913, Mr. and Mrs. Ben F. Allen were invited to the wedding of Miss Jessie Woodrow Wilson to Mr. Francis Bowes Sayre. Jessie was the daughter of President and Mrs. Woodrow Wilson.

The wedding was held at the White House on November 25, 1913. It was the thirteenth White House wedding. Sadly, Mrs. Jessie Woodrow Wilson Sayre died at the age of 45 in 1933 due to complications after surgery.

Ben F. Allen worked as the Washington correspondent for the Plain Dealer. He was married to Erie County native Blanche Drake, the daughter of former Ohio Senator John C. Drake. Mr. Allen died in an automobile accident while he was accompanying President Wilson on a road trip. His widow Blanche later married Fred Hiltz, a partner in Uthe and Hiltz drugstore in Sandusky, Ohio. At some point, family members donated this invitation to the 1913 White House wedding.