A Governor's Scandal: Sally McDowell, Francis Thomas, and A Very Public Divorce in the 1840s

In this episode, Jake and Justin are joined by public historian Travis Shaw for a story that feels very modern - and yet unfolds in the 1840s.

It begins with a marriage between Sally Preston McDowell, the daughter of a powerful Virginia political family, and Francis Thomas, a rising Maryland political star. Within weeks, suspicion, jealousy, and accusation turn that marriage into one of the most explosive public scandals of the antebellum era.

What follows is a cascade of drama: alleged infidelity, a miscarriage, public accusations of infanticide, private letters turned into political weapons, and - at one point - two sitting governors physically fighting on a train platform in Virginia.

Francis Thomas published a 52-page pamphlet detailing the intimate collapse of his marriage and places it on the desk of every member of Congress. State legislatures in Maryland and Virginia debated the case. Crowds packed the galleries. The press leapt at the chance to spill ink about this unfolding drama.

But beneath the spectacle is something more human - and more revealing. This episode explores how marriage, divorce, reputation, and gender operated in the 19th century. It traces how a woman navigated public shame in a world that gave her few legal protections. And it follows the strange afterlife of a political career that seemed permanently destroyed - only to be resurrected during the Civil War.

This episode of Public History with Justin, Jake, and Molly explores:

• Marriage, jealousy, and power in the 1840s political elite
• Divorce through state legislatures in antebellum America
• Public scandal before tabloids and reality TV - broadsides, pamphlets, and packed galleries
• Two governors fighting on a train platform
• The Civil War redemption arc of Francis Thomas
• Sally McDowell's second act - and a life reclaimed

Want to learn more? Here's this episode's reading list and more information about Travis Shaw:

The Great Catastrophe of My Life Divorce in the Old Dominion by Thomas E. Buckley

If You Love That Lady Don't Marry Her: The Courtship Letters of Sally Mcdowell and John Miller, 1854-1856 (Volume 1)

Statement of Francis Thomas

Historians on Tap

Virginia Piedmont Heritage Area