Some of us will remember when February had holidays for only two presidents—George Washington on February 22 and Abraham Lincoln on February 16.Their actual birthdays.

These days we pay tribute to all presidents on one day in February.

To honor the two presidents with birthdays this month I’m sharing the stories of their marriages.

Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln

“My wife was as handsome as when she was a girl,” Lincoln once told a reporter. “And I, poor nobody then, fell in love with her, and what is more, have never fallen out.”

Mary Todd, the daughter of a successful merchant and politician, attracted the attention of up-and-coming politician and lawyer Abraham Lincoln. They shared a love of politics and literature and a deep love for each other. Unfortunately, her family did not approve of the match.

When he won his Congressional seat in 1846, she followed him to Washington. Something unheard of at the time.

George Washington and Martha Dandridge Custis Washington

The romance of George and Martha was not a passionate romance by today’s standards. In the eighteenth century marriages were made to ease circumstances and build a good life.

She was the wealthiest widow in Virginia, with a 17,500 acre estate to manage and two very young children when they first met. He was a general who had just retired and needed a job. At the time of their engagement, they merely liked each other a great deal.

Eight months into his marriage, George wrote, “I am now I beleive fixd at this Seat with an agreable Consort for Life and hope to find more happiness in retirement than I ever experienced amidst a wide and busthng World.”

George and Martha chose their partners wisely, perhaps more than they realized at the time. According to historians, the couple shared forty years together during which they grew to love each other with true devotion.

I do love good love stories.