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RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A photo has emerged of a key figure in the household of Confederate President Jefferson Davis.
The image of Mary O'Melia is now in the possession of The American Civil War Museum in Richmond. The museum also oversees the White House of the Confederacy, where O'Melia served as housekeeper for Davis and his first lady, Varina Davis.
A woman who says her late husband was related to O'Melia provided the museum with the photograph.
O'Melia was a young widow with three children when she came to visit friends in Richmond in 1861. She became marooned in the capital of the Confederacy when Virginia seceded and she eventually became under the employ of the Davis'.
O'Melia was a confidante of the first lady.
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