Daughter of President Monroe Repatriated and interred with her parents

On Thursday, October 23, 2025 a large crowd gathered at President James Monroe's family plot at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, VA to reunite daughter Eliza with President and Mrs. Monroe.

Elizabeth (Eliza) Kortright Monroe was born in 1786, the first child of James Monroe and his wife, Elizabeth Kortright. She was Educated in Paris during her father's diplomatic assignments to France, Great Britain, and Spain. After the deaths of her parents, husband, and daughter she moved to New York to live with her sister. In 1838 her failing health resulted in a recommendation to take a sea voyage to improve her health. The cruise took her to Paris. In Paris, France she waited for inheritance due her from her father's estate but it never arrived. She became destitute, increasingly ill and unable to return to the United States. She died on January 27m 1840, and was buried in an unmarked grave at Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.

In 2019, Barbara VornDick, an interpreter of History at James Monroe's Highland, began researching Eliza. Her five-year effort led to the discovery of documents revealing the story of Eliza's life and the tragic circumstances of her death. She discovered Eliza died as a pauper and had been lost to history. Mrs. VornDick founded the "Bringing Eliza Home Project" in 2023, and worked with Eliza's descendants to repatriate her remains from France to America. On Thursday, October 23, 2025 her goal was realized with the internment of Eliza next to her parents at the President James Monroe family plot at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond.

President James Monroe was the last President of the united States to have served as a soldier in the American Revolution. The Virginia Society Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) was honored to advance the colors of the United States for the repatriation of the daughter of a Patriot of the United States Revolution. The Virginia SAR color Guard members were: Color Guard Commander John Lynch from the Williamsburg Chapter; lead musket: Gary Dunaway from the Williamsburg Chapter; The flag of the United States of America was advanced by James Cordes from the Fairfax Resolves Chapter; The flag of the Commonwealth of Virginia was advanced by Paul Christensen from the Col. James Wood II chapter; Trail musket: Barry Schwoerer from the Loudoun County based Sgt Maj John Champe Chapter.