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First Lady Julia Dent GrantJulia Boggs Dent Grant (1826 - 1902), wife of President Ulysses Grant and First Lady of America from 1869–1877 - was slightly cross-eyed (strabismus) her entire life. It never stopped her from being a tomboy in youth, or remarkably from developing into an accomplished equestrienne. But, her vision was anything less than perfect and it led to some embarrassing moments. At the gala fetes she was so fond of hosting while First Lady, rooms crowded with guests could be a challenge - she had a habit of standing in a corner to avoid bumping into people who were either doubled by her vision or just not seen clearly enough.When she did manage to move about a room, she did so in a noticeably sideways gait that some likened to a crab walk, and she often bumped into furniture or completely knocked it over. She sometimes put her back to the wall and felt her way around a room.During the Civil War she seriously considered eye surgery, but her adoring husband forbade it by stating “Did I not see you and fall in love with you with these same eyes? I like them just as they are, and now, remember, you are not to interfere with them. They are mine, and let me tell you, Mrs. Grant, you had better not make any experiments, as I might not like you half so well with any other eyes."The squinting, cross-eyed Julia may not have been able to see too well, but she had a “vision” of another sort. She always believed she had psychic abilities, and truth be told, she had reason to.On April 14, 1865, a strange man called at Julia’s Washington residence with an invitation from First Lady Mary Lincoln for the Grants to to join the President and her at Ford’s Theatre that evening to see the play “Our American Cousin.” Something about the messenger struck Julia as odd, and she immediately suspected mischief (or worse). Frantic, she whipped off a note to Ulys insisting that he pack to leave town that very evening. Just hours later, Julia was having lunch at a local restaurant when she noticed the man who had delivered her invitation sitting at a nearby table. He was sitting with another man who seemed to be too interested in what Julia was saying to her fellow diners.Having become thoroughly paranoid, she sighed a breath of relief when her husband showed up at the train station that evening. The two left the city, and next morning, were in a Philidelphia restaurant when word was delivered to them by telegram that Abe Lincoln had been murdered the night before - in Ford’s Theatre. As investigations later revealed, Ulyssess Grant had indeed been targeted by a group of assassins - one of whom Julia identified as the man who had delivered the invitation from Mary Lincoln.Julia’s “sight” saved her and her husband’s life another time, too. While they were visiting Chicago on 1871, she had a vision about a huge, terrifying bird with smoke billowing from its wings. While she and her husband were preparing to attend a reception held in their honor, Julia insisted they cancel and get the heck out of town. Ulys obliged and they left town in great haste - just in time to escape the Great Fire of Chicago.