Varina Banks Howell Davis (May 7, 1826 - October 16, 1906) is best remembered as the wife of Confederate President Jefferson Davis during the American Civil War. Varina Banks Howell was born and raised on a plantation in Natchez, Mississippi. Though her family was aristocratic, financial success eluded them and money was often tight. She married Jefferson Finis Davis, a widower, in 1845. The early years of their marriage were strained, but when Davis began to rise to prominence in the US Congress, and Varina moved with him to Washington, DC, they became much happier.