By Dean Poling
We tend to forget that the American presidency has made widows of almost a fifth of our nation’s first ladies.
First lady often brings to mind a sense of glamour. Take Michelle Obama, for example. Much media coverage has focused on her fashion sense, her social style, her ability to balance the duties of first lady with those of being a mother to two small daughters.
From Dolley Madison to Jacqueline Kennedy to Nancy Reagan, first ladies have been paragons of style. Or like Abigail Adams, Edith Wilson or Eleanor Roosevelt, they have been symbols of strength either to the public, to their presidential husbands, and, in many cases, both.
Yet they have also been tragic symbols. From assassins’ bullets to illness, eight presidents have died in office, leaving their wives to trade the title of first lady for widow.
Meanwhile, other first ladies felt widowed by their husbands’ political careers. Or the loss of privacy, or suffered the snubbing of D.C. society, or felt demonized by the press or presidential staff. Or they mourned the loss of children during their presidential years.
And some presidential wives did not live long enough to ever become first ladies. Some of our presidents took the office as widowers, their wives having died years before the presidency.
During the next several weeks, The Valdosta Daily Times will look at the lives of America’s first ladies.
To mark Presidents Day, The Times starts the series today with Martha Washington. Each day will spotlight a different first lady from Martha Washington to Michelle Obama.
The first ladies series follows The Times’ tradition of past profiles on the American Presidents and each of the 50 states.
Chronicling the first ladies is not a simple course. As noted, many of the earlier presidential wives were dead by the time their husbands became president. Daughters, nieces and, in some cases, the wives or family of friends served as these presidents’ official hostesses. Still, our profiles focus on the presidents’ wives.
Yet, even that determination has its anomalies.
John Tyler, for example, became the first sitting vice president to become president upon the death of President William Henry Harrison. Tyler had a wife when he took office, but few historians list Letitia Tyler as a first lady because she had suffered a debilitating stroke prior to the presidency and she died during his abbreviated one term. However, most list Tyler’s second wife whom he married while still in office. The young, vivacious Julia Tyler is typically given the distinction of being President Tyler’s first lady. Our series does not profile Letitia Tyler, but does count her in the numbered listings.
Woodrow Wilson also had two wives during his presidency. First wife Ellen Wilson died during his first term. Wilson remarried while still in office, making Edith Wilson his second first lady. Historians count both Ellen and Edith as first ladies, so we profile both of them.
President James Buchanan never married. His niece, Harriet Lane, served as his first lady. Given Buchanan’s lifelong bachelor status, we profile Lane as a first lady.
Thomas Jefferson’s first lady prompted some discussion for our list. His wife, Martha, died before he became president. His daughter, Martha, served as his official hostess. Still, keeping with our theme, we profiled Martha the wife even though there is no known portrait of her. While the rest of the profiles include portraits and caricatures of each first lady, Martha Jefferson’s includes a cameo profile based on an image often displayed for her.
Frances Cleveland has the distinction of being first lady twice. She married Grover Cleveland while he served his first presidential term. Cleveland is the president who is counted twice because he is the only president who served two non-consecutive terms. We let Frances Cleveland keep the double count but our series only profiles her once.
The Valdosta Daily Times believes you will discover many unexpected stories and details about the extraordinary women who have served as our nation’s first ladies in the weeks to come.
The stories of the first ladies are tragic and funny, romantic and inspiring, and, most of all, the stories of the first ladies are chapters in the American story from the past to the present.
