Ellen Wilson, First Lady

by Science Source

Title

Ellen Wilson, First Lady

Artist

Science Source

Medium

Painting - Photograph

Description

Ellen Axson Wilson (May 15, 1860 - August 6, 1914) was the first wife of Woodrow Wilson, and First Lady of the United States from 1913 until her death. Woodrow Wilson first saw Ellen when he was about 3 and she was a baby. They met again in April 1883 when he was visiting his cousin in Georgia, where she was keeping house for her widowed father. They were engaged 5 months later, but postponed the wedding while he did postgraduate work at Johns Hopkins University and she nursed her ailing father. They married in 1885 and their union produced three daughters; Margaret, Jessie and Eleanor. The Wilsons had preferred to begin the administration without an inaugural ball, and the First Lady's entertainments were simple, but her unaffected cordiality made her parties successful. A descendant of slave owners, Wilson lent her prestige to the cause of improving housing in the capital's largely black slums. She visited dilapidated alleys and brought them to the attention of debutantes and Congressmen. She died of Bright's disease in 1914 at the age of 54. The day before her death, she made her physician promise to tell Wilson that she hoped he would marry again; she murmured at the end, "...take good care of my husband." Artist unknown.

Uploaded

October 21st, 2016

Statistics

Viewed 1,922 Times  -  Last Visitor from New York, NY on 04/19/2024 at 10:40 PM

Colors

Embed

Share

Sales Sheet

Tags