Lucretia Garfield
First Lady of the United States in 1881 / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Lucretia Garfield (née Rudolph; April 19, 1832 – March 14, 1918) was the first lady of the United States from March to September 1881, as the wife of James A. Garfield, the 20th president of the United States.
Lucretia Garfield | |
|---|---|
 Portrait, c. 1880 | |
| First Lady of the United States | |
| In role March 4, 1881 – September 19, 1881 | |
| President | James A. Garfield |
| Preceded by | Lucy Webb Hayes |
| Succeeded by | Mary Arthur McElroy (acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Lucretia Rudolph (1832-04-19)April 19, 1832 Garrettsville, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | March 13, 1918(1918-03-13) (aged 85) South Pasadena, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | James A. Garfield Memorial |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 7, including Hal, James, and Abram |
| Education | Geauga Seminary Hiram College (BA) |
| Signature |  |
Born in Garrettsville, Ohio, Garfield first met her husband at Geauga Seminary. After a long courtship, they married in 1858. Their early years were difficult, as James was often away and became romantically involved with other women. They would eventually have seven children together, five of whom lived to adulthood. Highly educated and knowledgeable of Washington politics, Garfield was a regular adviser for her husband, and she assisted him in his front porch campaign for the presidency. She was well regarded during her brief period in the White House, but after only a few months contracted malaria and went to Long Branch, New Jersey, to recuperate.
On July 2 1881, her husband was shot and mortally wounded by Charles Guiteau. He remained on his deathbed for months, during which time his wife stayed at his bedside and received much public sympathy. Garfield returned to her former residence in Ohio after being widowed, and she spent much of the rest of her life preserving her husband's papers and other materials, establishing what was effectively the first presidential library.