Following Dolley Madison, there was a big gap in the role of the First Lady

Elizabeth Monroe was a reclusive woman by nature, and her grown daughter was a snobbish substitute. Louisa Adams was in chronic poor health; her husband was unpopular. Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren were both widowers. Widower John Tyler’s second wife Julia Gardiner might have been a shining star if a) she filled the role for more than 8 months, and b) if John Tyler was popular. Sarah Polk was certainly socially competent, but the Polk view of the Presidency itself, and their devout religious inclination made them stodgy.

Then, between 1849-57 came three reluctant and reclusive women, well into middle age when duty called, deeply entrenched in their modest private lives. They were more than happy to relinquish social duties to younger relatives and even happier to avoid the criticism of social Washington, whose main avocation was criticism.

Margaret Mackall Smith Taylor

Margaret Smith Taylor (1788-1852) was born in Maryland to a family of gentry. At twenty-one she married Zachary Taylor, a professional soldier who rose through the ranks. In 1810, when they married, a soldier’s life was harsh, assigned to isolated outposts, mainly to protect against Indian attacks. 

Peggy traveled from pillar to army-post, living in barracks, lean-tos, tents, forts and whatever dwellings were available. She lost two babies to disease, and raised four children to maturity. By the late 1840s, she was looking forward to a quiet retirement on their Baton Rouge plantation, surrounded by family and close friends.

But by 1848, after the War with Mexico, General Zachary Taylor was a bona fide hero, and thus a handy recruit for Presidential nomination, albeit against his will. And hers.

Military life had taken its toll on her, and between age and frontier hardship, her health had ebbed. Youthful beauty coarsened. While the dignities and manners of a gracious upbringing may have lingered in essence, she likely felt ill-equipped to be the social leader of the nation’s capital, and had no interest in trying.

She chose seclusion at the White House, remaining in her rooms and presiding only at the family table. She relinquished the hosting duties to her married daughter, Betty Blair. Naturally rumors abounded that Mrs. Taylor smoked a pipe, or was otherwise “unfit” for the role.

About the only thing known about Peggy Taylor is her claim that the “Presidency would shorten both their lives.” She was a prophet.

Both Taylors died before their natural term would have ended. 

Abigail Powers Fillmore

Abigail Powers Fillmore (1798-1852) was also disinclined to be First Lady – but for a different reason.

Born in upstate New York, her father died when she was young, and the family struggled. Having had a fair education (at least for a woman), she became the village schoolmarm at sixteen, and has the distinction of being the first First Lady to work outside the home. She taught school for several years, and developed a deep love of books and learning in general.

She was still in her teens when she met Millard Fillmore, a local fellow with ambition. She tutored him for a better future in a courtship that lasted for several years before he was financially stable.

Once married with children, Abigail devoted herself to her family, their home in Aurora, New York and the moderate reputation of her lawyer-congressman husband. Nevertheless, she channeled her own intellectual interests into helping found their town library society. Letters between the Fillmores are filled with lists of books she asked him to purchase in New York or Philadelphia when he was a Congressman, en route to Washington. As a Congressman’s wife, Abigail came to Washington periodically and found “society” boring. She believed the Washington doyennes were superficial, placed appearance above substance, and above all, loved gossip. 

The Fillmores came to the White House accidentally. President Zachary Taylor died. Placing substance over socializing, she continued to channel her intellectual efforts and established the first White House library. When she became First Lady, there wasn’t a book in the place – not even a Bible.

Not long before assuming the “Second Lady” spot, Abigail had broken her ankle. It was poorly set and painful for her to stand in receiving lines. It was also a handy excuse to bow out. She did not lock herself away a la Margaret Taylor. She participated as needed, but kept the social scene to a minimum. Their daughter Mary Abigail, was twenty and happy to fill in for her disinclined, and genuinely bored, mother.

Jane Means Appleton Pierce

Jane Pierce (1806-1863) was a depressive, period. She was also zealously religious. Born in New Hampshire, she did not marry until she was twenty-eight, considered an old maid. Her polar-opposite husband, the gregarious Franklin Pierce, had just been elected to Congress.

Jane hated Washington with a passion. The climate was bad for her frail health, and she disliked the politics, believing it ungodly. She managed to convince her husband (who loved politics) to retire from the national scene, and devote himself strictly to his law practice and local New Hampshire affairs. She lost two sons as babies, and devoted herself to raising her remaining boy. 

When Pierce became the Democratic nominee, elected President in 1852, his wife fainted at the news. If dissatisfaction with the course of events wasn’t enough, eleven-year-old Bennie Pierce was killed in a freak railway accident only a few weeks before the inauguration. Jane was prostrate with grief, and remained mostly secluded in the White House for months. 

When she finally made a public appearance, it was sad that her “woebegone expression” made it difficult for anyone to enjoy the gathering.

Her aunt-by-marriage was enlisted to handle whatever mild social duties could not be avoided.

Sources:

Caroli, Betty Boyd – First Ladies: An Intimate Look at How 38 Women Handled what may be the most Demanding, Unpaid, Unelected Job in America – Oxford University Press, 1995

http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/first-ladies/margarettaylor

http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/first-ladies/abigailfillmore