Letitia Tyler
Letitia Tyler was the First Lady of the United States from 1841 to 1842, during the presidency of her husband, John Tyler. Unfortunately, Letitia suffered a stroke two years prior to her husband's ascension to the presidency, leaving her unable to fulfill the traditional role of hostess at the White House. Consequently, her daughter-in-law, Priscilla Cooper Tyler, stepped in to manage social duties. Letitia was born into a wealthy Virginia plantation family and married John Tyler in 1813, with whom she had eight children, although two died in infancy. Known for her beauty and character, Letitia led a life largely focused on family and home, shunning public life despite her husband’s political career. She did make a rare public appearance for her daughter's wedding but passed away in the White House in September 1842, becoming the first First Lady to die while in office. Her legacy is characterized by her limited public role due to her illness, contrasting with the more vibrant presence of her successor, Julia Gardiner Tyler, who actively engaged in the role following her marriage to John Tyler in 1844.
Letitia Tyler
First Lady
- Born: November 12, 1790
- Birthplace: Cedar Grove, Virginia
- Died: September 10, 1842
- Place of death: Washington, D.C.
President:John Tyler 1841-1845
Overview
The Tyler White House was distinguished by two First Ladies. First Lady Letitia Tyler suffered a stroke two years before her husband assumed the presidency, leaving her unable to serve as hostess at the White House. Letitia’s daughter-in-law, Priscilla Cooper Tyler, served as lady of the White House in Letitia’s place. Letitia died in 1842, and in 1844, President John Tyler married Julia Gardiner. The Tyler presidency ended in early 1845, with Julia thus serving as First Lady for a period of eight months. Despite this short tenure, Julia left her mark on the First Ladyship.
Early Life
Letitia Christian was one of six daughters born to Colonel Robert Christian and Mary Brown Christian. The Christians were a wealthy Virginia plantation family. Letitia adopted the conventions of Southern agricultural society of the time and learned how to successfully manage a household and be attentive to the concerns and interests of the man of the house. In the tradition of the time, the lady of the plantation acquiesced to the wishes of her husband.
Letitia is described as very attractive in both physical beauty and character, and she received several offers of marriage. Some of these offers would have made her much wealthier in marriage than her choice of John Tyler did. Initially, Letitia’s parents were not pleased with her attachment to John. Robert Christian was a strong supporter of Federalist principles, whereas John followed his father’s support for the Democratic-Republican principles of Thomas Jefferson. It was several years before Letitia’s family gave their support to her marriage to John.
Marriage and Family
After several years of courtship, Letitia married John in 1813. They were both twenty-three. John’s father was governor of Virginia, and John’s plan was to follow his father’s career path as lawyer and politician. At the age of twenty-one, as a rising young lawyer, John had been elected to the Virginia House of Delegates. John was the second son in his family, and he and Letitia began married life in a modest farm home. In 1816, John was elected to the U.S. Congress. After three years in Congress, he sold their first home and bought a larger farm home known as Woodburn, the first in a succession of plantations that he and Letitia would inhabit.
Their first child, Mary, was born in 1814, followed by Robert, John, Letitia, Elizabeth, Alice, and Tazewell. The couple had two other children, both of whom died in infancy. Following the deaths of her last two children, Letitia’s health was poor. Despite her failing health, she remained actively involved in the lives of her family, raising her children, overseeing the household, and providing counsel to her husband.
Throughout their married life, Letitia successfully took charge of the responsibilities of maintaining a home and plantation. From Congress, John went on to become governor of Virginia, followed by his return to Washington, D.C., as a senator. During John’s years in the House and Senate, Letitia remained primarily at their home in Virginia. Without her support for his public life and attention to their economic affairs, John would have been unable to devote himself so completely to his political career.
Letitia was a religious woman. One of her daughters wrote that among her earliest memories of her mother was being taught the alphabet from the family Bible. In her later years, Letitia kept a Bible on a table by the side of her armchair. Although she wholeheartedly supported her husband’s pursuits, Letitia shunned public life for herself. During John’s tenure as governor of Virginia, she performed duties that were required by custom, but she only once went to Washington in the years before John succeeded to the presidency, upon the death of President William Henry Harrison.
Presidency and First Ladyship
John unexpectedly became president after President Harrison died, barely a month after his inauguration. John took the oath of office and moved into the White House within ten days of Harrison’s death. Partially paralyzed by a stroke in 1839, Letitia entered the White House as an invalid. Although she was unable to take on the public duties of First Lady, she continued to oversee the affairs of her household.
Letitia’s daughters were either married with their own homes or too young to assume the full responsibility for entertaining at the White House. Letitia’s daughter-in-law Priscilla Cooper Tyler, aged twenty-four, had been an actress before her marriage. Letitia and Priscilla got along very well, and Priscilla was happy to play the role of lady of the White House, taking advice from Letitia. Letitia also supervised other household affairs at the White House, delegating responsibilities to her daughter Letitia.
First Lady Letitia Tyler’s only public appearance at the White House was for the wedding of her daughter Elizabeth in January, 1842. In September, 1842, Letitia became the first First Lady to die in the White House. A period of mourning at the Executive Mansion followed, during which the usual social activities there were curtailed. Daughter Letitia took over management of the household for her father.
Early in 1843, the period of mourning ended, and John again began to greet visitors at the White House. In February, the president invited guests onboard the war steamer Princeton for a day’s outing on the Potomac River. An explosion on the Princeton resulted in the death of five men, including the father of young Julia Gardiner. After Letitia’s death, President Tyler had developed an attraction to the young woman, and he reportedly carried a fainting Julia off the steamer that day. Shortly thereafter, Julia accepted a marriage proposal from the president, although the engagement was not made public. It was not until after their wedding on June 26, 1844, that President Tyler and Julia Gardiner Tyler announced their marriage to the public. Julia’s beauty and vivaciousness were remarked upon widely before her marriage to John. Marriage did not change her outgoing nature, though she was clearly devoted to her husband.
Julia served as First Lady in the White House for the final eight months of the Tyler presidency. Her family background and her education at a fashionable New York finishing school prepared her well for a public role as First Lady. She presided over lively dinner parties at the White House and received praise for her conduct as First Lady. Some proposed that Julia behaved in too regal a manner in her position, but public support for her appears to have been greater than public criticism of her. In private, some of Letitia’s children did not approve of their father’s new wife, valuing Letitia’s more reserved nature and criticizing what some saw as pretension and vanity in Julia. Publicly, however, Letitia’s children followed their mother’s dutiful nature, and they did not openly criticize their father’s choice of a bride.
Legacy
As an invalid, First Lady Letitia Christian Tyler had little influence on the office of the First Lady, although she did continue the established tradition of having a surrogate take the place of the First Lady in the absence or inability of the First Lady to serve. Julia Gardiner Tyler made more of a mark as First Lady. Julia was instrumental in beginning the tradition of playing “Hail to the Chief” to honor the public appearance of the president. Julia was a strong advocate for her husband’s political views, and she was instrumental in helping President Tyler gain support for the annexation of Texas to the Union.
Bibliography
Boller, Paul F. Presidential Wives: An Anecdotal History. 2d ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. Summarizes the lives of Letitia and Julia Tyler and identifies interesting anecdotes about the lives of each of the presidential wives.
Coleman, Elizabeth Tyler. Priscilla Cooper Tyler and the American Scene: 1816-1889. University: University of Alabama Press, 1955. Details the life and times of President John Tyler’s daughter-in-law, who served as hostess in the White House from 1841 to 1844.
Holloway, Laura Carter. The Ladies of the White House: Or, In the Home of the Presidents. Reprint. New York: AMS Press, 1976. Holloway includes information on Letitia Tyler that is based on family memories.
Seager, Robert. And Tyler Too. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1962. A biography of both John and Julia Gardiner Tyler.
Whitton, Mary Ormsbee. First First Ladies, 1789-1865: A Study of the Wives of the Early Presidents. New York: Hastings House, 1948. Includes the highlights of the life of First Lady Letitia Christian Tyler and contrasts Letitia Tyler with John Tyler’s second wife, First Lady Julia Gardiner Tyler.
Willets, Gilson. Inside History of the White House. New York: Christian Herald, 1908. A good source for information on Letitia Tyler and her daughter Letitia Tyler Semple.