First Ladies: Ellen Arthur


lib Martha Washington Abigail Adams Martha Jefferson Dolley Madison Elizabeth Monroe Louisa Adams Rachel Jackson Hannah Van Buren Anna Harrison Letitia Tyler Julia Tyler Sarah Polk Margaret Taylor Abigail Fillmore Jane Pierce Harriet Lane Johnson Mary Lincoln Eliza Johnson Julia Grant Lucy Hayes Lucretia Garfield Ellen Arthur Frances Cleveland Caroline Harrison Ida McKinley Edith Roosevelt Helen Taft Ellen Wilson Edith Wilson Florence Harding Grace Coolidge Lou Hoover Eleanor Roosevelt Bess Truman Mamie Eisenhower Jacqueline Kennedy Lady Bird Johnson Pat Nixon Betty Ford Rosalynn Carter Nancy Reagan Barbara Bush Hillary Rodham Clinton Laura Bush Michelle Obama Melania Trump	Ellen Lewis Herdon Arthur Ellen (Nell) Herndon was born on August 30, 1837 in Fredricksburg, Virginia. When she was young her family moved to Washington, D.C. She was an excellent singer and sang in the St. John's Episcopal Church. Nell met Chester Arthur in New York in 1856. They were introduced by her cousin Dabney Herndon. Chester called his wife Nell. Chester helped Nell and her family with their financial matters when her father died in 1857. She supported the South during the Civil War. Nell and Chester were married on October 25, 1859 in New York City. Library of Congress His son died when he was two and half years old. He got an infection that caused inflamation of the brain. She supported her husband's ambitions. She treated their social life as her carreer. Ten months before Chester Arthur's election as Vice President, Ellen caught a cold. Two days later she was critically ill with pneumonia. On January 10, 1881 she died. She was 42. Arthur gave a stained glass window in honor of his wife's memory to the St. John's Episcopal Church. The window was placed so he could see it from the White House. After Nell's death Arthur's younger sister Mary McElroy served as hostess during his term in office. Ellen and Chester are buried in Rural Cemetery in Albany, New York.	Topics First Ladies Home U.S. Presidents Home Black History Tidbits

	Sources of Information: Books: Barden, Cindy,Meet the First Ladies, Lorenz Corp. Gormley, Beatrice,First Ladies: Women Who Called The White House Home (First Ladies) , Scholastic Paperbacks, 1997 Smith, Carter, Editor,Smithsonian Presidents and First Ladies DK Publishing, New York, 2002 Web Sites: The White House: http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/firstladies/ Portraits of the Presidents and First Ladies: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/odmdhtml/

Ellen Lewis Herdon Arthur