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Edith Bolling Galt Wilson


Index for
First Ladies

Martha Washington
Abigail Adams
Martha Jefferson
Dolley Madison
Elizabeth Monroe
Louisa Adams
Rachel Jackson
Hannah Van Buren

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

Edith Bolling was born in Wytherville, Virginia on October 15, 1872.

Her father, William Bolling was a circuit court judge.

Edith was a descendant of Pocahontas.

She married Norman Galt in 1896. He died in 1908. Edith took over running their jewelry store.

She met President Wilson on a visit to the White House in April 1915. Wilson first wife had died in August of 1914.

They were engaged in September of 1915. Wilson's advisors were worried that his marrying so soon would hurt his political career. However, they were married on December 18, 1915.

On October 2, 1919 Woodrow Wilson suffered a stroke that left him paralyzed.

Edith and others thought he should resign the as President, but the doctors encouraged him to continue.

After that Edith allowed only people she approved to see the President. She also reviewed any official papers he needed to see. She also relayed his decisions to officials in the government. She was accused of grabbing power which she denied.

Some people say she was our first woman president.

Wilson got somewhat better, but died in February 1924.

She wrote a book about her experiences as First Lady titled My Memoir.

Her last public appearance was in 1961, she rode in President John Kennedy's inaugural parade.

She died on her husband's birthday, December 28, 1961. She was 89.

Edith is buried next to President Wilson on the grounds of the National Cathedral in Washington D.C.

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