Barbara holds the same distinction also held by first lady Abigail Adams––both were not only the wife of a president, but also the mother of another. And at age 63, Barbara was the oldest woman to become first lady and move into the White House.
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Nancy Reagan served as first lady throughout both terms of her husband Ronald Reagan in the years 1981-1989. Nancy was 59 years old when she became first lady.
Continue reading >>Elizabeth Monroe was 48 years old when she became first lady. She served throughout her husband James Monroe’s presidency in 1817-1825.
Continue reading >>Louisa was born in London and so was the only first lady to have been born outside of the U.S. Though she was a U.S. citizen because her father was an American, her husband’s political rivals later used Louisa’s heritage against him when he ran for presid
Continue reading >>Hannah Hoes Van Buren, the wife of Martin Van Buren, died at age 35 in 1819 after being married only 11 years. Van Buren did not become president until 1837, and because he never remarried, he––just like his predecessor President Jackson––entered the pres
Continue reading >>Emily Donelson, the niece of Andrew Jackson’s deceased wife, served as White House hostess upon his inauguration in 1829. However, following Emily’s onset of tuberculosis in 1836, Jackson asked his nephew’s wife, 31-year-old Sarah Yorke Jackson, to serve
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