Biography: First Lady Lucretia Garfield (1832-1918)

Lucretia Rudolph Garfield served as First Lady of the United States from March 4, 1881 until the death of her husband, President James Garfield, on September 19, 1881. She was devoutly religious, well-educated in the classics and literature, a member of literary societies, and an outspoken proponent for women's rights.

Lucretia, fondly known as "Crete," was born on April 19, 1832, in Hiram, Ohio, the eldest of four children. Her father, Zebulon Rudolph, was a farmer, carpenter, and religious leader in the Disciples of Christ Church. Her father, Arabella Greene Mason, descended from Pilgrims who emigrated to America on the Mayflower.

Lucretia was a well-educated woman, having attended the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute (renamed Hiram College), which her father had founded along with other Disciples of Christ Church members. She studied French, Greek, Latin, and both classical and contemporary literature. She organized a literary society and defended the right of women to speak onstage at debate and rhetoric presentations. After her graduation, she served for a time at the Eclectic Institute as a teacher of French, algebra and Latin. After taking drawing lessons and pursuing a talent in art, she became an art teacher for a short time before her marriage.

On November 11, 1858, she married James A. Garfield, her former Greek teacher at the Eclectic Institute, after a long courtship. Although he admired her intellect and they confided intimately in their written correspondence, Lucretia considered herself a dispassionate person, and their relationship in real life was awkward and formal. They spent most of their first six years of marriage apart, during which Garfield had an affair. He later confessed to his wife and recommitted himself to their marriage, which was strengthened by their mutual interest in literature and the Classics.

Lucretia and James had seven children, two of which died in infancy: Eliza Arabella "Trot" (1860-1863), Harry Augustus "Hal" (1863-1942), James "Jim" Rudolf (1865-1950), Mary "Mollie" (1867-1947), Irvin McDowell (1870-1951), Abram (1872-1958), and Edward (1874-1876). Although she was sometimes frustrated with society's expectation of women as wives and mothers, she found it helpful to set aside room and time to read, write, and paint.

Protective of her privacy, Lucretia was opposed at first to her husband's campaign for President, even refusing to sit for a campaign photograph. When he wrote saying that he would only accept the nomination with her support, though, she agreed. Although she offered her husband political advice in private, she preferred to keep out of the public eye, choosing literary societies and private intellectual pursuits over parties and hosting. She served as First Lady for only a few weeks, however, before she left the White House due to illness. After her husband was shot, she supported and cared for him until his death three months later, earning the respect and even idealization of the American public.

After her husband's death, Lucretia continued to lead a private life in Ohio and then at a new home in South Pasadena, California. In addition to preserving her husband's papers and other records of his political career, she developed further interests in architecture and engineering. She did not support the women's suffrage movement due to its methods, but she was a lifelong believer in women's rights. Lucretia Garfield passed away at the age of 85 on March 14, 1918.

Sources

• Biography of Lucretia Garfield from The White House
• First Lady Biography: Lucretia Garfield from National First Ladies' Library
• Lucretia Garfield from NNDB