Wilson, Ellen

Wilson, Ellen

▪ American first lady
née  Ellen Louise Axson 
born May 15, 1860, Savannah, Georgia, U.S.
died August 6, 1914, Washington, D.C.
 American first lady (1913–14), the first wife of Woodrow Wilson (Wilson, Woodrow), 28th president of the United States. Although far less famous than her husband's second wife, Edith Galt Wilson (Wilson, Edith), Ellen played a large part in Woodrow's career and significantly changed the traditional role of the first lady. She is perhaps best remembered for her efforts to improve housing conditions for African Americans in Washington, D.C.

      Ellen was the oldest of seven children of Samuel Axson, a Presbyterian minister, and Margaret Hoyt Axson. During the birth of their last child in 1881, when Ellen was 21 years old, Margaret Axson died. The subsequent mental breakdown of Ellen's father and his death in 1884 left her the head of the family.

      As soon as she could place her younger siblings with relatives in Georgia, Ellen took her small inheritance and moved to New York City to study painting at the Art Students League, an unusually brave step for a young woman at that time. Her move is even more surprising considering that she had already met Woodrow Wilson (in 1883), and he had proposed marriage. She could have remained in Georgia while he completed his doctorate, but she chose a more independent course.

      Ellen and Woodrow married on June 24, 1885, at her paternal grandfather's home in Savannah, Georgia, and they moved to Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, where he took a job as an associate professor of history and political economy at Bryn Mawr College. Although much of her time was spent caring for her three daughters, born between 1886 and 1889, and her siblings, she managed to study German, in order to translate for her husband, and to take a course in home economics. Woodrow's tenure as president of Princeton University (1902–10) allowed her to polish her household management and hostess skills, which later served her in the White House, and his two years as governor of New Jersey (1910–12) helped her to develop a public persona. She continued to paint portraits and landscapes and exhibited her work, for which she received excellent reviews in juried competitions, under the name E.A. Wilson, after her husband became famous.

      Ellen served only 17 months as first lady, and for much of the time she was ill. Nevertheless, she made the time count. Although she took no public stand on woman suffrage (which her husband still opposed), she served as honorary president of the National Civic Foundation, advocated better working conditions for women and children, and lobbied vigorously to improve the housing conditions of African Americans living in the alleys of Washington. Her efforts resulted in a federal bill setting minimum housing standards in the District of Columbia, which was passed by both the House and the Senate in August 1914, as she lay dying in the White House of Bright disease. Never before had a president's wife been so closely associated with legislation.

      Ellen Wilson was buried in Rome, Georgia, near the graves of her parents. As her biographer Frances Saunders has noted, she showed how it was possible for the first lady to combine political work on behalf of social causes with her more traditional domestic duties.

Betty Boyd Caroli

Additional Reading
A full-length biography of Ellen Wilson is Frances Wright Saunders, Ellen Axson Wilson: First Lady Between Two Worlds (1985). A brief treatment is Shelley Sallee, “Ellen (Louise) Axson Wilson,” in Lewis L. Gould (ed.), American First Ladies (1996) pp. 340–354.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Wilson,Ellen Louise Axson — Wilson, Ellen Louise Axson. 1860 1914. First Lady of the United States (1913 1914) as the first wife of President Woodrow Wilson. She died during Wilson s first term. * * * …   Universalium

  • Ellen Louise Axson Wilson — Ellen Wilson Ellen Wilson (* 15. Mai 1860 in Savannah, Georgia als Ellen Louise Axson; † 6. August 1914 im Weißen Haus, Washington D.C.) war die erste Ehefrau von US Präsident Woodrow Wilson und die First Lady der USA von 1913 bis zu ihrem Tod.… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Ellen Wilson — (* 15. Mai 1860 in Savannah, Georgia als Ellen Louise Axson; † 6. August 1914 im Weißen Haus, Washington D.C.) war die erste Ehefrau von US Präsident Woodrow Wilson und die First Lady der USA von 1913 bis zu ihrem Tod …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Wilson, Woodrow — ▪ president of United States Introduction in full  Thomas Woodrow Wilson  born December 28, 1856, Staunton, Virginia, U.S. died February 3, 1924, Washington, D.C.  28th president of the United States (1913–21), an American scholar and statesman… …   Universalium

  • Ellen — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Ellen Allien, DJ et productrice allemande Ellen Bahl, actrice française Ellen Barkin, actrice américaine Ellen Barrett, instructrice américaine de fitness …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Ellen Wilson — is the name of:*Ellen Axson Wilson (1860 1914), American First Lady *Ellen Bernice Wilson (born 1976), American judoka …   Wikipedia

  • Ellen Cuffe, Countess of Desart — Ellen Odette Cuffe, Countess of Desart, née Bischoffsheim (1 September 1857 – 29 June 1933) was an Irish politician and company director. She married William Cuffe(1845–1898), the 4th Earl of Desart in 1881.[1] She was the daughter of Henri Louis …   Wikipedia

  • Ellen Pompeo — Born Ellen Kathleen Pompeo November 10, 1969 (1969 11 10) (age 41) Everett, Massachusetts, United States …   Wikipedia

  • Ellen Wilson (judoka) — Ellen Bernice Wilson (born January 8, 1976 in Salinas, California) is a female judoka from the United States, who won the silver medal in the women s lightweight division ( ndash; 57 kg) at the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican… …   Wikipedia

  • Ellen Johnson Sirleaf — Mandats 24e présidente de la République du Liberia …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”