“It’s all very well for those who like it, but I do not like this public life at all. I often wish the time would come when we would return to where I feel we best belong.”
Eliza Johnson
Eliza McCardle Johnson
Years of service: 1865-1869
Born: 1810
Years of service: 1865-1869
Born: 1810
Eliza McCardle was sixteen when she married Andrew Johnson, a tailor. Eliza was left to manage the tailor shop and raise five children while Andrew’s political career blossomed. During the Civil War, Eliza and her children became war refugees after the confiscation of their home due to Andrew’s unpopular stance that Tennessee should remain loyal to the Union. After Lincoln’s assassination, the Johnsons moved into the White House, and Eliza, who suffered from chronic tuberculosis, chose to manage operations from the second floor. Her eldest daughter, Martha Patterson, served as the official White House Hostess.
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