Letitia Tyler

Married life was bustling for Letitia, and she spent the early years supervising the large Tyler plantation and raising seven children. Her busy life ended abruptly in 1839 when she suffered a stroke that left her partially paralyzed and needing a “rolling chair” for mobility. When John Tyler unexpectedly became president after William Henry Harrison’s death, she gamely accompanied him to the White House. She spent the next ten months confined to the private quarters on the second floor, appearing only in the East Room to attend her daughter Elizabeth’s wedding. Letitia suffered a devastating stroke shortly afterward, gaining the distinction of becoming the first First Lady to die in the White House.