Main Content

Rubenstein Center Scholarship

A White House Worker Remembers President Wilson

White House staff in the Woodrow Wilson administration experienced both the death of Wilson's first wife, Ellen Axson Wilson, on August 6, 1914; and Wilson's second marriage, sixteen months later. Chief Usher Ike Hoover recalls this sensitive period in the life of President Wilson, and its effect on the White House as a home and workplace.

After Ellen Wilson's death, writes Hoover, "the place [became] strangely lonesome and different. Mrs. Wilson had . . . endeared herself to all."1 The President, comments Hoover, "accepted the inevitable with a grace and a charm that was inspiring to all about him."2

Within a few months, Wilson began seeing a widow, Mrs. Edith Bolling Galt.3 By the summer of 1915, notes Hoover, "Everyone about the place still had sweet memories of [the first Mrs. Wilson], and yet their sympathies were with the President in his new enterprise. . . ."4

The couple married on December 18, 1915. Ike Hoover records that Wilson had to arrange for the marriage license "in the regular way. . . . He had to pay his fee of a dollar out of his own pocket, and answer all questions just like the humblest citizen."5

Woodrow and Edith Bolling Wilson.

Woodrow and Edith Bolling Wilson.

Library of Congress

Show Me More

Footnotes & Resources

  1. Irwin Hood Hoover, Forty-two Years in the White House, 1934 (Westport: Greenwood Reprint, 1974), 60.
  2. Ibid.
  3. Hoover, 62.
  4. Ibid., 64.
  5. Ibid., 71.

Read More: William Seale, "The White House Staff," in The President's House. Washington: White House Historical Association, 1986, 818–822.

Share

Related

Related
Next The History of Wine and the White House

You Might Also Like

  • Podcast

    The History of Wine and the White House

    Featuring Frederick J. Ryan, author of “Wine and the White House: A History" and member of the White House Historical Association’s National Council on White House History

  • Collection

    The 2021 White House Christmas Ornament

    Every year since 1981, the White House Historical Association has had the privilege of designing the Official White House Christmas Ornament. These unique collectibles — honoring individual presidents or specific White House anniversaries — have become part of the holiday tradition for millions of American families. In this collection, explore the history behind our 2021 design and learn more about President Lyndon B. Johnson.Buy

  • Collection

    Native Americans and the White House

    Native Americans hold a significant place in White House history. For thousands of years, Indigenous peoples, including the Nacotchtank and Piscataway, lived in the Potomac Valley prior to the construction of the White House. Since that time, Native Americans have come to the Executive Mansion to share their cultural heritage, meet with presidents, protest, and advocate for Indigenous rights. In

  • Collection

    The Decatur House Slave Quarters

    In 1821-1822, Susan Decatur requested the construction of a service wing. The first floor featured a large kitchen, dining room, and laundry; while the second floor contained four rooms designated as living quarters. By 1827, the service wing was being used as an urban slave quarters. Henry Clay brought enslaved individuals to Decatur House, starting a trend that was solidified by

  • Collection

    The Nixon White House 1969 - 1974

    On January 20, 1969, Richard Nixon was inaugurated as the thirty-seventh president of the United States. During his time in the White House (1969–74), President Nixon sought to unite a divided nation after the social, political, and cultural turbulence of the 1960s. Before becoming president, Nixon served in the U.S. Navy, the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, and as

  • Collection

    Presidential and First Lady Portraits

    Since 1965, the White House Historical Association has been proud to fund the official portraits of our presidents and first ladies, a long-standing tradition of the White House Collection. Recent presidents and first ladies typically select their respective artists before leaving the White House and approve the portraits before their formal presentation to the public and induction into the collection. The

  • Collection

    The 2022 White House Christmas Ornament

    Every year since 1981, the White House Historical Association has had the privilege of designing the Official White House Christmas Ornament. These unique collectibles — honoring individual presidents or specific White House anniversaries — have become part of the holiday tradition for millions of American families. In this collection, explore the history behind our 2022 design and learn more about President Richard Nixon. Buy the

  • Podcast

    White House Builder James Hoban’s Irish Roots

    Featuring Laurie Grace, Chairman of the James Hoban Society of Ireland; Brother Christy O’Carroll, Congregation of Christian Brothers; Ciarán O’Connor, State Architect of Ireland; Merlo Kelly, Senior Architect, Lotts Architecture & Urbanism; Brian O’Connell, Director and Founder of O’Connell Mahon Architects and a contributor to the book James Hoban: Designer and Builder of the White House

  • Collection

    Weddings and the White House

    From First Lady Dolley Madison's sister Lucy Payne Washington's wedding in 1812 to the nuptials of President Joseph Biden and First Lady Jill Biden's granddaughter Naomi Biden on the South Lawn in November 2022, the White House has long been the site of wedding ceremonies and receptions. In over two hundred years, there have been nineteen documented weddings and four receptions hosted