Wilson, Ellen Axson (1860–1914)

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Wilson, Ellen Axson (1860–1914)

American first lady who was the first to use the position to advance worthwhile causes . Born Ellen Louise Axson on May 15, 1860, in Savannah, Georgia; died on August 6, 1914, in Washington, D.C.; daughter of Margaret (Hoyt) Axson and Samuel E. Axson (a third-generation minister); married (Thomas) Woodrow Wilson (future president of the United States), on June 24, 1885, in Savannah, Georgia; children: Margaret Wilson (1886–1944); Jessie Wilson (1887–1933);Eleanor "Nell" Wilson McAdoo (1889–1967, who married William Gibbs McAdoo).

The first of four children of a third-generation Presbyterian minister, Ellen Louise Axson grew up in a deeply religious atmosphere. Little is know about her early education, but she graduated from the Rome (Georgia) Female College in 1876. "Tommy" Woodrow Wilson, whose father was also a minister, was the cousin of a childhood friend. The two first met as children and again soon after his graduation from Princeton. Completely enchanted the second time around by the girl "with hair like burnished copper," he proposed after only 11 meetings. However, marriage was postponed while he completed a doctorate and she pursued her dream of an art career at the Art Students League in New York City. Their separation prompted an exchange of daily letters that may represent some of the greatest love letters ever written in the English language. Ellen's are especially revealing of her philosophy, cultural interests and deep religious convictions.

Ellen Axson married Woodrow Wilson in June 1885, and shared academic life with him at Bryn Mawr, Wesleyan, and finally, Princeton, where he rose from professor to university president. Three daughters, Margaret, Jessie, and Eleanor, were born between 1886 and 1889. (Margaret Wilson [1886–1944], a singer who entertained troops in World War I, worked in advertising, then moved to India in 1940 because of her interest in Eastern religion, took the name Dista, and lived the last four years of her life as a virtual recluse. Jessie Wilson [1887–1933] was married in the White House in 1913. Eleanor "Nell" Wilson McAdoo [1889–1967] married widower William Gibbs McAdoo, her father's secretary of the treasury.) Ellen oversaw the children's early education and religious instruction at home. In the early 1890s, she worked in a volunteer women's employment society in Princeton and also found time to return to her painting.

Ellen's influence on Wilson's early career was profound. Married to a man who has been characterized as "utterly dependent upon love and understanding for the realization of his own powers," she acted as his trusted advisor and confidante. Seeming to doubt her ability to fulfill all his needs, she saw to it that he was surrounded by interesting, lively people—often women—who would openly admire his intelligence and appreciate his humor. She proofread all his books, articles and speeches, and supported his political aspirations, becoming active in Democratic affairs. Wilson became governor of New Jersey in 1911 and president of the United States in 1913.

One of Ellen Wilson's first acts as first lady was to cancel the Inaugural Ball, which both she and her husband thought was frivolous and inappropriate with the world on the brink of war. A warm and charming Southern host, she preferred modest teas in the garden to lavish receptions. The most extravagant social events in the early Wilson years were the weddings of two of their daughters, Jessie in 1913 and Nell in 1914. Ellen's only personal indulgence in the White House was a skylight studio, which she had installed on the third floor.

Ellen Wilson's strong social conscience made her somewhat of an activist—a new role for a first lady. She personally toured the Washington slums and found the living conditions there deplorable for blacks and immigrants. As the "active" honorable chair of the advisory board for the housing committee of the Women's Department of the National Civic Federation, she worked to draft legislation to improve living conditions. The "alley bill" was introduced in Congress in February 1914. Ellen became aware of unsanitary conditions at government agencies, and worked to have rest rooms installed for hundreds of women employees. She used and promoted the hand-woven products made by women from the poor mountain states in the South, and was named honorary president of the Southern Industrial Association. Through her membership on the Board of Associated Charities, she supported a variety of other social causes and philanthropies, often donating her paintings anonymously to charitable auctions. They always brought a good price.

Ellen Wilson was diagnosed with tuberculosis and Bright's disease—a kidney disorder—after a serious fall in the spring of 1914. As her health worsened, one of her great disappointments was that Congress had still not moved on her housing legislation. Hearing that she was gravely ill, the Senate passed the "alley bill" one day before her death on August 6, 1914, at age 54. She is buried at Myrtle Hill Cemetery in Rome, Georgia.