Eliza Johnson (
née
A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
McCardle; October 4, 1810 – January 15, 1876)
was the
first lady of the United States from 1865 to 1869. She served as the
second lady of the United States in 1865. She was the wife of
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a De ...
, the 17th
president of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...
.
Early life and marriage
Eliza was born in
Telford, Tennessee
Telford is a census-designated place and unincorporated community in Washington County, Tennessee, United States, located between Jonesborough and Limestone. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 921. The community is part of the Johnson ...
, the only child of
John McCardle, a shoemaker, and
Sarah Phillips.
Her father died when Eliza was still in her teens in 1825.
She was raised by her widowed mother in
Greeneville, Tennessee
Greeneville is a town in and the county seat of Greene County, Tennessee, United States. The population as of the 2020 census was 15,479. The town was named in honor of Revolutionary War hero Nathanael Greene, and it is the second oldest town ...
. One day in September 1826, Eliza was chatting with classmates from Rhea Academy when she spotted Andrew Johnson and his family pull into town with all their belongings. They instantly took a liking to each other. Andrew Johnson, 18, married Eliza McCardle, 16, on May 17, 1827, at the home of the bride's mother in Greeneville. Mordecai Lincoln, a paternal uncle of
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation throu ...
, presided over the nuptials.
At 16, Eliza Johnson married at a younger age than any other First Lady. She was rather tall and had hazel eyes, brown hair and a good figure. She was better educated than Johnson, who by this time had barely taught himself to read and spell a little. Johnson credited his wife for teaching him to do
arithmetic
Arithmetic () is an elementary part of mathematics that consists of the study of the properties of the traditional operations on numbers— addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, exponentiation, and extraction of roots. In the 19th ...
and to write, as he had never attended school. She tutored him patiently, while he labored in his tailor shop. She often read aloud to him.
Children
The Johnsons had three sons and two daughters, all born in Greeneville:
*
Martha Johnson (1828–1901). She married
David T. Patterson
David Trotter Patterson (February 28, 1818November 3, 1891) was a United States Senator from Tennessee at the beginning of the Reconstruction period.
A staunch Union supporter (as were most of his fellow East Tennesseans), he was elected by th ...
, who after the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...
served as
U.S. Senator
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and power ...
from Tennessee. She served as official White House hostess in place of her mother. The Pattersons maintained a farm outside Greeneville. She died at age 72.
* Charles Johnson (1830–1863) – doctor, pharmacist. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he remained loyal to the Union. While recruiting Tennessee boys for the Union Army, he became the object of an intense Confederate manhunt. He joined the Middle Tennessee Union Infantry as an assistant surgeon; he was thrown from his horse and killed at age 33.
*
Mary Johnson (1832–1883). She married Dan Stover, who served as colonel of the Fourth Tennessee Union Infantry during the Civil War. The Stovers lived on a farm in
Carter County, Tennessee. Following the death of her husband in 1864, she married W.R. Brown. She died at age 50.
*
Robert Johnson (1834–1869) – lawyer and politician. He served for a time in the Tennessee state legislature. During the Civil War, he was commissioned colonel of the First Tennessee Union Cavalry. He was private secretary to his father during his tenure as president. He became
alcoholic and committed
suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and ...
at age 35.
*
Andrew Johnson Jr. (1852–1879) – journalist. He founded the weekly ''Greeneville Intelligencer,'' but it failed after three years. He died soon thereafter at age 26.
First Lady of the United States
She supported her husband in his political career but had tried to avoid public appearances. During the American Civil War, Confederate authorities ordered her to evacuate her home in Greeneville; she took refuge in
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...
.
A few months later after her husband became president, she joined him in the White House, but she was not able to serve as First Lady due to her poor health from tuberculosis. She remained confined to her bedroom there, leaving the social chores to her daughter Martha Johnson Patterson.
Mrs. Johnson appeared publicly as First Lady on only two occasions—at a reception for
Queen Emma of the
Kingdom of Hawaii on August 14, 1866,
and at the President's 59th birthday party on December 29, 1867.
Death
Eliza had tuberculosis. Due to her poor health, she was not able to serve as the First Lady for long. She remained in her bedroom most of the time in the White House, which was from 1865 to 1869. Due to her illness, she died 7 years later, on January 15, 1876, at the age of 65. Her death occurred less than six months after that of her husband, who died on July 31, 1875.
References
External links
*
Eliza Johnsonat 'History of American Women'
National First Ladies' LibraryEliza Johnsonat
C-SPAN
Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...
's ''
First Ladies: Influence & Image''
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Eliza Mccardle
1810 births
1876 deaths
19th-century American women
Andrew Johnson family
First Ladies and Gentlemen of Tennessee
First Ladies of the United States
People from Greeneville, Tennessee
Second Ladies of the United States
People from Washington County, Tennessee
Burials in Tennessee
19th-century deaths from tuberculosis
Tuberculosis deaths in Tennessee