Caroline Fillmore ( Carmichael, formerly McIntosh; October 21, 1813 – August 11, 1881) was the second wife of

Millard Fillmore Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800March 8, 1874) was the 13th president of the United States, serving from 1850 to 1853; he was the last to be a member of the Whig Party while in the White House. A former member of the U.S. House of Represen ...

, the 13th

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 executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

. They were married in 1858, five years after he left office.

Life

Caroline Carmichael was born October 21, 1813, in Morristown, New Jersey, the daughter of Charles Carmichael and Temperance (Blachley) Carmichael. She married her first husband, widower Ezekiel C. McIntosh (1806–1855), a prosperous

Troy, New York Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany ...

, merchant and president of the

Schenectady and Troy Railroad The Troy & Schenectady Railroad was incorporated May 21, 1836. The stock was divided into five hundred shares at one hundred dollars each. The building of the road began in 1841, and trains began running from Schenectady to Troy, New York in the ...

, in November 1832. They had no children, and McIntosh's death at age 49 left her very wealthy. She married Millard Fillmore on February 10, 1858, in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York C ...

. At the time of their marriage, Caroline required Fillmore to sign a prenuptial agreement. The couple purchased a mansion on Niagara Square in Buffalo, where they settled. They are believed to have had a happy marriage, and Caroline greatly enjoyed her newfound status as the wife of a former President, though her mental and physical health began to decline in the 1860s. Her husband's sudden death in 1874 (he had enjoyed relatively good health — especially when compared to hers — until just shortly before his fatal stroke) only succeeded in making her more infirm, eccentric, and temperamental. In her final years she frequently changed her will, and upon her death on August 11, 1881, aged 67, suits were initiated by various members of the Fillmore family contesting her directives.

Resting place

She is buried in the Fillmore family plot at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fillmore, Caroline Carmichael 1813 births 1881 deaths People from Buffalo, New York People from Morristown, New Jersey Burials at Forest Lawn Cemetery (Buffalo) Caroline Carmichael People from Albany, New York 19th-century American people 19th-century American women