Eliza McCardle Johnson

Eliza Johnson (née 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, the 17th president of the United States.

Early life and marriage

Eliza was born in Telford, Tennessee, 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. 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, 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 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, who after the Civil War served as U.S. Senator 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 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.

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 Johnson
at 'History of American Women'
National First Ladies' LibraryEliza Johnson
at C-SPAN'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