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Letitia Christian Tyler
The Invisible First Lady
By Anne Adams
 If
some presidential couples seemed to be ill fitted for each other,
Letitia Christian and John Tyler were well matched since their
families were Virginia plantation owners, and they shared many of
the same values.
However, Letitia’s family was not only wealthier than the Tylers,
but also had great political and social influence in that period.
Born in Virginia on her family farm in November, 1790, Letitia was
a good-natured compliant child, and was educated in what was
traditional for girls at the time. She learned the basics of
reading, writing, and figuring but mostly she received extensive
training in how to manage a home. For, like other women of her
time, Letitia did not expect to take any part in the man’s world
of business or politics. As one writer put it: “Like most women of
the Old South, she learned that grace and beauty could get her far
… As a result, she evolved into a quintessential belle: pious,
polite, reserved and as good at avoiding public conversation in
weighty matters as she was at knitting.” (“The Secret Lives of the
First Ladies”, Cormac O’Brien, p. 50).
For his part, Tyler had an education suited for his career plan as
a young lawyer who would eventually seek public office. He
attended William and Mary College in Williamsburg, and then
studied law with his father, who served governor of Virginia. In
1811 he was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates, but with
his father’s death in 1813 he inherited family property. So with
his political and business careers progressing, he decided it was
time to consider marriage. His choice was Letitia Christian, who
was a small, dark-eyed and very pretty young woman and as one
writer put it “she always projected an aura of serenity that was
restful.” (“Presidents’ Wives”, Carole Chandler Waldrup, p. 80).
However, when he proposed he was concerned about her motivation
since he believed his family was less well off than hers. Still,
after she accepted him he realized it could have been that her
reason for accepting him was because he was rich. “If I had been
wealthy,” he told her, “the idea of your being actuated by
prudential considerations in accepting my suit, would have
eternally tortured me.” Yet Letitia was not concerned about
Tyler’s economic situation, she loved him, wanted to marry him and
begin their family.
As a devout Christian, Letitia was a perfect example of proper
behavior as the couple courted. Tyler wrote poetry for her, they
exchanged and discussed books of common interest, and he did not
kiss her hand till three weeks before the wedding.
They were married in March, 1813, and then when Letitia’s parents
passed away soon after, it left her financially comfortable. Then
soon after their marriage Tyler joined the local militia when the
War of 1812 brought the possibility of a British invasion to their
area. Then he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.
While he was to serve an eventual two terms, Letitia was content
to remain at their home with their growing family and welcome him
home between Congressional sessions. Actually, since Washington at
the time was a muddy, malaria ridden, swampy city, the Tyler home
was home a much more pleasant place.
In 1825 Tyler was elected governor of Virginia and that meant a
family move to Richmond. There they entertained as the position
required but since Tyler had to pay much of it himself they were
soon in debt. Even though Letitia entertained as frugally as
possible their debts grew. Then since the legislature continued to
ignore Tyler’s continued requests for more money, he decided to
dramatize his need. He entertained some of the legislators with a
banquet of Virginia ham, cornbread and cheap whiskey, but his ploy
didn’t succeed. Tyler only served one term as governor.
In 1827 Tyler was elected to the Senate. As he had while in
Congress and like other legislators at the time, he lived in a
Washington boarding house and Letitia remained back at their
Virginia home. However, she did spend the winter of 1828-29 in
Washington and there was complimented on her “beauty of person and
eloquence of manner.”
By now they had six children (of an eventual eight), and while
Tyler spent freely with friends and relatives, Letitia did her
best to operate her home frugally and economically. As he served
in the Senate, Tyler remained deeply concerned and interested in
his family, anxiously waiting for Letitia’s letters about the
family and trying very hard to be involved in his children’s
upbringing. He employed tutors to educate them and expressed his
interest in a letter to daughter Mary: “Your resolution to attend
to your studies and not to be led away by the vanities of the
world affords me sincere pleasure. Without intellectual
improvement, the most beautiful of the sex is but a figure of wax
work.”
After Tyler ran for the vice presidency in 1836 and was defeated
he then moved his family to Williamsburg to practice law. There
Letitia and Tyler enjoyed being with old friends, and also seeing
their children circulate socially and make productive career
connections. However, while living there in 1839, Anna suffered a
stroke, and never really recovered her health or mobility and so
could not attend the marriage of her son Robert to actress
Priscilla Cooper. The newlyweds came to live with the Tylers as
Robert practiced law, and Priscilla became close to her invalid
mother in law, assisting as needed with cheerful willingness.
In 1840 Tyler again ran for vice president and this time was
elected with William Henry Harrison as the new president and they
assumed office in March, 1841. Because the vice president at the
time had few official duties, Tyler decided he would spend the
next four years visiting Washington as necessary but continuing to
reside in Williamsburg. So after being sworn in as Vice President,
he returned home. During Harrison’s final illness no one had
thought to keep the VP informed of the president’s illness so
there was confusion and disruption in the Tyler home when the
messenger arrived with the news of the president’s death. Because
of this when Tyler set off for Washington, it was not clear when
or if the family would follow. However, while Letitia decided the
family would move to the White House, because of her disability
she asked Priscilla to go along to serve as White House hostess.
In future months Priscilla would prove a charming, efficient and
capable hostess, greatly assisted by the Washington society dame,
former First Lady Dolley Madison. However, because Letitia was
largely confined to her wheelchair, the First Lady limited herself
to the family quarters. Said one writer: “a demure and bashful
person to begin with, her crippled condition made Letitia all the
more willing to remain out of sight.” (O’Brien, p. 52).
So Letitia spent her brief period as first lady in the family
quarters, and only attended one social event – her daughter’s
marriage in January, 1842. She died in September of that year, and
was buried at the Virginia home.
~*~
A native of Kansas City, Missouri , Anne grew up in northwestern
Ohio , and holds degrees in history: a BA from Wilmington College
,
Wilmington , Ohio (1967), and a MA from Central Missouri State
University , Warrensburg , Missouri (1968).
A freelance writer since the early 1970s, she has published in
Christian
and secular publications, has taught history on the junior college
level,
and has spoken at national and local writers' conferences. Her
book
"Brittany, Child of Joy", an account of her severely retarded
daughter,
was issued by Broadman Press in 1987. She also publishes an
encouragement newsletter "Rainbows Along the Way."
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