FLOTUS: First Ladies of the United States

Abigail Fillmore

Abigail Fillmore (née Powers; March 13, 1798 – March 30, 1853), the wife of President Millard Fillmore, was the First Lady of the United States from 1850 to 1853. She began work as a schoolteacher at the age of 16, where she took on Millard Fillmore, who was two years her junior, as a student. She continued her teaching work after their marriage in 1826 until the birth of her son Millard Powers Fillmore in 1828. She lived in Buffalo, New York while her husband advanced his political career in Albany, New York, and Washington, D.C. She would occasionally join him in these cities, becoming involved in local social life. She became the Second Lady of the United States in 1849 after her husband was elected Vice President on the Whig Party presidential ticket, and she became the first lady of the United States in 1850 after her husband succeeded to the presidency.

Fillmore's most noted achievement as First Lady was the establishment of the first White House Library. She had a lifelong appreciation for literature and refused to live in a home without books. The library became a popular reception room in the White House and functioned as the home of a literary salon. She was also involved in the political aspects of the presidency, and her husband often sought her opinion on state affairs. She took less interest in the role of White House hostess, and she suffered from ailments that prevented her from carrying out some of her duties, including an injured ankle that limited her mobility. Many of her social responsibilities were delegated to her daughter Mary Abigail Fillmore. Fillmore died of pneumonia in 1853, mere weeks after the end of her tenure as First Lady. She has received little historical attention; she is considered one of the most obscure First Ladies, and much of her correspondences are lost.

Early life and education

Abigail Powers was born in Stillwater, New York, on March 13, 1798, in Saratoga County. She was the youngest of seven children born to Reverend Lemuel Powers and Abigail Newland. Her father was the leader of the First Baptist Church until he died when she was two years old. After Lemuel's death, the family moved to Sempronius, New York.  They moved in with Cyprus Powers because of their impoverished state. Her father had left behind a large library of his books, which Abigail read extensively. Her mother was a schoolteacher who used these books to teach her to read and to appreciate her education. She came to love literature and became proficient in other subjects such as math, government, history, philosophy, and geography. She was also made familiar with abolitionism as a child, as the Baptist faith opposed slavery and her family was friends with local abolitionist George Washington Jonson.

Powers began a career as a school teacher at the age of 16, which would eventually make her the first First Lady to have previously pursued a career. In 1814, Abigail became a part-time schoolteacher at the Sempronius Village School. In 1817, she became a full-time teacher, and in 1819, she took on another teaching job at the private New Hope Academy. She advanced her education by alternating her teaching and her studies at the school.  As an adult, she taught herself to speak French and to play the piano.

Marriage and family

While teaching at New Hope Academy, she took on Millard Fillmore as a student.  They were engaged in 1819, but they did not marry for several years.  Millard was not wealthy enough to support a family, and Abigail's family discouraged her from marrying the son of a dirt farmer. They remained in contact as they pursued separate teaching careers over the following years. In 1824, she became a private tutor in Lisle to three of her cousins. She was then asked to open up a private school in Broome County; she opened the school, and in 1825, she went back to Sempronius to teach in her original position, where she would found a library.  While they were apart, they once went as long as three years without seeing one another.