Letitia Tyler had been confined to an invalid's chair for two years when her
husband unexpectedly became President. Nobody had thought of that possibility
when he took his oath of office as Vice President on March 4, 1841; indeed, he
had planned to fill his undemanding duties from his home in Williamsburg where
his wife was most comfortable, her Bible, prayer book, and knitting at her
side.

Born on a Tidewater Virginia plantation in the 18th century, Letitia was
spiritually akin to Martha Washington and Martha Jefferson. Formal education
was no part of this pattern of life, but Letitia learned all the skills of
managing a plantation, rearing a family, and presiding over a home that would
be John Tyler's refuge during an active political life. They were married on
March 29, 1813--his twenty-third birthday. Thereafter, whether he served in
Congress or as Governor of Virginia, she attended to domestic duties. Only once
did she join him for the winter social season in Washington. Of the eight
children she bore, seven survived; but after 1839 she was a cripple, though
"still beautiful now in her declining years."

So her admiring new daughter-in-law, Priscilla Cooper Tyler, described
her--"the most entirely unselfish person you can imagine...Notwithstanding her
very delicate health, mother attends to and regulates all the household affairs
and all so quietly that you can't tell when she does it."

In a second-floor room at the White House, Letitia Tyler kept her quiet but
pivotal role in family activities. She did not attempt to take part in the
social affairs of the administration. Her married daughters had their own
homes; the others were too young for the full responsibility of official
entertaining; Priscilla at age 24 assumed the position of White House hostess,
met its demands with spirit and success, and enjoyed it.

Daughter of a well-known tragedian, Priscilla Cooper had gone on the stage
herself at 17. Playing Desdemona to her father's Othello in Richmond, she won
the instant interest of Robert Tyler, whom she married in 1839. Intelligent and
beautiful, with dark brown hair, she charmed the President's guests--from
visiting celebrities like Charles Dickens to enthusiastic countrymen. Once she
noted ruefully: "such hearty shakes as they gave my poor little hand too!" She
enjoyed the expert advice of Dolley Madison, and the companionship of her young
sister-in-law Elizabeth until she married William N. Waller in 1842.

For this wedding Letitia made her only appearance at a White House social
function. "Lizzie looked surpassingly lovely," said Priscilla, and "our dear
mother" was "far more attractive to me...than any other lady in the room,"
greeting her guests "in her sweet, gentle, self-possessed manner."

The first President's wife to die in the White House, Letitia Tyler ended her
days peacefully on September 10, 1842, holding a damask rose in her hand. She
was taken to Virginia for burial at the plantation of her birth, deeply mourned
by her family. "She had everything about her," said Priscilla, "to awaken
love...."