Abigail Powers
| Abigail Fillmore | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| First Lady of the United States | |
|
In role July 9, 1850 – March 4, 1853 |
|
| President | Millard Fillmore |
| Preceded by | Margaret Taylor |
| Succeeded by | Jane Pierce |
| Second Lady of the United States | |
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In role March 4, 1849 – July 9, 1850 |
|
| President | Zachary Taylor |
| Preceded by | Sophia Dallas |
| Succeeded by | Mary Breckinridge (1857) |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Abigail Powers March 13, 1798 Stillwater, New York, U.S. |
| Died | March 30, 1853 (aged 55) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Spouse(s) | Millard Fillmore (m. 1826) |
| Children |
Millard Mary |
| Signature |  |
Abigail Powers Fillmore (March 13, 1798 – March 30, 1853), wife of Millard Fillmore, was First Lady of the United States from 1850 to 1853.
Abigail was possibly born in Stillwater, New York, 1798, in Saratoga County. She was the daughter of the Reverend Lemuel Powers, a Baptist minister, and Abigail Newland-Powers. Abigail grew up in Moravia, New York, not far from the Fillmore farm. Her father died shortly after her birth. Her mother moved the family westward, thinking her scanty funds would go further in a less settled region, and ably educated her small son and daughter beyond the usual frontier level with the help of her late husband's library.
After moving to Cayuga County, New York by wagon train, they moved in with Cyprus Powers because of their impoverished state. Her father left behind a large library of his personal books, and she was educated by her mother from this wealth of books. She came to love literature and also became proficient in other subjects such as math, government, history, philosophy, and geography. After finishing school she became a teacher and continued to teach after marriage, making her the first first lady to continue working after marriage.
In 1814 Abigail became a part-time school teacher at the Sempronius Village school. In 1817 she becomes a full-time teacher and in 1819 she took on another teaching job and began to teach at the private New Hope Academy. Then, 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, went back to Sempronius to teach in her original position.
In 1819, she took a teaching post at the new academy in New Hope, where her oldest pupil was 19-year-old Millard Fillmore. The world of knowledge and Fillmore's steady progress in it drew them together, and gradually the relationship of teacher and student evolved into romantic attachment.
After a long courtship, Millard, aged 26, and Abigail, aged 27, were married on February 5, 1826, by the Reverend Orasius H. Smith at the home of the bride's brother Judge Powers in Moravia, New York. Without a honeymoon, they settled at East Aurora, New York. Mrs. Fillmore continued to teach school until the birth of her first son and maintained a lifelong interest in education. She shared her husband's love of books and helped build their personal library.
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Wikipedia