Edith Bolling Wilson
| Edith Wilson | |
|---|---|
 |
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| First Lady of the United States | |
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In role December 18, 1915 – March 4, 1921 |
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| President | Woodrow Wilson |
| Preceded by | Margaret Wilson (Acting) |
| Succeeded by | Florence Harding |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Edith Bolling October 15, 1872 Wytheville, Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | December 28, 1961 (aged 89) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Spouse(s) | Norman Galt (1896–1908) Woodrow Wilson (1915–1924) |
| Signature |  |
Edith Bolling Galt Wilson (née Bolling, formerly Edith Bolling Galt; October 15, 1872 – December 28, 1961), second wife of U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, was First Lady of the United States from 1915 to 1921. She married Woodrow in December 1915, during his first term as President.
President Wilson suffered a severe stroke in October 1919. Edith Wilson began to screen all matters of state and decided which were important enough to bring to the bedridden president. In doing so, she de facto ran the executive branch of the government for the remainder of the president's second term, until March 1921. She was the first First Lady to assume presidential functions.
Edith Bolling was born October 15, 1872 in Wytheville, Virginia to circuit court judge William Holcombe Bolling and his wife Sarah "Sallie" Spears (née White). Her birthplace is a contributing building in the Wytheville Historic District. Edith was a descendant of settlers who came to Virginia early in the British colonization of the Americas. Through her father, she was a direct descendant of Pocahontas, the daughter of the chief of the Powhatan tribe of Native Americans and her husband John Rolfe, one of the earliest English settlers of Virginia and the first man to cultivate tobacco as an export crop. Rolfe's granddaughter, Jane, married Robert Bolling, a wealthy planter and merchant. Edith's great-grandmother was a sister to Thomas Jefferson and she was also related to Martha Washington and Robert E. Lee.
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