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Helen "Nellie" Herron Taft
Born:
June 2, 1861 (also reported as January 2nd and September 2nd; but June 2nd is the most likely) - Cincinnati, Ohio
Died:
May 22, 1943
Father:
John Williamson Herron (a law partner of Rutherford B. Hayes at one time)
Mother:
Harriet Collens Herron
Ancestry: English
Siblings:
Nellie was one of eleven children, five boys and six girls one of whom was named Lucy Hayes Herron.
Physical Description:
Fairly tall (5' 7") with brown hair and gray-blue eyes. Her features were long and sometimes referred to unkindly as rather "horsey", but she carried herself well, with good posture. She felt unattractive and often bemoaned her lack of beauty, especially since her mother was a known beauty. She appeared rather frumpy in her day clothes, but stunning in her evening clothes. She had immense dignity and appeared regal in her White House gowns.
Religion:
Episcopalian
Education:
She attended Miss Nourse's school in Cincinnati with one of her sisters where she met Fanny Taft, her future husband's only sister. Her greatest love was music. It was a love that lasted all her life. She spoke of it as being the core of her life. It was certainly the core of her education. In 1877, when she was sixteen, she was invited, along with her family to the White House for a two-week visit. First Lady Lucy Hayes wanted to have her namesake, Lucy Hayes Herron, christened in the White House. Once there, Nellie decided she wanted to live there herself and kept that ambition in mind. She later attended Miami University where she studied German, literature, history and the sciences. After she graduated, she studied music at the University of Cincinnati. She even thought about becoming a lawyer. While she did not pursue the law, it did teach her an appreciation of logic, to present her ideas in a clear and forthright manner and to enjoy the give and take of politics. Eventually, she was made her debut, started a literary salon and would teach at two schools. She found teaching difficult but rewarding - the girl students weren't a problem, but the boy students were formidable. It was at one of her literary meetings that she met her future husband, William Howard Taft.
Husband:
William Howard Taft (1857 - 1930)
Courtship and Marriage:
The relationship between Nellie and William Howard Taft was not love at first sight. Nellie had a great deal of insecurity and found it difficult to socialize with men. Her standards for a future husband were high, especially since she wanted the White House to be a part of that future. By 1884, they were seriously courting, but it was not a smooth romance. Nellie was often sharp, uncertain and critical, and William Howard was often too laid back and bland. She felt that he did not take her seriously, but he pleaded that, that was not the case. Nellie and her future mother-in-law, Louise Lorrey Taft, had a lot in common: they were both goads to their more accepting husbands, ambitious, strong-willed and intellectually challenging women. With her marriage to Taft, Nellie would find both public acceptance and intellectual freedom. It wasn't until 1885 that Nellie accepted Taft's proposal. They were able to joke with each other - he often joked that the first requirement of a successful husband was obedience. They married in Cincinnati on June 19, 1886.
Age at marriage:
25 years, 186 days
Personality:
Strong willed, extremely interested in politics, Nellie often chafed at the restrictions that faced women in the 19th century. She was often impatient with her husband, goading him onward and upward. He noted that he needed that goading. With a keen interest in music, flowers and beauty, Nellie Taft especially loved that arts, flowers and fabrics of the Far East. Her keen mind made traveling a delight, and she would seek out all the cultural and musical centers wherever she went. For all her firmness and energy, Nellie was often insecure and uncertain. Highly strung, Nellie would worry about details, thereby earning the nickname "Nervous Nellie". Nellie's sharp judgment of character proved to be an asset to her less demanding husband. While more ambitious than her husband, he was more than willing to be driven.
Children:
1. Robert Alphonso Taft (1889 - 1953)
2. Helen Taft Manning (1891 - 1987)
3. Charles Phelps Taft (1897 - 1983)
Years Before the White House (1886 - 1909):
After an extensive honeymoon in Europe, the Tafts returned to Cincinnati where Nellie designed and built a home in one of the city's finer suburbs (neighborhoods?). She was, to a large degree, discontented and felt that her husband should aim higher than his job as a U.S. Judge on the Ohio Supreme Court. In 1890, her wish was granted when President Benjamin Harrison appointed Taft United States Solicitor General. They moved to Washington, found living quarters on Dupont Circle and met the Theodore Roosevelts, who would play a big part in their lives. Nellie loved life in the Capitol, but that life ended with Harrison's defeat in 1892. They moved back to Cincinnati when Taft was elected as Judge to the U.S. Circuit Court. In Cincinnati Nellie became involved in the formation of a women's group to improve the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. This provided a respite that partly satisfied her restless ambition. She eagerly encouraged her husband to accept President McKinley's appointment of Commissioner to the Philippines. After visiting China and Japan, which impressed Nellie with their beauty, color and climate, she joined her husband in Manila. Her four years there gave her an opportunity to explore the country, to observe the culture (which she loved) and to broaden her horizons. When typhus threatened, she had cows brought in so fresh milk would be available. She opened the palace to any and all, and insisted that all of her family learn Spanish. When Taft was sent to the Vatican to negotiate the transfer of church lands to the state, Nellie went with him and had an audience with Pope Leo XIII. In 1904, the Taft's moved back to Washington when Taft was appointed Secretary of War in Theodore Roosevelt's cabinet. Nellie hated being a mere Cabinet officer's wife, answerable to the standoffish Edith Roosevelt, whom she disliked. In 1908, when Roosevelt offered his support in the upcoming convention, he asked the Tafts which position they wanted: President or Chief Justice. Taft chose the latter, but Nellie chose the Presidency, and Taft's choice was overruled. Nellie campaigned so vigorously for her husband that President Roosevelt called her into his office to rebuke her on her unwomanly behavior. She never forgave him. With Taft's 1908 election, Nellie's greatest ambition was fulfilled - she would be mistress of the White House. Breaking with tradition, the Taft's spent the night before the inauguration as guests of the Roosevelts in the White House.
First Lady (1909 - 1913):
With a few vital exceptions, Nellie Taft's role as First Lady was a disappointment, particularly to Nellie herself. She had been so nervous about doing the job well that she overworked herself. She took on too many projects at once, in addition to which her youngest son spent time in the hospital. A collapse was inevitable. In mid May 1909, Nellie Taft had a major stoke while on the presidential yacht. Her left side was paralyzed, and she fell to the deck. The press was given little information about the illness. Within a few days, an effort was made by both Nellie and the White House staff to downplay her condition. She was seen on occasion, but didn't attend receptions or dinners for over a year. Her daughter and sisters from Cincinnati took over her duties until she was able to resume them. The stroke left Nellie unable to speak. With her husband's patient help and her determined effort, Nellie gained her speech, but spoke with hesitation. She walked only with difficulty. With her determination, drive and ambition, she was back in control by 1911, when she celebrated her twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. More than half of her time as First Lady was spent recovering her speech and trying to overcome the physical damage incurred by the stroke.
Even so, Nellie Taft was able to accomplish several things, one of which was the planning of Washington Drive. Nellie was concerned that people had no place to go to listen to music or to walk in good weather. So she imported 2,000 cherry trees and planted them in the Washington basin. When the trees died, she enlisted the help of Japanese businessmen and others to replace them. She bought automobiles for the White House to replace its outdated carriages. She had a large bathtub installed in the White House, when the existing one proved too small for her 350 pound husband. Under her direction, the staff began wearing matching uniforms. She made it easier for African Americans to find positions at the White House and hired a female housekeeper, Elizabeth Jaffray, who remained in the position until Calvin Coolidge's term. She oversaw the house cleaning and took an interest in the day-to-day details of running the house. She used a Social Secretary, until she decided she could perform those duties herself. Nellie Taft broke a long-standing inaugural tradition. Until Taft's inauguration, the outgoing president would drive with the newly inaugurated president from the Capitol to the White House, then continue on his way. Since outgoing President Roosevelt had to go directly to Union Station from the Capitol, Nellie decided to ride to their new home, the White House, with her husband. Since that time, every first lady has done the same. In 1912, the Republican Party was split between Roosevelt and Taft. The split nearly broke Nellie's heart and, long before the actual election, she began packing up to leave. She was the first First Lady to attend the convention. While she kept her head up, she knew that the split vote in the Republican Party would result in the election of the Democratic candidate, Woodrow Wilson. No one left the White House with more regrets than Helen Taft.
Later Years (1913 - 1943):
Between 1913 and 1921, William Howard Taft found fulfillment in teaching law at Yale University, while Nellie traveled. One major outcome from her stroke was the discovery that her husband didn't need her constant prodding and that she didn't have to always be in charge. Their marriage became stronger in many ways after Nellie's stroke, because she learned that she didn't have to worry constantly and that her husband had ambitions of his own. In 1921, after the death of Chief Justice White, President Warren G. Harding appointed William Howard Taft to the position, thus fulfilling Taft's greatest wish. Nellie was overjoyed to be back in Washington, where she gave help, advice and suggestions to Mrs. Harding and Mrs. Coolidge. In 1914, she became the first First Lady to publish her autobiography, "Recollections of Full Years". It was a remarkable book, as much for what it didn't reveal, as for what it did reveal. Nellie grieved for Taft after his death in 1930, but her life continued at a whirlwind pace with trips to Europe, with visits to and from her grandchildren and with watching her son Robert's successful career as Senator from Ohio. She never lost her love of politics. Nellie Taft died on May 22, 1943.
Age at Death:
81 years, 11 months
Burial:
Arlington Cemetery - the first First Lady to be buried in Arlington Cemetery. She was the only First Lady buried in Arlington until Jackie Kennedy Onassis was buried beside JFK in 1994.
Legacy:
If it hadn't been for the stroke in 1909, Nellie Taft's legacy would probably have been more extensive. She did leave a legacy of a real political helpmate, a partner. She was an advisor, a mentor, a prodder and, in some cases, a critic. Nellie was always more prone to chastise than to praise. She proved to be an asset to her sometimes too easygoing husband's career. Nellie Taft's life, in some ways, was a tragedy - a tragedy of a woman with drive, intelligence, ambition and will power, who was burdened by the underlying insecurity of her own doubts and with society's limitations on women. She was lucky enough to choose a husband who not only admired and respected her talents, but also acknowledged his dependence on them. He gave her the freedom to explore her abilities and to criticize, bolster and support him when he needed it. They loved each other, but, more than that, they needed each other.
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