ExclusiveLetitia Tyler: Strength Behind the Scenes

A cultured Southern lady, Letitia Tyler was the daughter of a Virginia plantation owner who married future president John Tyler when he was a just a young lawyer after a five-year courtship. They struggled with finances throughout their marriage as he served in the military and held multiple political offices, and it was often up to Letitia to run their plantation and care for their nine children (seven of whom survived past infancy) while her husband was away. Having suffered a stroke two years before Tyler became vice-president and then president, Letitia was paralyzed and reclusive during her 21 months in the White House, after which she was the first presidential wife to die while her husband was in office.

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