First Lady: Sarah Childress Polk
Sarah Childress was raised on a plantation in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. She was extremely well educated for her time, having been sent to the Salem Female Academy in North Carolina, one of the few institutions of higher learning available to women during that era. She used her education to aid her husband in his political career by helping him draft speeches and correspondence, among other things.
As first lady, she was noted for her sobriety. As a devout Presbyterian, she did not believe in dancing and would not attend the theater.
Sarah performed her duties with grace, including entertaining officials and politicians. She asked for Dolley Madison's advice on being an effective first lady. As first lady, she was well respected for her manner and tactful conversation, even by those who disagreed with her husband.
PRESIDENTIAL TRIVIA
Polk died just three months after leaving the presidency. As his widow, Sarah turned their home, Polk Place, into a shrine in his honor. During the Civil War, she remained neutral and entertained leaders from both the Union and the Confederacy. She died at the age of eighty-eight.
