Download This Sample
This sample is exclusively for KidsKonnect members!
To download this worksheet, click the button below to signup for free (it only takes a minute) and you'll be brought right back to this page to start the download!
Sign Me Up
Table of Contents
Ellen Wilson was an American First Lady. She was the first wife of Woodrow Wilson, the 28th President of the United States. Ellen Wilson is best known for her efforts to improve housing conditions for African Americans in Washington, DC.
See the fact file below for more information on the Ellen Wilson or alternatively, you can download our 21-page Ellen Wilson worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.
Key Facts & Information
EARLY LIFE
- Ellen Wilson was the eldest of four children of Reverend Samuel Edward Axson, a Presbyterian minister, and his wife Margaret Jane (née Hoyt) Axson, born on May 15, 1860 in Savannah, Georgia.
- Ellen had two brothers and one sister, Isaac Stockton Keith Axson (June 6, 1867–February 26, 1935), Edward Williams Axson (March 1, 1876–April 26, 1905), and Margaret Randolph Axson [Elliott] (October 10, 1881–May 24, 1958).
- In 1881, when Ellen was 21 years old, her mother died during the birth of their last child. The subsequent mental breakdown of her father and his death in 1884 left Ellen to be the head of the family.
- The Axson family broke up; their youngest daughter was raised by a maternal aunt, the eldest son went to boarding school, and Ellen Wilson and her younger brother lived in Savannah, Georgia, the home of her paternal grandparents and also her birthplace.
EDUCATION
- Ellen Louise Axson showed impressive intellect at an early age, teaching herself trigonometry while excelling in English literature as well as French.
- In 1878, Fairchild, the school where Ellen continued to study art, submitted a freehand drawing by her entitled the “school scene” at the Paris International Exposition, where it won a bronze medal for excellence.
- She intended to follow her mother’s path to become a teacher at Nashville University, however her father was unable to afford the tuition.
- Ellen maintained her education through self-study by reading books at the local library and enrolled in post-graduate classes at Rome Female College, studying German, advanced French, and continuing to advance in drawing.
- When Ellen was 18 years old, she started earning a substantial income by drawing crayon portraits.
- Ellen then took her small inheritance and went to New York City to study painting at the Art Students League.
- She was determined to professionally improve her considerable skill as an artist.
- Her skill gained her a prestigious placement in a specialized sketching class.
MARRIAGE
- Woodrow Wilson first met Ellen when he was 6 years old and she was a baby.
- In 1883, they met again when he was a young lawyer visiting from Atlanta and attended a church service presided over by Ellen’s father.
- Wilson arranged a visit to the Axson home, and within two months of meeting Ellen Axson, he determined to marry her.
- Although Ellen had long professed indifference towards marriage, she accepted his surprise proposal in September 1883 at the end of a trip to the summer resort town of Morganton, North Carolina.
- They got married in Savannah, Georgia, in June 1885.
- In the same year, Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania offered Dr. Wilson a teaching position. The Wilsons moved there and lived near the campus.
CHILDREN
- The couple had three daughters, Margaret Woodrow Wilson (1886–1944) Jessie Woodrow Wilson (1887–1933), and lastly Eleanor Randolph Wilson (1889–1967).
- Ellen Wilson ensured that her first two children were born in her native Georgia.
- Ellen Wilson became the first educator to her daughters, as her parents had done for her.
FIRST LADY
- Although much of her time was spent caring for her three daughters, she managed to study German in order to translate for her husband, and to take a course in home economics.
- Woodrow’s tenure as president of Princeton University (1902–10) allowed her to polish her household management and hostess skills, which later served her in the White House.
- Woodrow’s two years as governor of New Jersey (1910–12) supported her to develop a public persona.
- She proceeded to paint portraits and landscapes and exhibited her work, for which she received excellent reviews in juried competitions.
- During her 17 months as First Lady, she took no public stand on female suffrage (which her husband still opposed), served as honorary president of the National Civic Foundation, promoted better working conditions for women and children, and lobbied strongly to improve the housing conditions of African Americans living in the alleys of Washington.
- Ellen, having studied political theory while supporting her husband in researching his earlier books, was more than capable of engaging in policy discussions.
- She additionally presented keen political instincts, once helping to promote agreement on a tariff bill after suggesting the president invite key lawmakers to dinner.
DEATH
- Ellen Wilson died of Bright’s disease, a kidney ailment, at the White House on August 6, 1914. She was buried in Rome, Georgia between her family at Myrtle Hill Cemetery.
- Frances Saunders, her biographer, noted that she showed how it was possible for the first lady to combine political work on behalf of social causes with her more traditional domestic duties.
- President Woodrow Wilson got married in December 1915 to Edith Bolling Galt.
Ellen Wilson Worksheets
This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the Ellen Wilson across 21 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Ellen Wilson worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Ellen Wilson who was an American First Lady. She was the first wife of Woodrow Wilson, the 28th President of the United States. Ellen Wilson is best known for her efforts to improve housing conditions for African Americans in Washington, DC.
Complete List Of Included Worksheets
- Ellen Wilson Facts
- Life of Ellen
- Headline
- Biographical Profile
- Ellen’s Education
- Seventeen Months
- Fact or Bluff?
- Lifetime Connections
- The Pride of Georgia
- Uniquely Ellen
- Greatest Lesson
Link/cite this page
If you reference any of the content on this page on your own website, please use the code below to cite this page as the original source.
Link will appear as Ellen Wilson Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, September 22, 2020
Use With Any Curriculum
These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.