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Lucretia Garfield Facts & Worksheets

Lucretia Garfield was the First Lady of the United States, being the wife of James A. Garfield, the 20th president of the United States, from March to September 1881.

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Lucretia Garfield was the First Lady of the United States, being the wife of James A. Garfield, the 20th president of the United States, from March to September 1881.

See the fact file below for more information on the Lucretia Garfield or alternatively, you can download our 23-page Lucretia Garfield worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

EARLY LIFE

  • Lucretia Rudolph-Garfield was born in Garrettsville, Ohio on April 19, 1832. Her father was Zeb Rudolph, a farmer and co-founder of the Hiram Eclectic Institute, while Arabella Mason-Rudolph was her mother. Her ancestry was French, Welsh, Scottish, and Irish.
  • She was well educated for a girl of the time, attending the Geauga Seminary and the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute (now Hiram College).
  • Bright and creative, “Crete” (her nickname) was the editor and illustrator of the school magazine called “Eclectic Star” who also helped create a literary society. She also demonstrated her famous independent streak, notably through an essay in which she argued for women to get equal pay.

EDUCATION

  • Lucretia participated in the Eclectic Institute after attending the Geauga Seminary, where she met James Garfield. The Institute believed in women’s education and Lucretia became one of her time’s best-educated women because of this.
  • Lucretia studied all the classics and learned to speak German, Greek, Latin, and French. She also studied science, biology, mathematics, history, and philosophy.
  • She graduated from Hiram College (then known as the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute) and became a teacher.

MARRIAGE

  • Lucretia met James Garfield for the first time in 1849 while attending school at Geauga Seminary in Chesterland, Ohio, where James was her teacher.
  • James later went to Williams College while Lucretia stayed behind to begin teaching in Cleveland, Ohio.
  • They then started sending letters to each other and soon got engaged.
  • James was attracted to Lucretia’s keen intellect and appetite for knowledge, but was never faithful fiancé or husband to her, as he took several lovers.
  • Lucretia kept up with her studies and teaching, determined that if ever she found herself unmarried, she would have something to fall back on. She didn’t want to have to rely on her dad to support her, so she earned her own income.
  • Both James and Lucretia were 26 years old when they married at the bride’s parents’ home in Hiram on November 11, 1858. While both were members of Christ’s churches, Henry Hitchcock, a Presbyterian minister, conducted the nuptials. The newlyweds took no honeymoon but set up home immediately in Hiram instead.
  • From 1861 to 1863, James’ service in the Union Army kept them apart.
  • The family, however, remained together after his first winter in Washington as a freshman Representative. They lived a comfortable domestic life with a home in the city, as well as one (Lawnfield) in Tutor, Ohio.
  • In Washington, DC the couple shared common interests with friends of their own. Lucretia went to meetings with James at a locally known literary society. They read together, made social calls, dined with each other, and traveled in company until they were as inseparable as his career permitted by 1880.

GARFIELD’S CHILDREN

  • The Garfields had seven children. Two died in early childhood, their first and last, Eliza Arabella “Trot” Garfield (1860–1863) and Edward Garfield (1874–1876).
  • Four of their sons and a daughter lived to maturity.
  • Harry Augustus Garfield (1863–1942). He was a lawyer, educator, and public official.
  • James Rudolph Garfield (1865–1950). He was a lawyer and public official.
  • Mary “Mollie” Garfield Stanley-Brown (1867–1947). She was educated at Cleveland and Connecticut private schools, and married Joseph Stanley Brown. She was a presidential secretary during Garfield’s term, and later an investment banker, in 1888. She lived in Pasadena, California, and New York.
  • Irvin McDowell Garfield (1870–1951). He was a lawyer, who joined his older brothers at Williams College and the Law School in Columbia. He settled in Boston, where he prospered as a partner in Warren & Garfield’s firm and served on several corporations’ boards of directors.
  • Abram Garfield (1872–1958). He was an architect who graduated from Williams College and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He settled in Cleveland where he worked as an architect at the James A. Garfield Building offices. He was chairman of the 1929–1942 Cleveland Planning Commission and was involved in the American Institute of Architects.

FIRST LADY

  • James Garfield became President of the United States, which made the family move to the White House in 1881.
  • Lucretia, stunning and slim even at 49, did not care much about her position as First Lady. Still, she was a fun lady and hosted White House parties.
  • Lucretia became ill in May 1881 and suffered from malaria. She rested in Long Branch, New Jersey, to recover.
  • Around that time, she heard the news that somebody had shot her husband, President Garfield. She took a train to Washington.
  • The train had an accident on its way but Lucretia did not suffer any injury. She remained by her husband’s side when she reached Washington, but he unfortunately died about three months later.
  • Lucretia left for Ohio after James’ death. She lived there for 36 more years, and spent her time arranging and taking care of her husband’s work records. A part of her home has become a repository of her husband’s presidential papers.

DEATH

  • Lucretia died on March 4, 1918 at her home in South Pasadena, California. Her casket was put above ground at Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio, next to her husband’s coffin in the lower level crypt of the presidential tomb.

Lucretia Garfield Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the Lucretia Garfield across 23 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Lucretia Garfield worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Lucretia Garfield who was the First Lady of the United States, being the wife of James A. Garfield, the 20th president of the United States, from March to September 1881.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Lucretia Garfield Facts
  • Life Events
  • Biographical Profile
  • Comic Strip
  • Lucretia in Numbers
  • Woman of Influence
  • Multiple Languages
  • Truth or Trash?
  • Before Vs Present
  • Discrimination Issues
  • Ranking Ladies

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