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Edith White <I>Bolling</I> Wilson

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Edith White Bolling Wilson Famous memorial

Birth
Wytheville, Wythe County, Virginia, USA
Death
28 Dec 1961 (aged 89)
Washington, District of Columbia, District of Columbia, USA
Burial
Washington, District of Columbia, District of Columbia, USA GPS-Latitude: 38.9304139, Longitude: -77.0702889
Plot
Cathedral floor next to President Wilson's above ground vault
Memorial ID
View Source
United States Presidential First Lady. She was born Edith Bolling in Wytheville, Virginia, the daughter of a judge. She attended Martha Washington College which was a finishing school for the daughters of the wealthy. She could trace her ancestry from Pocahontas. At the time of a first meeting with the bereaved President Woodrow Wilson, she was Edith Galt a widow. In a matter of less then two months and less then one year after the death of his wife Ellen, they were married in a private ceremony at her home in Washington. The social activities at the White House were drastically reduced with World War I raging in Europe. In order to find more time to be with her husband, Edith took up the game of golf a favorite sport of the President. In an effort to save manpower during the war, Edith ordered sheep to be used to mow the White House Lawn and the wool sold to benefit the Red Cross. She accompanied him to Europe when the allies conferred on terms of peace. The strain of the presidency resulted in Wilson suffering a stroke resulting in prolong disability. Edith took over many routine duties and details of government. She selected matters for her husband's attention and let everything else go to the heads of departments or remain in abeyance. She decoded war messages and issued orders to the military in the name of her husband. After the Wilson's left the White House, they continued living in Washington in a residence purchased especially for their retirement, now called the "The Wilson House." He died here in an upstairs bedroom. Edith continued to live in the residence until her death shortly after riding in President Kennedy's inaugural parade and on her husbands birthday. Her funeral was conducted at the Washington Cathedral by its dean Rev. Francis B. Sayre, Jr. and was then interred beneath the Cathedral floor beside her husband's above ground vault. The site is known as the Woodrow Wilson Bay. Edith Wilson donated their residence, located along Embassy Road, a three-story brick structure and the furnishings to the National Trust for Historic Preservation. It is the only presidential museum in Washington and is open to the public.

View cenotaph here.
United States Presidential First Lady. She was born Edith Bolling in Wytheville, Virginia, the daughter of a judge. She attended Martha Washington College which was a finishing school for the daughters of the wealthy. She could trace her ancestry from Pocahontas. At the time of a first meeting with the bereaved President Woodrow Wilson, she was Edith Galt a widow. In a matter of less then two months and less then one year after the death of his wife Ellen, they were married in a private ceremony at her home in Washington. The social activities at the White House were drastically reduced with World War I raging in Europe. In order to find more time to be with her husband, Edith took up the game of golf a favorite sport of the President. In an effort to save manpower during the war, Edith ordered sheep to be used to mow the White House Lawn and the wool sold to benefit the Red Cross. She accompanied him to Europe when the allies conferred on terms of peace. The strain of the presidency resulted in Wilson suffering a stroke resulting in prolong disability. Edith took over many routine duties and details of government. She selected matters for her husband's attention and let everything else go to the heads of departments or remain in abeyance. She decoded war messages and issued orders to the military in the name of her husband. After the Wilson's left the White House, they continued living in Washington in a residence purchased especially for their retirement, now called the "The Wilson House." He died here in an upstairs bedroom. Edith continued to live in the residence until her death shortly after riding in President Kennedy's inaugural parade and on her husbands birthday. Her funeral was conducted at the Washington Cathedral by its dean Rev. Francis B. Sayre, Jr. and was then interred beneath the Cathedral floor beside her husband's above ground vault. The site is known as the Woodrow Wilson Bay. Edith Wilson donated their residence, located along Embassy Road, a three-story brick structure and the furnishings to the National Trust for Historic Preservation. It is the only presidential museum in Washington and is open to the public.

View cenotaph here.

Bio by: Donald Greyfield


Inscription

In Loving Memory
of
Edith Bolling Wilson
Buried In The Vault
Beneath This Bay



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  • Maintained by: Find a Grave
  • Added: Jan 20, 2001
  • Find a Grave Memorial ID:
  • Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/19670/edith_white-wilson: accessed ), memorial page for Edith White Bolling Wilson (15 Oct 1872–28 Dec 1961), Find a Grave Memorial ID 19670, citing Washington National Cathedral, Washington, District of Columbia, District of Columbia, USA; Maintained by Find a Grave.