Letitia Christian Tyler (1790-1842)

W-39

Letitia Christian Tyler, wife of Pres. John Tyler, is buried at Cedar Grove Cemetery a mile northeast. Born on 12 Nov. 1790, a daughter of Robert and Mary Browne Christian, she married John Tyler at her home, Cedar Grove, on 29 Mar. 1813. She gave birth to eight children. Her husband served as a congressman (1816-1821), governor of Virginia (1825-1827), senator (1827-1836), vice president (1841), and tenth president of the U.S. (1841-1845). Letitia Christian Tyler was the first First Lady to die in the White House when she succumbed on 10 Sept. 1842 after a series of paralyzing strokes. After a funeral in the East Room, her body was transported to her family home at Cedar Grove for interment.

Department of Historic Resources, 2023

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References/Bibliographic Citation:

Washington Daily Madisonian, 13 Sept. 1842. New York Herald, 15 Sept. 1842. John Deal and Dictionary of Virginia Biography, “John Tyler (1790–1862),” Encyclopedia Virginia (Virginia Humanities, 7 Dec. 2020). Oliver Perry Chitwood, John Tyler: Champion of the Old South (New York: D. Appleton—Century Company, 1939). Edward P. Crapol, John Tyler: The Accidental President (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2006).