Elin Ekson Wilson Wife of the 28th President of the United States Date of Birth: 05.05.1860 Country: USA

Biography of Ellen Axson Wilson

Ellen Axson Wilson was the wife of the 28th President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson. Woodrow Wilson was considered a cold, balanced president and a faithful husband, although he enjoyed the company of women. There were rumors that he had an affair with Mary Hulbert Peck, whom he met during a vacation in Bermuda in 1907. They first met two days before his departure at a reception hosted by the mayor. The next evening, she invited him to her home. Enthralled, Wilson sent her his first letter. He had never met anyone he admired so much. A year later, Wilson went to Bermuda again without his wife. His letters were filled with admiration for the intelligent Mrs. Peck. In the following years, this acquaintance was blown up into a public and political scandal. It was said that Wilson's affair with Mrs. Peck was the cause of his first wife's death. Allegedly, during the scandal, he pushed Mrs. Ellen down the stairs of the White House. According to another rumor, Mrs. Peck sued the president for adultery. Wanting to avoid publicity, Wilson sought advice from the famous Boston lawyer Louis Brandeis, who offered Mrs. Peck $75,000 to withdraw her complaint. Judge Brandeis publicly called it "miserable slander," but later it was whispered that his appointment as Supreme Court Justice was a thank you from the president for getting rid of this scandal.

Over the course of seven years, Wilson wrote Mrs. Peck over two hundred letters. In her old age, needing money, she sold them to his biographer, Ray Stannard Baker. The media speculated that she was trying to get money from Wilson. Historians and biographers who studied these letters found nothing that could cast even a shadow of suspicion on Wilson. His relationship with Mrs. Peck was purely friendly. Wilson's wife, Ellen, upon learning of these rumors, remained calm. She told everyone that perhaps the women associated with her husband possessed qualities that she did not have, so she even encouraged such acquaintances. But one day, she admitted to Dr. Grayson, Wilson's personal physician, that Mrs. Peck was the only case of infidelity in their happy life together.

Wilson regretted supporting his acquaintance with Mrs. Peck. Many years later, he wrote, "These letters revealed a foolish mistake of the past. I am filled with shame and deep remorse. I have never stained the purity and honor of this lady with a single word or action. She, on her part, generously forgave my behavior. My loyalty to my incomparable wife has never been compromised in any way, not even in the slightest. And she knew it, understood it, and forgave me."

Wilson was convinced that women were intellectually equal to men and possessed a special kind of intelligence. "An intelligent woman," he said, "completes her husband, stimulates his activities." Although he supported women's suffrage, he was against their notorious independence. Usually after dinner, men would smoke in the salon, drink brandy and have serious conversations, while women chatted about children, fashion, and weather. Wilson gathered educated, intelligent women around him, and interesting discussions began.

Woodrow Wilson, the twenty-eighth President of the United States (1913-1921), was married twice. His first wife, Ellen Axson, was born on May 5, 1860, in Savannah, Georgia. Ellen's father, Samuel Edward Axson, was a Presbyterian minister, just like Wilson's father. One day, when six-year-old Wilson was visiting his uncle James Bones, he went to the pastor's house in Rome. He liked the host's daughter with her pink chubby cheeks and cheerful dimples, and he asked for permission to carry her in his arms. Twenty years later, he visited his uncle in Rome again. This time, he saw a young graceful woman with pink chubby cheeks, cheerful dimples, and light chestnut hair. He met her at church, dressed in mourning, with a little boy in her arms. Woodrow assumed Ellen was a young widow. But Uncle Bones told him that she was mourning her mother, who had recently died in childbirth. As the oldest of four children, Ellen had to take on the responsibilities of a mother. Losing his wife, her father fell into a deep depression, and he also needed attention. In addition, Ellen took care of the house, so she had no time for herself.

At that time, in April 1883, Wilson already knew that he had fallen head over heels in love with this girl. He visited their home, wrote her letters, accompanied her on walks and trips, trying to console her. After some time, this tall, slender lawyer from Atlanta also became important to her. When Woodrow proposed in September, she gladly accepted, but he had to visit Ellen's home eleven times before his proposal was officially accepted. After receiving her consent, Woodrow immediately sent her an engagement ring with a diamond. In her response letter, Ellen, thanking him for the beautiful ring, emphasized that for her "having a ring is not very important, it is much more important to feel that you are engaged."

But Wilson was not yet able to support a family. His new law firm in Atlanta had no clients, so he decided to continue his education in political science at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. He had thoughts of a scientific and political career. This meant that the engaged couple would have to be apart for a long time, so Ellen suggested breaking off the engagement. But Wilson persuaded her otherwise. "Can you keep a secret?" she asked immediately after her brother's engagement and added, "He is the greatest and best man in the world."

Ellen loved to draw. When her father died in 1884 and relatives took care of her younger siblings, she decided to go to New York to study art, which further postponed their wedding date.

In 1885, Wilson's book, "Congressional Government," was published, for which he received a large fee. He became a lecturer at a high school for daughters of prominent families in Pennsylvania, with an annual income of $1,500. Now he could afford to get married.

The wedding took place on June 24, 1885, at the home of the bride's grandfather and grandmother in Savannah. The ceremony was performed by the bride's grandfather, Pastor I.S.K. Axson, and Wilson's father, Pastor Joseph R. Wilson.

After their honeymoon in Arden, Northern California, they settled in a wooden house on the edge of a forest with Ellen's brother, Ed, and her cousin, Mary Hoyt, a college student.

Ellen, whom her husband called Nell, was an exemplary housewife. Everyone who tasted her dishes was delighted with her culinary skills.

On April 30, 1886, their first daughter, Margaret, was born. In 1887, their second daughter, Jessie, was born, and in 1889, their third daughter, Eleanor. The girls were always dressed neatly. Ellen sewed their dresses herself and, as was customary in a pastor's family, took care of their religious upbringing.

Ellen loved working in the garden. Wherever they lived, she always had a garden that she lovingly cared for. In Princeton, students had big trouble with Wilson because they would cut through the lawn to get to the sports stadium and trample the flowers she carefully grew. He put up a fence - they broke it. He had no choice but to put police protection around the garden.

Despite her household duties, Ellen helped her husband with his work. When he was the rector of Princeton University, she corrected his scientific papers. Later, she edited the texts of his speeches, learned German to assist him in his academic work, and constantly sought to expand his knowledge of art and literature. Ellen was his secret advisor, supporting him in difficult times. If he was nervous and said something inappropriate, she would object, "Oh, Woodrow, you don't really think that, do you...?" He usually replied, "Madam, I certainly did think that until you called me to order."

Wilson valued his wife's help and was well aware of the significant role she played in his life. Once he confessed to her, "My love for you helped me become a real person... In your absence, without your inspiration, I cannot live... Love reveals everything in me... My mind could not fully develop until I met you."

Wilson once said that without his wife and father-in-law, he "would never have become President of the United States." He called Ellen the "anchor" in his life. He told his daughters how he met their mother and chose her, "I asked all the girls in the world to line up, carefully examined each one individually, and chose your mother."

Ellen did not appreciate expensive, extravagant clothing. She spent no more than $40 a year on dresses. Once, when she was still the wife of the rector of the university, a lady at a reception sarcastically remarked, "Mrs. Wilson, you become more beautiful in this brown dress every spring."

Although they vowed never to be apart, Wilson often traveled with lectures. During this time, Ellen usually stayed with relatives. She gave birth to her children in the Southern states because she did not want them to be born in the North. She had already given birth to the girls when she was visiting relatives.

Wilson could not stand it when reporters poked their noses into family affairs. His eldest daughter, Margaret, was still unmarried, and some newspapers speculated about her chances of finding a husband. Wilson got so angry that at one of the press conferences, he said, "If this happens again, I will do what any father would do in my place, whose daughter is being disgraced. I will simply punch the wretched reporter in the face."

Ellen's wedding was the last event Ellen attended. In May of the same year, Mrs. Wilson lost consciousness in her room, and after that, at first glance, not a very serious incident, she was sick for a long time. Doctors could not determine the exact cause of Ellen's illness, and only after several months, it was discovered that she had tuberculosis of the kidneys. Ellen was bedridden, and her husband did not leave her side, comforting her as best he could and praying for her recovery.

On August 6, 1914, at 5 p.m., Ellen Wilson died. Before her death, she told Dr. Grayson, the president's personal physician, "Take care of Woodrow." She expressed hope that he would remarry. Even before her death, she was pleased to hear that Congress had passed a law on the construction of affordable housing, for which she had fought so selflessly. Ellen died at the age of 54. Wilson held her hand until it grew cold. Then he went to the window and sighed loudly, "Oh, God! What do I do now?" Later, he said, "She died with a wonderful smile on her face."

Wilson sat by his wife's bed for two days, refusing to have her body put in a coffin. It was only on the third day that her remains were moved to Rome, where she was buried next to her parents. The funeral service was held in the same church where, 31 years ago, Wilson first met Ellen. There were tears in the president's eyes. Ellen loved all flowers except orchids, and as if in mockery, her coffin was covered in orchids.