The Fillmore Women

Welcome to Civics and Coffee. My name is Alycia and I am a self-professed history nerd. Each week, I am going to chat about a topic on U.S history and give you both the highlights and occasionally break down some of the complexities in history; and share stories you may not remember learning in high school. All in the time it takes to enjoy a cup of coffee. 

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Hey everyone. Welcome back. 

We may have reached a point in the history of First Ladies where episodes dedicated to their lives and influence may either be significantly shorter than my usual format or may need to be incorporated into the episodes dedicated to their more well known spouses. I had to take this path when discussing the life of Margaret Taylor and as someone who has a deep interest in women’s history, it was a bit of a bummer. So as much as possible, I promise that I will try my very hardest to continue the tradition of dedicating air time specifically to the women behind the men of history. It just may be an episode to share over an espresso and not a jumbo cup of coffee. 

Thirteenth president Millard Fillmore had two wives during his lifetime, marrying Caroline McInTosh after losing his first wife Abigail shortly after the end of his presidency. And as I will cover this week, while in office, his daughter Mary filled in as White House hostess for her mother several times. So this week, I am diving into the lives of the Fillmore women: Abigail Powers Fillmore, Mary Abigail Fillmore, and Caroline McIntosh. Who were they? And what does learning about them tell us about women of the time period?

Grab your cup of coffee - or espresso, peeps. Let’s do this. 

While I will touch on the lives of Mary Fillmore and Caroline McIntosh, a significant portion of this episode will be dedicated to Abigail Powers as she is the one who has the most written about her. So with that in mind, let’s begin. 

Abigail Powers was born in Saratoga County, New York on March 13, 1798. Her father, Lemuel Powers, was a prominent Baptist preacher and died while Abigail was still a child. Her mother, also Abigail, gave birth to seven children and after the loss of her husband, decided to move the family to the western frontier. Her hope was that their meager financial resources would last longer along the still undeveloped area on the edge of the nation’s borders. 

The matriarch of the family was committed to ensuring her children received a robust education, leveraging her husband’s expansive library to teach her children how to read and provide a strong foundation for future scholastic efforts. It is through the use of her father’s library that Abigail developed a passion for reading and learning, two things that would remain with her throughout her life and something she would prioritize while serving as first lady. The love of reading and knowledge was also something she shared with husband Millard and together the two would accumulate quite the library, exceeding four thousands titles. 

She began teaching at just sixteen years old, learning the trade on the fly given her own rudimentary education. It was while serving as a teacher at the New Hope Academy that Abigail met her future husband, Millard. She was two years his senior and he was her student. The two seemed to click and became engaged in 1819, though their union was delayed until 1826 as Fillmore continued to further his education and studied to become a lawyer in 1823. It also seems as though there was some hesitation on the part of Abigail’s family, who worried about Fillmore’s capacity to care for Abigail and, given his background, Millard was seen as someone low in society ranking. 

Despite her family’s misgivings, Abigail and Millard moved forward with their wedding, getting married on February 5th, 1826 by an Episcopalian priest at her brother’s estate. Though Millard was making money as a lawyer, Abigail continued to work after marriage, the first First Lady to do so. She continued to teach for another two years, only giving up her job upon the arrival of their first child, a son named Millard Powers Fillmore, who entered the world on April 25, 1828. Despite being named after his father, the junior Fillmore was often referred to by his middle name, Powers. This mirrored the practice prevalent in the region of naming children after their mother’s maiden name. 

When Millard was elected to the New York state assembly, Abigail and Powers stayed behind. The distance was hard on her, and her insecurities caused her to worry that her husband may find himself in the company of a more interesting woman. However, the newly elected representative seemed to only have eyes for Abigail as friends commented about his total devotion to his wife. 

The family relocated to Buffalo in 1830 where Fillmore was able to earn additional income with his legal practice, buying a larger home to entertain friends and family. For her part, Abigail remained dedicated to increasing education and culture within her community, working with her husband to help establish a lending library and improving the local public schools. As Fillmore’s financial stability increased, Abigail could spend time working on self-improvement and she studied French and the piano. 

As her husband’s political career continued to grow, Abigail remained a supportive spouse. Upon his election to the house in 1832, she stayed behind. She had just recently given birth to their second child, a daughter named May Abigail, in March and DC was known as an inhospitable and expensive town. Traveling to the swampy city known for its intense seasons, Abigail likely decided it would be safe to remain home in Buffalo. And despite some financial security, DC was an expensive city and her husband planned to reside in a boarding house while serving in Congress. This was no place for a growing family. 

However, when Fillmore was reelected in 1836, Abigail changed course and made the journey. The children, however, did not. Still concerned about the expense of living in the district, and unimpressed with the rigor of the schools available in the area, the Fillmores decided it would be best to leave Powers and Mary in New York. Abigail performed the role of a political spouse, despite her sense of uneasiness with the rest of DC society. Given her lack of formal education, Abigail was always concerned that others would find her dull or uninteresting. 

But much like she did while in Buffalo, Abigail made sure to take in all of the cultural exhibits available to her in the bustling city. She frequently attended lectures, visited art galleries, and attended concerts. Mrs. Fillmore also ensured she stayed informed about the political happenings of Congress. She read newspapers, watched congressional debates in the house, and monitored the developments so that she could adequately advise her husband. In 1838, she wrote a letter and referenced the death of Congressman Johnathan Cilley, writing quote: “it was indeed a dreadful sight to see his lifeless body taken from the carriage which but a few hour before had conveyed him away in health. I had but just learned that they had gone out to fight, had heard nothing further until the carriage which brought home the body, too plainly told the result,” end quote. She went so far as to say she believed that the practice of dueling would continue in the nation’s capital unless concrete steps were taken to end the practice. And it seems as though her husband trusted her advice, often discussing the issues of the day and soliciting her opinions. For all her influence, it was not absolute. Abigail apparently tried to talk her husband out of signing the Fugitive Slave law of 1850 and of course we all know how that turned out. 

In 1842, Abigail suffered an injury to her ankle or her foot that she never fully recovered from. The pain would remain with her throughout her life and would make standing or walking for long periods of time incredibly painful. This would be one of many ailments that plagued her throughout her life, limiting her ability to perform the societal duties of a First Lady. When Fillmore was elected as New York’s comptroller, Abigail again journeyed with her husband to his new residence in Albany. And like before, Abigail went alone as both children were living in Massachusetts. Young Powers was finishing his education at Harvard and Mary, commonly referred to as Abby, was enrolled at the Lenox finishing school. 

When her husband became Vice President, Abigail decided to stay behind. Her health, which had only deteriorated further, would make the social demands of her position untenable. However, that all changed when President Taylor died in July of 1850, elevating her husband to the top spot in the White House. Despite suffering from chronic headaches, a bad back and bad knees, Fillmore sought to fulfill her duties as First Lady. She held receptions at the mansion on Tuesdays, large dinners on Thursdays, followed by a levee on Fridays and a small dinner on Saturdays. Because levee’s required a significant amount of standing, Abigail prepared herself by spending most of the day off of her feet. She also brought in her daughter Abby to help manage the daunting social schedule required of political wives. 

For her part, the young Abby would entertain guests as best she could, often playing musical instruments for White House guests. Highly educated, Abby was fluent in French and musically inclined, and was able to play the piano, guitar, and harp. Fillmore’s time as president provided a boon for the family as it was one of the few extended periods where all four lived under the same roof. With Abby acting as a back up to hostess and Powers serving as his father’s private secretary, the Fillmores were able to enjoy each other’s company while residing in the people’s house. 

Upon her entry into the mansion, Abigail was disheartened to learn the place lacked a library. She asked her husband to request a stipend from Congress to build one, successfully securing $2,000 for the project. Mrs. Fillmore quickly went to work, selecting several hundred titles to fill the shelves and updating the oval room located on the second floor of the mansion. Once it was complete, the library also served as a place to host guests, and the Fillmore’s hosted musical concerts, lectures, and political discussions from the comfort of their own home. 

Their union was cut short, however, when Abigail joined her husband to welcome newly elected Franklin Pierce at his inauguration. The weather was cold and damp, causing Abigail to come down with a cold. Her cold soon turned to pneumonia and Mrs. Fillmore passed away just three weeks later on March 30th, 1853. She was 55 years old. Continuing in her role as her mother’s back-up, young Abby remained at her father’s side, traveling with the former president as he toured the country. Unfortunately, she would also perish, dying of cholera at just 22 years old. 

Fillmore was understandably devastated at losing both his wife and daughter and would try to maintain his life as a prestigious citizen despite their loss. He remarried in 1858, to a wealthy widow by the name of Caroline McIntosh, who outlived her second husband just seven years, passing away in 1881. My research efforts into Caroline McIntosh proved unfruitful, with only a brief synopsis of her life on a local Buffalo history website. I tend to shy away from facts I am unable to independently verify, but in the spirit of trying to paint a picture of the second wife of the president, I will share that the brief biography indicates McIntosh was born in New Jersey and that her first husband was president of a railroad, whose fortune made Caroline a wealthy woman upon his death. But, dear friends, take all of this with a grain of salt. 

So does looking at Caroline McIntosh, Abigail Fillmore, and Mary Fillmore tell us about the period? In their own understated way, they exemplify the slow but significant progress women were making throughout the country. Just a few years before, McIntosh would have never been trusted or allowed to maintain an estate so large. And Mary’s trajectory illustrates the growing availability and acceptance of female education. Lastly, the First Lady highlights that though still relegated to the backseat, women followed and, more importantly, had opinions about the political happenings of the day.  

Abigail FIllmore was First Lady during a time period where the women of the executive mansion made very little tangible impact to the role and their legacy. However, as someone deeply dedicated to education and a lover of the arts, Fillmore did her part to leave the mansion in a better condition than she left it. She was also a dedicated wife who helped her husband navigate the politics of the period. As women gathered to demand their rights at Seneca Falls in 1848, Abigail Fillmore proved just how capable women could be in the arena. 

Thanks, peeps. I’ll see you next week.

Thanks for tuning and I hope you enjoyed this episode of Civics & Coffee. If you want to hear more small snippets from american history, be sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening and I look forward to our next cup of coffee together. 

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