The First Wives Club Trivia Quiz

Answer: Elizabeth Truman

Known to speak up frequently and voice her opinions, Elizabeth Virginia "Bess" Truman was First Lady of the United States from 1945 to 1953 and served as her husband's secretary. President Truman was pleased with Bess's efforts on his office staff, stating that, as secretary, she earned "every cent I pay her". Bess and Harry attended the same schools in Missouri from fifth grade until they graduated high school. The two were engaged before Lieutenant Harry Truman left to fight in France in World War I, and were married in June, 1919.

Bess Truman lived from 13 February 1885 to 18 October 1982, passing on at the age of 97. Though she was the first nonagenarian First Lady, she was followed by several others, including Claudia Johnson (who was 94 upon her death), Betty Ford (93), Eleanor Carter (94), Nancy Reagan (94), and Barbara Bush (92). Although no First Lady that preceded Bess Truman lived to be 90 years old, there were many octogenarians before her - Dolley Madison, Sarah Jackson, Anna Harrison, Sarah Polk, Lucretia Garfield, Frances Cleveland, Edith Roosevelt, Helen Taft and Edith Wilson were all in their 80s when they died.

Answer: Frances Cleveland

When she married 49-year-old President Grover Cleveland in the White House, Frances Clara Folsom Cleveland became the youngest First Lady at the age of 21. Frances Folsom was born in 1864 in Buffalo, New York. Her father, Oscar Folsom, was a law partner of Grover Cleveland, and the latter bought Frances Cleveland ("Frank" Folsom at the time) her first baby carriage. Grover Cleveland and Frances Cleveland got married on 2 June 1886 at a ceremony in the Blue Room of the White House.

The first baby to be born in the White House was James Madison Randolph, who was born in 1806. He was the son of Martha Randolph, daughter of Thomas Jefferson. However, Frances Cleveland was the first First Lady to give birth in the White House, seeing the addition of the couple's second child, Esther, on 9 September 1893. Esther Cleveland was the mother of English philosopher Philippa Foot.

Answer: Letitia Tyler

When her husband took his oath of office as Vice President of the United States on 4 March 1841, Letitia Tyler had been confined to an invalid's chair, and the possibility of John Tyler becoming President was not considered with Letitia's physical impairment. Letitia Tyler, née Christian, was born on a plantation in Virginia on 12 November 1790. Formal education was not a part of Letitia's life, but she learned the skills necessary to raise a family and preside over a home, which served her husband, John Tyler, greatly as he sought the refuge during his political career.

Letitia and John Tyler married on 29 March 1813 (John Tyler's 23rd birthday), and seven of the eight children Letitia gave birth to survived. It was in 1839 that Letitia Tyler suffered a stroke that paralyzed her and left her an invalid, though her doting daughter-in-law, Priscilla Cooper Tyler, described her as "still beautiful now in her declining years". Becoming the first First Lady to die in the White House, Letitia Tyler's life ended at the age of 51 on 10 September 1842. She died following another stroke.

Answer: Louisa Adams

As the divisiveness of politics is so often directed, Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams being born outside of the U.S. led political enemies to call her English. Louisa was born in London to an English mother, Catherine Nuth Johnson, on 12 February 1775. Her father was an American from Maryland, Joshua Johnson. Louisa met her future husband, 6th U.S. President John Quincy Adams, at her father's house in Cooper's Row, London, since Mr. Johnson was appointed United States consul general in 1790 and John Quincy Adams visited him in 1795. At the age of 30, John Quincy married Louisa (age 22) on 26 July 1797, in London.

When John Quincy Adams became president in 1825, Louisa was the first First Lady born outside of the U.S., and so rare is her trailblazing feat that the next First Lady to be born outside of the United States was almost 200 years later, with First Lady Melania Trump being born in Slovenia in 1970.

Answer: Abigail Fillmore

Exhibiting a passion for learning and satisfaction in teaching others, Abigail Fillmore became the first First Lady to hold a job after being married, as a teacher. After Abigail Powers and her family moved to New Hope, New York, her lifelong love of learning was shared with Millard Fillmore when they met (at 19 and 21 years of age, respectively), and the bond was strong enough to endure Millard's toilsome efforts as a lawyer that they got married around five years later on 5 February 1826. Abigail Fillmore's love of pedagogy and music led to her ensuring the White House had a music room with three pianos, and she made additions to the White House library.

Answer: Julia Grant

Julia Boggs Dent was born on 26 January 1826 at White Haven Plantation in Missouri, preceding the next First Lady to be born in Missouri, Bess Truman, by 59 years. Mrs. Grant was also the first First Lady to write her memoirs, and "The Personal Memoirs of Julia Grant", with its manuscript being written in the 1890s, was published in 1975. Julia Boggs Dent met Ulysses Grant at her own home, where she met him as a West Point classmate of her brother, Frederick.

The two were engaged in 1844, but Ulysses' participation in the Mexican War delayed their nuptials for four years.

Answer: Lucy Hayes

Lucy Webb was born on 28 August 1831, in Chillicothe, Ohio. Her father was Dr. James Webb, and both of her older brothers became medical doctors, as well. Both of Lucy's brothers enrolled at Ohio Wesleyan University, and although women were not permitted to study there at the time, Lucy Webb was allowed to enroll in their preparatory program until she transferred to Cincinnati Wesleyan Female College, graduating in 1850 at the age of 18.

Lucy first met Rutherford Hayes at Ohio Wesleyan University when she was 14 and he was 23. Rutherford resisted Lucy's youthfulness at first, but reunited years later and in 1852, the two were married. After years of Rutherford Hayes's service in the Civil War and the hardship and stress that caused, Lucy Hayes deemed her years in the White House from 1869 to 1877 the "happiest period" of her life.

Answer: Rosalynn Carter

After his first date with 17-year-old Rosalynn Smith, Jimmy Carter expressed to his mother, "she's the girl I want to marry". The sincerity of that claim is backed up by the fact that they married in 1946 and celebrated their 75th anniversary as spouses in 2021. Eleanor Rosalynn Smith was born on 18 August 1927 in Plains, Georgia. She graduated as salutatorian of Plains High School, then attended Georgia Southwestern College and graduated in 1946.

When her husband assumed the presidency in January of 1977, Rosalynn decided to remain informed and active in Cabinet meetings, absorbing everything around her without vocally participating, using the information she gathered during these experiences when questioned by the press and traveling across the country.

Answer: Barbara Bush

Although John Quincy Adams was the first son of a former First Lady (and president) to be elected to the U.S. Presidency, Abigail Adams died in 1818, seven years before her son took office. Barbara Bush became the first former First Lady to experience the joy of witnessing her son, George W. Bush, becoming president on 20 January 2001. Barbara Bush is also the mother of George W. Bush's brother, Jeb Bush, the 43rd Governor of the State of Florida.

Barbara Pierce was born on 8 June 1925 in New York City. She met future husband and U.S. President George H. W. Bush when she was 16 on Christmas vacation at a dance at a country club. The two were engaged immediately before George Bush ventured off to World War II as a Navy torpedo bomber pilot, where he named the planes he flew after her (Barbara, Barbara II, and Barbara III). They were married in New York on 6 January 1945, and she saw her son, George W. Bush, become president 12 years after husband did.

Answer: Hillary Clinton

Winning 65,853,514 popular votes in the 2016 presidential election, Hillary Clinton became the first First Lady to win a U.S. President popular vote by exceeding the elected Donald Trump's popular vote count by just under 3 million votes. The first woman ever to run for president was the ahead-of-her-time Victoria Woodhull, who ran in 1872 with renowned social reformer Frederick Douglass as her running mate. As Woodhull represented women ahead of her time, Hillary Clinton did the same for First Ladies, not only running for but winning the popular vote for U.S. President in 2016.

Hillary Rodham was born on 26 October 1947 in Chicago, Illinois. She met future husband Bill Clinton while attending Yale Law School in 1971, and graduated from the school in 1973. Bill and Hillary Clinton got married in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on 11 October 1975. Some of the other many accomplishments Hillary Clinton was the first First Lady to achieve include: the first to earn a postgraduate degree, first to have an office in the West Wing, first to win a Grammy Award, and the first to wear trousers in a First Lady portrait.