• The first ladies of the United States have their own rich and interesting histories.
• Nearly every president's wife has served as first lady, though a few passed away before their husbands' inaugurations. One president never married.
• Martha Washington was married and became a widower before meeting George Washington.
• Abigail Adams helped soldiers during the Revolutionary War. 
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Though first ladies have been referred to as the "hostesses of the White House," their roles through history have been far more complex.

Abigail Adams watched the Battle of Bunker Hill and helped make bullets for soldiers before becoming first lady. Martha Washington was married and had children with her first husband, who passed away. She was a widow when she met George Washington. 

Not all presidents had a first lady at their side in the White House. The wives of Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Martin van Buren, and Chester Arthur all passed away before their husbands became president, and James Buchanan never married.

Take a look at the surprising history of each first lady of the United States before she entered the White House.

Martha Washington was a widow before marrying George Washington. She lived at a plantation called White House with Daniel Parke Custis.

According to Mount Vernon, before she was Martha Washington, she was Martha Custis, and was married to a wealthy plantation owner named Daniel Parke Custis. The couple had four children together, but only two lived past the age of 5. After seven years together, Custis died suddenly, and left Martha a widow at just 26 years old. Two years later, she married George Washington, and would later go on to become the first first lady of the United States.

Abigail Adams made bullets for American soldiers during the Revolutionary War.

According to Mental Floss, Adams and her son, John Quincy Adams, watched The Battle of Bunker Hill. Her family doctor, Joseph Warren, was among those who perished in the fight. Angered by the death of her friend, Adams melted down her pewter spoons to create bullets for the rebel army. 

Dolley Madison was born a Quaker, but she left the faith after her marriage to James Madison, who was an Episcopalian.

According to the National First Ladies' Library, Dolley Madison was "born into the Quaker faith, but expelled after her marriage to non-Quaker James Madison."

Instead, she attended Episcopalian services with her husband.

Elizabeth Monroe became known in France as "la belle Americaine" due to her popularity. She even helped save the wife of the Marquis de Lafayette from execution.

The Marquis de Lafayette was personal friend of George Washington and a supporter of American independence. According to the White House, when James and Elizabeth Monroe visited France in 1794, during the French Revolution, Lafayette's wife was "imprisoned and expecting death on the guillotine." However, after Elizabeth's visit to the prison, Madame de Lafayette was set free.

Louisa Adams was the first first lady who was not born in the United States.

The wife of John Quincy Adams was born in London, and did not come to America until they had been married for four years. According to the White House, "Political enemies sometimes called her English. She was born in London to an English mother, Catherine Nuth Johnson, but her father was American–Joshua Johnson, of Maryland–and he served as United States consul after 1790."

Anna Harrison lived at a boarding school from age 12 to 15 in the home of her teacher, who was a feminist.

According to the National First Ladies' Library, her teacher, Isabella Marshal Graham, was "a feminist who believed in a woman's right to equal education and a social activist, becoming perhaps the first woman in America to form a charitable organization, one which helped to provide housing, food, education and employment to indigent widows and orphans."

Letitia Tyler was the daughter of a wealthy plantation owner, and her inheritance from her parents' passing helped launch John Tyler's political career.

According to the National First Ladies' Library, her parents passed away shortly after the marriage, and "her substantial inheritance provided a small cushion that permitted Tyler to pursue a career in public service."

Julia Tyler was known for her beauty and charm, which attracted John Tyler, recently widowed from his first marriage.

According to the White House, Julia was a descendant of wealthy New York families, so she "was trained from earliest childhood for a life in society."

She met her future husband in 1842, when her family visited Washington.

"Her beauty and her practiced charm attracted the most eminent men in the city, among them President Tyler, a widower since September," according to the White House.

Sarah Polk was friends with Andrew Jackson, who encouraged her romance with James Polk.

According to the White House, "The story goes that Andrew Jackson had encouraged their romance; he certainly made Polk a political protege, and as such Polk represented a district in Congress for 14 sessions."

While her husband was in the Army, Margaret Taylor traveled around the United States, living in forts, tents, and log cabins.

According to First Ladies, "For almost forty years, Peggy Taylor had an itinerant life, traveling around the frontier regions of the United States with her husband, directed by his U.S. Army assignments. She would live in forts, tents, log cabins, from the Florida Everglades, to the northern garrisons at Fort, Crawford in present-day Wisconsin to Jefferson Barracks in Missouri."

Abigail Fillmore was the first first lady to have a job after marriage, working as a teacher to support her husband.

According to White House History, Abigail Powers met Millard Fillmore when they were both students. He struggled to make ends meet as a lawyer, and after their marriage, she returned to her job as a teacher.

Jane Pierce did not marry Franklin Pierce until she was 28, and her family was against their union.

According to the White House, "Although he was immediately devoted to Jane, they did not marry until she was 28 — surprising in that day of early marriages. Her family opposed the match; moreover, she always did her best to discourage his interest in politics."

Mary Todd Lincoln was the daughter of the early settlers of Kentucky.

According to the White House, Mary was only a young child when her mother passed away.

Eliza Johnson helped Andrew Johnson with his speaking and writing skills prior to his presidency.

According to the National First Ladies' Library, "Their daughter Martha Patterson wrote of her parents in 1881 that, 'It is a mistake she taught my father the alphabet as this he had acquired before leaving Raleigh…But little has been written about my mother as she always opposed any publicity concerning her private life. She was the stepping stone to all the honors and fame my father attained.'"

Julia Grant developed a love for reading novels and poetry in her early years.

According to the First Ladies' National Library, Julia's mother and four brothers encouraged and supported her reading habit.

Lucy Hayes was known for caring for wounded soldiers during the Civil War.

Lucy Webb married Rutherford B. Hayes in 1852, and the couple lived in Cincinnati, Ohio, until the Civil War. Hayes soon came to share his wife's religious opposition to slavery. 

According to the White House, "She won the affectionate name of 'Mother Lucy' from men of the 23rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry who served under her husband's command in the war. They remembered her visits to camp–to minister to the wounded, cheer the homesick, and comfort the dying."

Lucretia Garfield was highly educated. She was a teacher of French, algebra, and Latin before becoming first lady.

According to the National First Ladies' Library, she moved to Ravenna, Ohio, for a teaching job, "proud to be 'on her own.'"

Frances Cleveland attended Wells College, one of the first liberal arts colleges for women in the United States.

According to the National First Ladies' Library, "She successfully passed exams in Latin and German to gain entrance in the winter semester at one of the first US liberal arts colleges for women, she developed her avocation for photography at this time but also studied academic subjects that further included botany, astronomy, logic, religious studies, and she especially enjoyed political science. She was active in the theater club, building sets, sewing costumes and acting."

Caroline Harrison volunteered for the First Presbyterian Church and an orphans' home before she was first lady.

According to the White House, "While General Harrison became a man of note in his profession, his wife cared for their son and daughter, gave active service to the First Presbyterian Church and to an orphans' home, and extended cordial hospitality to her many friends."

Ida McKinley worked as a cashier in her father's bank, where she met William McKinley.

According to the White House, "Being pretty, fashionable, and a leader of the younger set in Canton did not satisfy Ida, so her broad-minded father suggested that she work in his bank. As a cashier she caught the attention of Maj. William McKinley, who had come to Canton in 1867 to establish a law practice, and they fell deeply in love."

Edith Roosevelt met her future husband, Theodore Roosevelt, when they were young children.

Born in Connecticut in 1861, "Edith Kermit Carow knew Theodore Roosevelt from infancy; as a toddler she became a playmate of his younger sister Corinne," according to the White House.

The website added, "Throughout childhood she and 'Teedie' were in and out of each other's houses."

Helen Taft was very active in her husband's political career, and her efforts helped him secure the presidency.

According to the Miller Center, William Taft's first lady, known as "Nellie," advised him not to accept certain positions and to keep his eye on the presidency. 

Ellen Wilson enjoyed painting and attended the Art Students League of New York.

According to the National First Ladies' Library, "She took classes in charcoal portrait-drawing, sketching of students, sculpture drawing, advanced painting and attended weekly lectures on perspective. Her skill earned her a prestigious placement in a specialized sketching class which used ... draped live models."

Edith Wilson left home at 15 to study music.

According to the White House, she didn't leave her home town for the first time until she was 12.

Florence Harding studied classical piano for years and wanted to become a concert pianist.

According to the National First Ladies' Library, Warren Harding's wife wanted to become an "internationally-recognized concert pianist." Prior to her marriage to Harding, she taught piano to children for 25 cents an hour.

Grace Coolidge was a teacher at a Massachusetts school for the deaf.

According to History.com, "After graduating from the University of Vermont in 1902, Grace moved on to a training program at the Clarke School for the Deaf in Northampton, Massachusetts, an institution that emphasized lip-reading in place of sign language."

Lou Hoover was a Girl Scout troop leader and member of the Girl Scout Council in Washington.

According to Hoover Archives, Herbert Hoover's first lady served as the Girl Scouts' president twice.

"It was during her second term that the GSA leadership approved a national plan to bake and sell cookies in support of scouting," according to the archives.

Eleanor Roosevelt was interested in politics and worked with her husband before she became first lady.

According to the White House, "In Albany, where Franklin served in the state Senate from 1910 to 1913, Eleanor started her long career as political helpmate. She gained a knowledge of Washington and its ways while he served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy. When he was stricken with poliomyelitis in 1921, she tended him devotedly. She became active in the women's division of the State Democratic Committee to keep his interest in politics alive."

Bess Truman was a schoolmate of Harry Truman at Independence High School in Missouri.

According to the Truman Library, Harry Truman wrote in his memoirs, "She had golden curls and has, to this day, the most beautiful blue eyes. We went to Sunday school, public school from the fifth grade through high school, graduated in the same class, and marched down life's road together. For me she still has the blue eyes and golden hair of yesteryear."

Mamie Eisenhower helped establish a hospital for Panamanian women who could not enter US Army hospitals because of their race.

Dwight Eisenhower and his wife lived in France, Panama, and the Philippines during his military career. According to the National First Ladies' Library, "Much of her time was spent with other military wives and she sometimes involved herself in projects benefiting the communities in which they lived such as establishing a free hospital for Panamanian women who were racially barred from the US Army hospitals."

Jackie Kennedy worked as a reporter and photographer before she was first lady.

According to History.com, before she was married to John F. Kennedy, Jackie Bouvier worked as a reporter for the Washington Times-Herald. She was the paper's "Inquiring Camera Girl" and would roam the streets of Washington asking passersby questions like, "Do you approve of joint bank accounts?" and "Do you think a wife should let her husband think he's smarter than she is?" She even interviewed Richard Nixon.

Lady Bird Johnson was heavily involved in her husband's political career before he was president.

According to the White House, "She helped keep his Congressional office open during World War II when he volunteered for naval service; and in 1955, when he had a severe heart attack, she helped his staff keep things running smoothly until he could return to his post as Majority Leader of the Senate. He once remarked that voters 'would happily have elected her over me.'"

Patricia Nixon met Richard Nixon after the two were cast in the same play.

According to the White House, Patricia Ryan was working as a high school teacher in Whittier, California, where Nixon was establishing a legal practice.

"They became acquainted at a Little Theater group when they were cast in the same play, and were married on June 21, 1940," according to the White House.

Betty Ford was a talented dancer and performed at Carnegie Hall.

According to Biography.com, after graduating from high school, she studied under legendary choreographer and modern dancer Martha Graham. She worked at a department store to pay for the lessons.

In 1940, she joined a dancing troupe in New York City, and they performed at Carnegie Hall.

Rosalynn Carter helped support her mother as a dressmaker after her father died when she was 13.

According to the White House, "She grew up in a small-town atmosphere that nurtured strong ties to family and dedication to church and community. When she was 13, her father died and her mother became a dressmaker to help support the family. As the oldest child, Rosalynn worked beside her mother, helping with the sewing, the housekeeping, and the other children."

Nancy Reagan was a Broadway actress and starred in 11 films.

According to the White House, "Billed as Nancy Davis, she performed in 11 films from 1949 to 1956. ... In her last movie, 'Hellcats of the Navy,' she played opposite her husband."

Barbara Bush met George H.W. Bush when she was 16 years old and home for Christmas break from boarding school.

According to Biography.com, "In 1941 while at home from boarding school on Christmas break, 16-year-old Barbara met her future husband, George H.W. Bush, a 17-year-old senior at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, at a dance. "

Hillary Clinton was one of the lawyers in the impeachment inquiry that led to Nixon's resignation.

According to USA Today, Clinton was just out of Yale Law School when she was hired by the House Judiciary Committee.

Laura Bush worked as an elementary school teacher and librarian before she was first lady.

According to Biography.com, Laura earned a bachelor's degree in early education from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. She taught second grade before getting her master's in library science from the University of Texas in Austin.

Michelle Obama met Barack Obama when she was his mentor at a Chicago law firm.

The duo met in 1989. According to Vogue, "Because of their professional relationship, Michelle tried to fix him up with her friends, but had no luck. Halfway through the summer, he asked her out, and their first date was dinner and a movie. (They went to see Spike Lee's 'Do the Right Thing'.) "

Melania Trump was discovered by a Slovenian photographer while waiting for her friend who was walking in a fashion show.

According to Today, photographer Stane Jerko said, "It was January 1987 when I went home just before the end of the fashion show. On the stairs of the Festival Hall, I saw a girl that immediately caught my eye. There stood a tall, slender and attractive long-haired girl with distinct eyes."

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