Helen Herron Taft
1909-1913

Helen Herron was born on June 2, 1861 in Cincinnati, Ohio.
After her visit to the White House during the Hayes' administration when she was 17, she announced she would live there some day.

Helen's nickname was Nellie.

Helen met William Taft in 1879.

Nellie and William were engaged in May of 1885 and married on June 19, 1886.

Library of Congress

They had three children. The children were named Robert, Helen, and Charles.

In 1900, President McKinley appointed Taft to the Governor General of the Philippine Islands.

He and Helen survived a typhoon while in the Philippines.

Mrs. Taft wanted William Taft to become President. She urged him not to take an appointment to the Supreme Court. She felt it would ruin his chance to be President.

Taft became President in 1908.

She loved being the First Lady.

However in May of 1908 she suffered a stroke. For over a year she couldn't walk or talk normally.

Mrs. Taft was responsible for planting three thousand cherry trees in Washington D.C. Washington is still famous for its cherry trees.

Helen was very sad when she had to leave the White House in 1913.

In 1921, President Harding appointed William Taft to the Supreme Court. Mrs. Taft was happy that they would be returning to Washington.

On March 1930, Taft died of heart disease.

Nellie died when she was 81 on May 22, 1943.

She is buried next to her husband in Arlington National Cemetery.

Visit our site on U.S. Presidents

Books and Websites

Books

Smithsonian Presidents and First Ladiesby James Barber and Amy Pastan.
First Ladies: Women Who Called The White House Home (First Ladies) by Beatrice Gormeley.

Websites

http://www.firstladies.org/ National First Ladies Library
http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/list/058_flal.htmlLibrary of Congress, Images of the First Ladies

Comments and/or corrections should be sent to Jim at jim@anewadventure.org.