April 19: Birthday of Lucretia Garfield (1832)
Prayer Idea
Pray for widows and widowers who are mourning the loss of a spouse.
History Note
Lucretia Rudolph was born on April 19, 1832, in Garrettsville, Ohio, to Zebulon and Arabella Rudolph. She attended a private school and then enrolled at Western Reserve Eclectic Institute (later called Hiram College) in 1850. There she got to know fellow student James Garfield. They both grew up in the Disciples of Christ.
Lucretia was a talented public speaker, and James told her that she delivered better speeches than he did. They had a long courtship and finally married in 1858. James had become president of Hiram College. He also served in the Ohio state legislature. He enlisted in the Union Army in 1861.
James and Lucretia struggled during the early years of their marriage. However, they worked on their relationship and made it stronger over time. James won election to Congress in 1862, and the family moved to Washington, D.C. The Garfields had seven children together, two of whom died in childhood.
The Republican Party chose James Garfield to be their presidential candidate in the 1880 election. Instead of traveling around campaigning, the Garfields stayed at their home in Ohio and crowds of visitors, reporters, and people seeking jobs came to them.
James won the election, and Lucretia became first lady in March of 1881. She become seriously ill with malaria in May and was recuperating in New Jersey when James Garfield was shot on July 2. Lucretia returned to Washington to nurse him in the last few weeks of his life. He died September 19, six and a half months into his presidential term.
The Garfield family returned to Ohio. American citizens contributed money to support Lucretia and her children, who were ages 8 to 18. She created a memorial library to house her husband’s books and papers. She lived almost 37 years after his death and got to enjoy her 16 grandchildren. Reflecting on her life, she said:
My five children have been a continual joy and inspiration to me. And with the memory of my dear Husband and our little ones who didn’t stay very long . . . I have had a remarkable life. For does not life grow richer as the years go on? Even our losses lead us into wider fields and nobler thoughts.
Lucretia Garfield died at her winter home in Pasadena, California, in 1918. She was buried beside her husband in Cleveland, Ohio.
This 1906 photo by George Mountain Edmondson shows Lucretia Garfield with some of her children and grandchildren. Photo courtesy the Cleveland Public Library.
Learn More
This video tells the story of James and Lucretia Garfield and shows their home in Mentor, Ohio.
Explore more resources at Homeschool History.
