14 Facts About Nell Arthur

Ellen Lewis "Nell" Arthur was the wife of the 21st president of the United States, Chester A Arthur.

Nell Arthur died of pneumonia in January 1880; her husband was elected vice-president that November.

Nell Arthur succeeded to the presidency in September 1881 when President James A Garfield was assassinated.

Nell Arthur's father was a naval officer who gained national renown in 1857 when he went down with his ship, the mail steamer SS Central America, along with more than 400 passengers and crew.

Nell and the future US President Chester A Arthur were introduced in 1856 by her cousin Dabney Herndon Maury, a friend of Arthur, in New York City.

Nell Arthur proposed to her on the porch of the US Hotel in Saratoga Springs, New York after a brief courtship.

Nell Arthur, who was from rural Vermont, is said to have learned refined dressing while at Union College in upstate New York, where he was in the debating society, and the ways of high society from her socially prominent family.

Nell Arthur's singing as a soloist at the Mendelssohn Glee Club earned her renown of her own.

On January 10,1880, Nell Arthur came down with a cold.

Nell Arthur quickly developed pneumonia and died two days later on January 12,1880, at age 42 in New York City, New York.

Nell Arthur was buried in the Arthur family plot in Albany, New York.

The president's sister Mary Nell Arthur McElroy served as hostess and unofficial First Lady for Nell Arthur's social activities as president.

Nell Arthur cared for the Arthur children, who were then 16 and 9 years of age.

Nell Arthur had it installed where he could view it at night, as the lights were kept on within the church.