PRESIDENT EDITH WILSON

                Edith Boling was a direct descendant of Pocahontas and John Rolfe.  She was widowed at age 35 when her husband Norman Galt died from the flu.  Seven years later, she went walking with her friend Helen Bones.  Helen was the cousin of Pres. Wilson and they ended up at the White House.  Coming out of an elevator in the residence, they met Wilson and his doctor.  Although disheveled from the walk, Woodrow took an instant liking to his cousin’s friend and invited them to tea.  Wilson’s wife Ellen had died the previous year and he was just getting over it.  Edith was a nightly dinner guest after that and Wilson proposed two months after they met.  They were married on Dec. 18, 1915.   They became partners with Woodrow valuing his wife’s opinions.  She was allowed to code and decode classified documents.  In Sept., 1919 she accompanied him on a long trip around the country to give speeches supporting the Versailles Treaty.  On Sept. 19, the President collapsed from exhaustion and was rushed back to the White House.  On Dec. 2, Edith found him on the bathroom floor.  Doctor Grayson told the public the President was suffering from “nervous exhaustion” and bed-ridden.  In reality, he had suffered a paralyzing stroke.  He was alert and his mind was clear, but he had to run the government from his bedroom.  The extent of his problem was kept a secret by a few people around the President, including his wife.  It was she who decided who was allowed to see the President and what issues could be brought to him.  She was a chief of staff before that position was created.  The newspapers sensed something was amiss and the situation was referred to as “petticoat government” and she was called “the Presidentress”.  With the help of his wife (and without the help of his incompetent Vice President), Wilson served out the rest of his term.  But he never fully recovered.  He died in 1924.  Edith lived until 1961.

                –  Amazing pp. 422-4