First Ladies of the United States: Ellen Arthur

Ellen Arthur, née Ellen Lewis Herndon, byname Nell, (born August 30, 1837, Culpeper, Virginia, U.S.—died January 12, 1880, New York, New York), wife of Chester A. Arthur, 21st president of the United States. She never served as first lady because she died of pneumonia before her husband assumed office. The president’s sister, Mary Arthur McElroy, acted as White House hostess.

Chester Alan Arthur's beloved "Nell" died of pneumonia on January 12, 1880. That November, when he was elected Vice President, he was still mourning her bitterly. In his own words: "Honors to me now are not what they once were." His grief was the more poignant because she was only 42 and her death sudden. Just two days earlier she had attended a benefit concert in New York City--while he was busy with politics in Albany--and she caught cold that night while waiting for her carriage. She was already unconscious when he reached her side.