Ellen Lewis Herndon Arthur (August 30, 1837 – January 12, 1880) was the wife of the 21st President of the United States, Chester A. Arthur.
"Nell" Herndon was born in Culpeper Court House, Virginia, the daughter of William Lewis Herndon, a naval officer who gained national attention in 1857 when he calmly went down with his ship after having safely evacuated passengers and crew of the Central America amid a storm off Cape Hatteras, and Frances El...
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Ellen Lewis Herndon Arthur (August 30, 1837 – January 12, 1880) was the wife of the 21st President of the United States, Chester A. Arthur.
"Nell" Herndon was born in Culpeper Court House, Virginia, the daughter of William Lewis Herndon, a naval officer who gained national attention in 1857 when he calmly went down with his ship after having safely evacuated passengers and crew of the Central America amid a storm off Cape Hatteras, and Frances Elizabeth Hansborough-Herndon. She was also the niece of Matthew Fontaine Maury USN.
Nell and Chester Arthur were introduced in 1856 by her cousin Dabney Herndon, a friend of Arthur, in New York City. Arthur proposed to her on the porch of the U.S. Hotel in Saratoga Springs, New York after a brief courtship.
Arthur, aged 30, married Herndon, aged 22, on October 25, 1859, at Calvary Episcopal Church in New York City. The date was her father's birthdate. Arthur, who was from rural Vermont, is said to have learned the ways of high society from her...
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