Ellen Herndon Arthur
On a cold winter day in January 1880, Mrs. Arthur came down with a bad cold
while waiting for a carriage after an evening concert in New York City. She developed
pneumonia and fell into a coma before Arthur had arrived from Albany, New York,
where he was attending to political business. Nell died two days later at age forty-two.
Elected vice president in November 1880, Arthur mourned his wife for the rest of his life.
The only child of prominent Virginians Elizabeth Hansbrough and William
Lewis Herndon, Nell was born in 1837 at Culpeper Court House. Her father was a navy
officer and the family moved to Washington, D.C., where he assisted his brother-in-law
Lieutenant Matthew Fontaine Maury to establish the U.S. Naval Observatory. The family
then relocated to New York where her father commanded a mail steamer operating out of
that city. Through her cousin, Nell was introduced to "Chet" Arthur in 1856. The two fell
in love and were engaged the next year. They married on October 25, 1859. The Arthurs
had three children, but the first one died when only two.
Nell and Chester Arthur clearly loved one another, but over the years, their
marriage had grown stiff and somewhat distant. She never quite forgave him for his role
in the Civil War, and he felt embarrassed by her Confederate sympathies. She loved the
social life that Arthur's wealth and position provided her, and she kept active by attending
concerts, hosting parties, and raising her children. An accomplished and talented singer,
she performed with the Mendelssohn Glee Club and at numerous benefits in New York.
She nevertheless often felt abandoned by Arthur as he pursued his political
activities, late-night socializing, and long fishing trips. As things worsened, the Arthurs
were so at odds with each other that they talked rather vaguely and gently about a
separation and possible divorce—an almost unheard of step for anyone in public life in
those days. However, Nell never made it to the White House. She died of pneumonia in
January 1880, about twenty months before Arthur took the excusive office. Ellen was
only forty-two when she died; Arthur was filled with remorse for having neglected her.
When he was President, he gave a stained class window in her memory to St. John
Episcopal Church in Washington where she sung in the choir as a young woman. At his
special request, the window was positioned so that he could view it at night from the
White House with the church lights beaming through. Also Arthur placed fresh flowers
daily before her portrait in the executive mansion during his presidency.
Mary Arthur McElroy
Chester Arthur became president with the assassination of President Garfield in
1881. Arthur persuaded his youngest sister, Mary McElroy to spend several months each
year in the White House acting as “Mistress of the White House.” Even though Mary did
not enjoy leaving behind her family, she proved to be a capable hostess. Her efforts were
generally better received than the President’s work.