Who was the real Lucretia Garfield? Inside the forgotten life of a fleeting First Lady
Lucretia Garfield, also known as Crete, was the wife of US President James A Garfield and served briefly as First Lady in 1881. She was admired for her stoic devotion during the president’s long illness that followed his wounding by assassin Charles Guiteau (as depicted in the Netflix drama Death by Lightning), and for her later efforts to preserve his papers and legacy
When US President James A Garfield was shot by Charles Guiteau in July 1881, the nation’s focus turned not only to the wounded president and his successor Chester A Arthur, but also to his wife, Lucretia Garfield, sometimes known to history as ‘Crete’.
She was with him for more than two months as he died, dividing her time between his sickroom in Washington, DC, and the New Jersey seaside house where doctors hoped the air might help him recover.
Contemporary newspapers heaped praise upon her for her strength and devotion, at a moment of personal and national anxiety.
But her stoicism in the face of personal tragedy is just one part of Lucretia’s story – part of which is dramatised in the Netflix series, Death by Lightning, which follows the assassination of President Garfield. Behind her composure was a life of intellectual interest and loyalty that was present long before she became First Lady.
Who was Lucretia ‘Crete’ Garfield?
Lucretia Rudolph Garfield is remembered in history as the wife of James A Garfield, the 20th President of the United States. She served as First Lady for only six months before her husband died of fatal wounds following an attack by assassin Charles Guiteau. She had previously been a teacher and scholar, and retained passion for education and literature throughout her life.
Her poise during his slow death earned wide admiration across the United States, and in the decades that followed she became a guardian of his papers and legacy.
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Lucretia Garfield’s early life and education
Lucretia Rudolph was born on 19 April 1832 in Garrettsville, Ohio. She was the daughter of Zebulon and Arabella Rudolph. Her father, a carpenter-farmer and local politician, believed in the power of education and ensured that all his children studied beyond the basic level then available in rural Ohio.
Early friends remembered her as a serious figure even from a young age. She was well-read and chose to spend her time studying. She was once quoted as saying: “Books are more faithful companions than the crowds that pass.”
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In 1850, in her late teenage years, she enrolled at the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute (later Hiram College), one of the few co-educational colleges in the region.
Lucretia studied philosophy, literature and science, and impressed her teachers with her diligence and clarity of thought. Among her classmates was James A Garfield, a handful of months older and already known for his energy and oratory skills. Their friendship, formed through shared academic interests, soon began.
Lucretia and James Garfield’s marriage and family life
Lucretia and James’ relationship developed slowly and in a non-linear fashion. They were briefly engaged, then separated for several years before reconciling.
They married on 11 November 1858 in Hiram, after a long and sometimes hesitant courtship, with his sociability and ambition often standing in contrast to her more reserved nature.
The couple began married life in modest circumstances. When the American Civil War broke out in 1861, Garfield entered military service while Lucretia managed the household and their growing family. In his absence, she handled finances, kept detailed household accounts, and offered political observations to James via her letters.
They had seven children, five of whom survived to adulthood: Harry, James, Mary, Irvin, and Abram.
Their marriage wasn’t without challenge; during his service, Garfield had an extramarital affair with a woman named Lucia Calhoun in Washington, DC. He later admitted the indiscretion and was forgiven by his wife.
By the 1870s, James having returned from war, their marriage had become close to an equal partnership. Garfield consulted her on political decisions and drafts of speeches, and she often edited his work.
Lucretia’s time as First Lady of the United States
When Garfield was elected president in 1880, Lucretia was reluctant to step into her new role as First Lady. She valued privacy and found the ‘high society’ of Gilded Age America artificial, though she soon established her own good reputation. Her receptions were smaller than those of her predecessors, but more personal.
She took particular interest in restoring and cataloguing the White House’s historical furnishings, many of which had fallen into disrepair. Her plans for preservation and displaying items anticipated later efforts to treat the residence as a national museum. She also began a small library, for the use of White House staff and guests.
Shortly after her husband’s inauguration in March 1881, Lucretia contracted malaria and was sent to the seaside city of Long Branch, New Jersey, to recover. It was there, in July 1881, that she received a telegram containing news of an attack on her husband.
Lucretia Garfield’s reaction to the assassination of President Garfield
On 2 July 1881, President Garfield was shot by Charles Guiteau at a Washington, DC, railway station. The president was seriously wounded but still alive as he was taken to the White House to recover. Despite her illness, Lucretia travelled immediately from New Jersey.
For more than ten weeks she kept an almost continuous vigil at his side. She read aloud from Shakespeare and from the Bible, selecting passages that spoke to ideas of stoicism and courage.
The public sympathy for Lucretia was immense. Newspapers bore reports of her composure, and thousands of telegrams of support arrived.
When Garfield was moved to Long Branch in September in the hope that sea air would aid his recovery, Lucretia oversaw the journey, travelling by his side when he was moved in his sickbed.
On 19 September 1881, when Garfield died from infection caused by his wounds. Lucretia was by his bedside. Garfield was the first US president to die following an attack by an assassin since Abraham Lincoln.
At the funeral in Cleveland, Ohio – Garfield had served on the Ohio state senate, forever cementing his link to the state – crowds lined the streets in solemn respect as her carriage passed.
What was Lucretia Garfield’s life like after her husband’s death?
Following her husband’s death, Lucretia withdrew from public life. She refused interviews and declined invitations to political events, focusing instead on being with their children, and tasking herself with the preservation of Garfield’s writings.
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In 1882, she purchased a home in Cleveland which she named Lawnfield. While there she began organising her husband’s papers and correspondence, creating the first presidential library. Her careful cataloguing efforts later provided the foundation for the James A Garfield Memorial Library.
Lucretia also oversaw the design and construction of the James A Garfield Memorial in Cleveland’s Lake View Cemetery, completed in 1890. She personally selected the artists and approved inscriptions, insisting that the building include both a tomb and a public museum. It became one of the first presidential monuments to incorporate an educational space.
Lucretia Garfield’s later years
Lucretia never commented publicly on Charles Guiteau, the assassin. Neither did she attend his trial, or his execution in 1882.
In her later years she divided her time between Cleveland and the West Coast. She remained interested in education and social reform, supporting local schools and charities but avoiding public attention. During the First World War, she followed events closely and corresponded with her son Harry, who was involved in relief work.
Lucretia Garfield died on 13 March 1918, aged 85, at her home in Pasadena, California. She was buried beside her husband in the Garfield Memorial.
Death by Lightning is streaming on Netflix now. For more content like this, check out the best historical movies of all time as chosen by historians, history TV shows and films to stream tonight, and our picks of the new history TV and radio released in the UK this week.
Authors
James Osborne is a digital content producer at HistoryExtra where he writes, researches, and edits articles, while also conducting the occasional interview