Margaret Mackall Smith Taylor
First Lady of the United States
in role
March 4, 1849 - July 9, 1850
Born in Calver County, Maryland on September 21, 1788, the
daughter of Walter Smith, a prosperous Maryland planter and veteran officer of
the American Revolution, and the former Ann Mackall, “Peggy” was raised amid
refinement and wealth.
While visiting her sister in Kentucky in 1809, she was introduced
to Lieutenant Zachary Taylor, who was home on leave.
Lt. Taylor, aged 25, married Peggy Smith, aged 21, on June
21, 1810, at the home of the bride’s sister, Mrs. Mary Chew near Louisville,
Kentucky. She followed him from fort to fort as his career advanced except for
while he was serving in the Mexican American War; She lived at their Cypress
Grove Plantation in Jefferson County, Mississippi.
With the rise in Zachary Taylor’s political career, his wife
Peggy Taylor literally prayed for his defeat, for she dreaded the personal consequences
of his becoming the president. By the time she became the First Lady in 1849, the
hardships of following her husband from fort-to-fort and enduring several
childbirths over the 39 year period had taken their toll. Two small girls died
in 1820 of what Taylor called “a violent bilious fever,” which left Peggy’s
health impaired; three girls and a boy grew up.
A semi-invalid, she remained in seclusion on the second
floor of the White House, leaving the duties of official hostess to her
daughter, Mary Elizabeth “Betty” Bliss.
After participating in ceremonies at the Washington Monument
on a blistering July 4, 1850, President Taylor fell ill and within five days he
was dead. Margaret Taylor’s health deteriorated rapidly after his sudden death.
She died two years later August 14, 1852, in Pascagoula, Mississippi. She was buried
next to her husband near Louisville, Kentucky.
