Editing Edith Wilson (section)

==Education==

Edith had little formal education. While her sisters were enrolled in local schools, Edith was taught how to read and write at home. Her paternal grandmother, Anne Wiggington Bolling, played a large role in her education. Crippled by a [[spinal cord]] injury, Grandmother Bolling was confined to bed. Edith had the responsibility to wash her clothing, turn her in bed at night, and look after her 26 [[Domestic Canary|canaries]].{{cn|date=August 2024}}

In turn, Grandmother Bolling oversaw Edith's education, teaching her reading, writing, basic math skills, speaking a [[Franglais|hybrid language of French and English]], and making dresses. She also  instilled in Edith a tendency to make quick judgments and hold strong opinions, personality traits Edith would exhibit her entire life.<ref name="auto">Schneider and Schneider, p. 191.</ref> William Bolling read [[Classic book|classic]] [[English literature]] aloud to his family at night, hired a tutor to teach Edith, and sometimes took her on his travels. The Bolling family attended church regularly, and Edith became a lifelong, practicing [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopalian]].<ref name="auto3">Gould, p. 237.</ref>

When Edith was 15, her father enrolled her at Martha Washington College (a precursor of [[Emory and Henry College]]), a [[finishing school]] for girls in [[Abingdon, Virginia]].<ref name="auto3"/> William Holcombe Bolling chose it for its excellent music program.<ref>McCallops, p. 2.</ref> Edith proved to be an undisciplined, ill-prepared student. She was miserable there, complaining of the school's austerity: the food was poorly prepared, the rooms too cold, and the daily curriculum excessively rigorous, intimidating, and too strictly regimented.<ref>Schneider and Schneider, p. 191; and Gould, p. 237.</ref> Edith left after only one semester.<ref>Mayo, p. 170</ref> Two years later, Edith's father enrolled her in Powell's School for Girls in [[Richmond, Virginia]]. Years later, Edith noted that her time at Powell's was the happiest time of her life.<ref name="auto"/> Unfortunately for Edith, the school closed at the end of the year after the headmaster suffered an accident that cost him his leg. Concerned about the cost of Edith's education, William Bolling refused to pay for any additional schooling, choosing instead to focus on educating her three brothers.<ref>Gould, p. 237; McCallops, p. 3.</ref>