Editing Lucretia Garfield

{{Short description|First Lady of the United States in 1881}}
{{good article}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Lucretia Garfield
| image               = Lucretia Garfield - Brady-Handy.jpg
| office              = [[First Lady of the United States]]
| president           = [[James A. Garfield]]
| term_start          = March 4, 1881
| term_end            = September 19, 1881
| term_label          = In role
| predecessor         = [[Lucy Webb Hayes]]
| successor           = [[Mary Arthur McElroy]] {{small|(acting)}}
| birth_name          = Lucretia Rudolph
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1832|4|19}}
| birth_place         = [[Garrettsville, Ohio]], U.S.
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1918|3|14|1832|4|19}}
| death_place         = [[South Pasadena, California]], U.S.
| restingplace        = [[James A. Garfield Memorial]]
| spouse              = {{marriage|[[James A. Garfield]]|1858|1881|end=[[Assassination of James A. Garfield|died]]}}
| children            = 7, including [[Harry Augustus Garfield|Hal]], [[James Rudolph Garfield|James]], and [[Abram Garfield|Abram]]
| education           = [[Geauga Seminary]]<br/>[[Hiram College]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])
| signature           = Lucretia Garfield Signature.svg
| caption             = Portrait, {{circa|1880}}
}}

'''Lucretia Garfield''' ({{née}} '''Rudolph'''; April 19, 1832 – March 14, 1918) was the [[first lady of the United States]] from March to September 1881, as the wife of [[James A. Garfield]], the 20th [[president of the United States]]. 

Born in [[Garrettsville, Ohio]], Garfield first met her husband at [[Geauga Seminary]]. After a long courtship, they married in 1858. Their early years were difficult, as James was often away and became romantically involved with other women. They would eventually have seven children together, five of whom lived to adulthood. Highly educated and knowledgeable of Washington politics, Garfield was a regular adviser for her husband, and she assisted him in his [[front porch campaign]] for the presidency. She was well regarded during her brief period in the [[White House]], but after only a few months contracted [[malaria]] and went to [[Long Branch, New Jersey]], to recuperate.

On July 2 1881, her husband [[Assassination of James A. Garfield|was shot and mortally wounded]] by [[Charles Guiteau]]. He remained on his deathbed for months, during which time his wife stayed at his bedside and received much public sympathy. Garfield returned to her former residence in Ohio after being widowed, and she spent much of the rest of her life preserving her husband's papers and other materials, establishing what was effectively the first [[Presidential library system|presidential library]].

==Early life==
Lucretia "Crete" Rudolph was born in [[Garrettsville, Ohio]], on April 19, 1832. She was the daughter of carpenter Zebulon Rudolph and Arabella Mason Rudolph, the first of four children.<ref name="schneider">{{Cite book |last1=Schneider |first1=Dorothy |url=https://archive.org/details/firstladiesbiogr0000schn_k5c3 |title=First Ladies: A Biographical Dictionary |last2=Schneider |first2=Carl J. |publisher=Facts on File |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-4381-0815-5 |edition=3rd |pages=133–138 |language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|page=134}} She was raised as a member of the [[Disciples of Christ]].<ref name="boller">{{Cite book |last=Boller |first=Paul F. Jr. |url=https://archive.org/details/presidentialwive0000boll/ |title=Presidential Wives |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1988 |isbn=978-0-19-503763-0 |pages=155–161}}</ref>{{Rp|page=155}} Rudolph was often in poor health as a child, suffering from respiratory issues.<ref name="gould">{{Cite book |last=Peskin |first=Allan |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780815325857/ |title=American First Ladies: Their Lives and Their Legacy |publisher=Garland Publishing |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-8153-1479-0 |editor-last=Gould |editor-first=Lewis L. |pages=231–242 |chapter=Lucretia (Rudolph) Garfield}}</ref>{{Rp|page=231}} Spending long periods of time bedridden as a child, she developed a love for reading.<ref name="schneider" />{{Rp|page=134}}<ref name="gould" />{{Rp|page=231}} Her family was reserved, with very few outward shows of affection.<ref name="Sibley2016">{{cite book |last1=Arrington |first1=Benjamin T. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=77u4CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA263 |title=A Companion to First Ladies |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2016 |isbn=9781118732243 |editor-last=Sibley |editor-first=Katherine A. S. |pages=255–261}}</ref>{{Rp|page=255}}

Rudolph learned household skills from her mother, such as cleaning and cooking, as was common for girls at the time. Her parents also decided to have her receive a formal education, which was less common, and she attended the town's [[Grammar school#United States|grammar school]].<ref name="Sibley2016" />{{Rp|page=255}} She then attended the [[Geauga Seminary]] in [[Chester Township, Geauga County, Ohio|Chester Township, Ohio]], at same time as [[James A. Garfield]]. Her father co-founded the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute (now [[Hiram College]]), and she began attending the school in 1850.<ref name="schneider" />{{Rp|page=134}} Here she pursued her interest in literature, starting a literary group and contributing to a [[Student publication|school magazine]]. James attended the school as well, and he also took on a teaching position, becoming one of Randolph's teachers.<ref name="Sibley2016" />{{Rp|page=256}} Rudolph expressed beliefs that women were capable of their own achievements in society and that they should receive [[Gender pay gap|equal pay]] in employment, though she abandoned these beliefs after leaving college.<ref name="boller" />{{Rp|page=156}}<ref name="gould" />{{Rp|page=232}}

Rudolph and Garfield began a personal correspondence in November 1853, and they agreed to marry in early 1854. They began a [[Long-distance relationship|courtship by letter]] when Garfield moved away to attend [[Williams College]].<ref name="schneider" />{{Rp|page=134}} Garfield first noticed her for her intelligence,<ref name="caroli" />{{Rp|page=98}} though he discouraged her from overexerting herself in her studies.<ref name="schneider" />{{Rp|page=134}} Rudolph became a teacher, instructing classes in [[Cleveland]] and [[Ravenna, Ohio]].<ref name="longo">{{Cite book |last=Longo |first=James McMurtry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SVFkQJD7b1wC |title=From Classroom to White House: The Presidents and First Ladies as Students and Teachers |publisher=McFarland |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-7864-8846-9 |pages=83 |language=en}}</ref> The strength of their relationship fluctuated over the following years, as Garfield lamented Rudolph's reserved demeanor.<ref name="boller" />{{Rp|pages=156–157}} At one point, Garfield began a relationship with another woman, Rebecca Selleck, while he attended Williams College.<ref name="Sibley2016" />{{Rp|page=256}} Only after returning home and being allowed to read Rudolph's diary did Garfield realize the extent of her commitment.<ref name="gould" />{{Rp|page=233}}

==Marriage and family==

=== "Years of darkness" ===
[[File:James A Garfield and Lucretia RudolphRevise.jpg|thumbnail|left|James A. Garfield and Lucretia Rudolph during their engagement]]

Lucretia Rudolph and James Garfield married at Rudolph's home on November 11, 1858. Both had serious doubts about the wedding in the time leading up to their marriage, as they both felt that they had to marry because they were expected to do so,<ref name="schneider" />{{Rp|page=134}} and Rudolph was worried that she would lose any independence that she had obtained with a career.<ref name="caroli">{{Cite book |last=Caroli |first=Betty Boyd |author-link=Betty Boyd Caroli |url=https://archive.org/details/firstladiesfromm0000caro |title=First Ladies: From Martha Washington to Michelle Obama |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-19-539285-2 |pages=97–103 |language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|page=99}} They did not have a honeymoon after their marriage, instead moving straight into a [[boarding house]].<ref name="gould" />{{Rp|page=233}}

Lucretia Garfield's life did not change significantly in the years after her marriage, during which she continued working as a teacher.<ref name="caroli" />{{Rp|page=99}} Her husband was rarely home, away as a preacher, as a state legislator, and then as an officer in the [[Union Army]] during the [[American Civil War]]. In these first five years, they spent no more than 20 weeks together,<ref name="schneider" />{{Rp|pages=134–135}}<ref name="Sibley2016" />{{Rp|page=257}} and James openly expressed regret and contempt for their marriage.<ref name="caroli" />{{Rp|page=99}} Garfield kept living her life independently, maintaining her own social life and traveling without her husband.<ref name="schneider" />{{Rp|page=134}} She was hurt by the lack of attention he showed her, particularly after the birth of their first child, Eliza, in 1860.<ref name="Sibley2016" />{{Rp|page=257}} When James went to war in 1861, Lucretia returned to her parents' home.<ref name="schneider" />{{Rp|page=135}} They later described this period of their lives as their "years of darkness".<ref name="boller" />{{Rp|page=157}}

The Garfields did not develop a close relationship until James returned home from the Civil War, on leave after falling seriously ill with [[dysentery]]. They moved to a farmhouse in [[Howland Township, Trumbull County, Ohio|Howland Springs, Ohio]], where he could recover.<ref name="gould" />{{Rp|page=233}} This was the first home that they had to themselves,<ref name="schneider" />{{Rp|page=135}} and historians have described this period as a belated honeymoon.<ref name="gould" />{{Rp|page=233}}<ref name="Sibley2016" />{{Rp|page=257}} It was short lived, as he was called back to war the following month after he had recovered.<ref name="gould" />{{Rp|page=234}} His return to the military marked an end to this improvement in their relationship, and they were again distant from one another. James pursued other women while away, again expressing interest in Selleck as well as [[Kate Chase]].<ref name="boller" />{{Rp|page=158}} Garfield had her second child, [[Harry Augustus Garfield|Harry]], in 1863. Two months later, their firstborn died of [[diphtheria]].<ref name="gould" />{{Rp|page=234}} This sudden death strengthened their relationship further as they shared their grief.<ref name="schneider" />{{Rp|page=135}}<ref name="Sibley2016" />{{Rp|page=257}}

=== Congressional wife ===
[[File:Garfield children.jpg|thumb|The Garfield children]]

Shortly after their daughter's death, James moved to [[Washington, D.C.]], as he had been elected to the [[United States House of Representatives]]. Lucretia remained in Ohio, where she again felt lonely as her husband was away.<ref name="Sibley2016" />{{Rp|pages=257–258}} While James was away, he engaged in romantic intimacy with [[Lucia Runkle|Lucia Calhoun]], an editorial writer, and then confessed to his wife.<ref name="Sibley2016" />{{Rp|page=258}} The extent of James's actions are unknown;<ref name="gould" />{{Rp|page=234}} he traveled to New York on Lucretia's request to retrieve the compromising letters he sent and destroy them.<ref name="Sibley2016" />{{Rp|page=258}} The Garfields determined that they had to fix their marriage, and their relationship began to improve.<ref name="boller" />{{Rp|page=158}}<ref name="gould" />{{Rp|page=234}} Garfield began visiting her husband in Washington in early 1864. She had two more children during this time: she had her third child, [[James Rudolph Garfield|James]], in 1865 while she stayed in Washington, and she had her fourth child Mary, in 1867.<ref name="schneider" />{{Rp|page=135}}

The Garfields often traveled to New Jersey each summer,<ref name="Sibley2016" />{{Rp|page=258}} and they took a vacation to Europe in 1867.<ref name="caroli" />{{Rp|page=100}} In 1869, the family decided to relocate to Washington permanently, and they built a home in the capital. It was the first home that they owned themselves, and it was the first time that Lucretia and James lived together for an extended period of time.<ref name="schneider" />{{Rp|page=135}} She had three more children while living here: Irvin in 1870, [[Abram Garfield|Abram]] in 1872, and Edward in 1874.<ref name="schneider" />{{Rp|pages=135–136}} Also among their household were servants, governesses, and James's mother.<ref name="gould" />{{Rp|page=235}} Their youngest son died in 1876. The same year, they purchased a farm in Ohio so they had a home of their own that they could live in each summer.<ref name="Sibley2016" />{{Rp|page=258}} Garfield agreed with the belief that women should live domestic lives, though she also resented the idea.<ref name="schneider" />{{Rp|page=136}} She did not play a direct role in her husband's Congressional career, hosting and attending very few Washington social events.<ref name="caroli" />{{Rp|page=100}} Instead, she offered him advice,<ref name="gould" />{{Rp|page=236}} and she visited the [[United States Capitol]] to watch him speak in Congress.<ref name="Sibley2016" />{{Rp|page=258}}

=== 1880 presidential election ===
Garfield was dismayed when her husband was only raised as a compromise presidential candidate during the [[1880 Republican National Convention]]; she wished that he would be nominated because he was the most popular choice.<ref name="gould" />{{Rp|page=236}}<ref name="anthony">{{Cite book |last=Anthony |first=Carl Sferrazza |url=https://archive.org/details/firstladiessagao00anth |title=First Ladies: The Saga of the Presidents' Wives and Their Power, 1789–1961 |publisher=William Morrow and Company |year=1990 |isbn=978-0-688-11272-1 |language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|pages=235–236}} Over the following months, they held a [[front porch campaign]] in which countless voters visited the Garfield home to meet the candidate.<ref name="gould" />{{Rp|pages=236–237}} She only learned that he was successfully nominated when the first visitors arrived with the news.<ref name="anthony" />{{Rp|page=234}} Garfield became the first spouse of a presidential candidate to appear on a campaign poster, though she only allowed the one photo to be taken of her for the campaign.<ref name="anthony" />{{Rp|page=235}} James was elected president in the [[1880 United States presidential election|1880 presidential election]].<ref name="Sibley2016" />{{Rp|page=259}}

During the interim period in which James was president-elect, Lucretia became his closest adviser. When he was choosing members of his [[Cabinet of the United States|presidential cabinet]], she insisted on the inclusion of [[James G. Blaine]], whom she admired, while she rejected [[Thaddeus C. Pound]] because his wife had once been involved in a scandal.<ref name="gould" />{{Rp|pages=237–238}} She also urged her husband not to trust the [[Stalwarts (politics)|Stalwart]] faction of his party, insisting that he "fight them dead".<ref name="boller" />{{Rp|page=160}}<ref name="anthony" />{{Rp|page=238}} Her distrust of the Stalwarts came not only from Blaine's warnings about them, but also the fact that Stalwart leader [[Roscoe Conkling]], like her husband, had been romantically involved with Kate Chase.<ref name="gould" />{{Rp|page=237}} Leading up to the [[Inauguration of James A. Garfield|inauguration]], Garfield traveled to New York under an alias to shop for a dress, and the Garfields arrived in Washington on March 1, 1881.<ref name="Sibley2016" />{{Rp|page=259}}

==First Lady of the United States==
[[File:2011-LGarfield-proof-rev.jpg|thumb|Garfield portrayed on the reverse of the 2011 [[Presidential dollar coins#First Spouse program|First Spouse ten-dollar coin]]]]
=== White House hostess ===
Garfield became first lady on March 4, 1881, after her husband was inaugurated as [[President of the United States]].<ref name="Sibley2016" />{{Rp|page=259}} Her hosting responsibilities as first lady went far beyond those that were expected of her when she was a Congressional wife, and she sought advice from Blaine's wife, Harriet.<ref name="schneider" />{{Rp|page=137}}<ref name="gould" />{{Rp|page=238}} Her interest was in the opportunity to meet prominent writers and artists, and she entered the White House with a list of names she wished to invite.<ref name="anthony" />{{Rp|page=238}} Garfield paid more attention to political aspects of the role than the social aspects, and the president kept her updated on happenings in Washington that were not known to the public.<ref name="anthony" />{{Rp|page=239}} Though she believed in [[gender equality]], she rejected the [[women's suffrage]] movement, feeling that women had yet to embrace education, which she believed was necessary before equality could be achieved.<ref name="anthony" />{{Rp|page=240}}

Unlike her predecessor, [[Lucy Webb Hayes]], Garfield did not have strong opinions about the [[Temperance movement in the United States|temperance movement]], and she resumed the serving of alcohol at White House events.<ref name="Sibley2016" />{{Rp|page=259}} This was a decision of some political consequence, as the temperance movement was a predominantly [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] voting bloc, but the banning of alcohol displeased prominent Washington figures and foreign diplomats.<ref name="gould" />{{Rp|pages=238–239}} She dismissed the temperance advocates lobbying her to reinstate the ban, determining that alcohol in the White House was a small aspect of temperance receiving disproportionate attention.<ref name="anthony" />{{Rp|pages=238–239}}

As her tenure began, Garfield took on the responsibility of refurbishing the White House and lobbying Congress for funding to this end.<ref name="gould" />{{Rp|page=239}} She took particular interest in White House history, and she often visited the [[Library of Congress]] to research the building.<ref name="anthony" />{{Rp|page=240}} Garfield participated in only one interview while she was first lady, in which she freely spoke about politics and her support for Blaine.<ref name="anthony" />{{Rp|page=239}}

=== Assassination of James A. Garfield ===
[[File:Death of General James A. Garfield- Twentieth President of the United States LCCN91793592 (cropped).jpg|thumb|A depiction of Garfield at her husband's deathbed]]
Only two months into her tenure as first lady, Garfield was afflicted with a life-threatening case of [[malaria]].<ref name="Sibley2016" />{{Rp|pages=259–260}} The president suspended many of his duties so that he could personally tend to her.<ref name="gould" />{{Rp|page=240}}<ref name="anthony" />{{Rp|page=241}} Her health began to return by June, and her husband rented a cottage in [[Long Branch, New Jersey]], for her to live in while she recuperated.<ref name="boller" />{{Rp|page=160}}<ref name="Sibley2016" />{{Rp|page=260}} [[Charles J. Guiteau]] waited to intercept them with the intention of shooting the president, but the sight of Lucretia, still visibly ill, caused him to hesitate. Weeks later, on July 2, [[Assassination of James A. Garfield|Guiteau shot the president]].<ref name="boller" />{{Rp|page=160}}<ref name="anthony" />{{Rp|page=242}} The shot was not immediately lethal, and James sent [[David G. Swaim]] to inform Lucretia.<ref name="schneider" />{{Rp|page=137}}<ref name="Sibley2016" />{{Rp|page=260}} A train was arranged to take her directly to Washington so she could see her injured husband.<ref name="gould" />{{Rp|page=240}}

Over the following months, Lucretia stayed by James's bed as his injuries became infected and his health deteriorated. She insisted that her own personal physician, [[Susan Ann Edson]], one of the country's first female physicians, was among those treating the president.<ref name="Sibley2016" />{{Rp|page=260}} Garfield's anguish while sitting at her husband's deathbed earned her widespread sympathy and admiration from the public.<ref name="caroli" />{{Rp|page=101}}<ref name="anthony" />{{Rp|pages=243–244}} The president died on September 19, 1881.<ref name="schneider" />{{Rp|page=137}}

==Later life and death==
[[File:Mrs. James A. Garfield, children and grandchildren 1906 - DPLA - 54476bf4db9794c34b9489baf38559f0.jpg|thumb|Garfield (center, seated) surrounded by her children and grandchildren, 1906]]
Garfield organized her husband's public funeral and the creation of [[James A. Garfield Memorial|his tomb]] in [[Lake View Cemetery]].<ref name="gould" />{{Rp|page=241}} She was financially secure as a widow. In addition to an annual $5,000 pension granted by Congress ({{Inflation|index=US|value=5000|start_year=1881|fmt=eq}}), [[Cyrus W. Field]] saw to the creation of a donation drive for her and her children that accumulated a large sum of money.{{efn|The sum has alternatively been reported as $300,000 ({{Inflation|index=US|value=300000|start_year=1881|fmt=eq}})<ref name="boller" />{{Rp|page=160}}<ref name="anthony" />{{Rp|page=244}} or $360,000 ({{Inflation|index=US|value=360000|start_year=1881|fmt=eq}}).<ref name="schneider" />{{Rp|page=137}}<ref name="gould" />{{Rp|page=241}}}} Despite this wealth, she continued to live economically.<ref name="anthony" />{{Rp|page=278}}

Over the following years, Garfield worked to preserve records of her husband's presidency and his legacy. She worked with historian [[Theodore Clarke Smith]] to organize her husband's papers and to document her own memories of the presidency.<ref name="schneider" />{{Rp|pages=137–138}} In 1885, she oversaw the construction of a library on [[James A. Garfield National Historic Site|her Ohio property]] to house all of her husband's books and presidential documents. This came to be recognized as the first [[Presidential library system|presidential library]].<ref name="Sibley2016" />{{Rp|pages=260–261}}

In her old age, Garfield found a [[Garfield House (South Pasadena, California)|winter home]] in [[South Pasadena, California]].<ref name="gould" />{{Rp|page=241}} She became a prominent member of the community, and she attended the first [[Rose Parade]].<ref name="anthony" />{{Rp|page=303}} When [[World War I]] began, she carried out volunteer work each day with the Pasadena Red Cross war committee.<ref name="anthony" />{{Rp|page=362}} When [[Theodore Roosevelt]] became president, Garfield became a supporter of his [[Progressivism in the United States|progressivism]].<ref name="anthony" />{{Rp|page=335}} In 1916, she supported Democrat [[Woodrow Wilson]] for president.<ref name="anthony" />{{Rp|page=362}} Garfield died of [[pneumonia]] at her [[Garfield House (South Pasadena, California)|winter home]] in [[South Pasadena, California]], on March 14, 1918. She was buried with her husband in Lake View Cemetery.<ref name="schneider" />{{Rp|page=138}}

== Legacy ==
[[File:Garf 07-04-2008 02;10;53PM.JPG|thumb|The back of the Garfield's home at the [[James A. Garfield National Historic Site]] (2005)]]
Garfield had one of the shortest tenures of any first lady, second only to [[Anna Harrison]].<ref name="gould" />{{Rp|page=241}} Despite this short tenure, she has received more attention from historians than her predecessor, Lucy Hayes.<ref name="Sibley2016" />{{Rp|page=261}} This short tenure precluded any direct influence that she may have had on the position,<ref name="gould" />{{Rp|page=241}} but her practice of preserving her husband's documents in a library was adopted by other first ladies, such as [[Edith Wilson]] and [[Nancy Reagan]].<ref name="Sibley2016" />{{Rp|page=261}} Garfield's own papers are kept in the [[Library of Congress]].<ref name="gould" />{{Rp|page=241}} She was only the second of the first ladies to receive [[higher education]].<ref name="Sibley2016" />{{Rp|page=256}} 

=== Historical assessments ===
Since 1982 [[Siena College Research Institute]] has periodically conducted surveys asking historians to assess American first ladies according to a cumulative score on the independent criteria of their background, value to the country, intelligence, courage, accomplishments, integrity, leadership, being their own women, public image, and value to the president.<ref name="Siena20142">{{cite web |date=February 15, 2014 |title=Eleanor Roosevelt Retains Top Spot as America's Best First Lady Michelle Obama Enters Study as 5th, Hillary Clinton Drops to 6th Clinton Seen First Lady Most as Presidential Material; Laura Bush, Pat Nixon, Mamie Eisenhower, Bess Truman Could Have Done More in Office Eleanor & FDR Top Power Couple; Mary Drags Lincolns Down in the Ratings |url=https://scri.siena.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/FirstLadies2014Release_Final.pdf |access-date=16 May 2022 |website=scri.siena.edu |publisher=Siena Research Institute}}</ref> In terms of cumulative assessment, Garfield has been ranked:

* 30th-best of 42 in 1982<ref name="Siena2008">{{cite web |date=December 18, 2008 |title=Ranking America's First Ladies Eleanor Roosevelt Still #1 Abigail Adams Regains 2nd Place Hillary moves from 5 th to 4 th; Jackie Kennedy from 4th to 3rd Mary Todd Lincoln Remains in 36th |url=https://scri.siena.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/FL_2008Release.pdf |access-date=16 May 2022 |publisher=Siena Research Institute}}</ref>
* 28th-best of 37 in 1993<ref name="Siena2008" />
* 30th-best of 38 in 2003<ref name="Siena2008" />
* 27th-best of 38 in 2008<ref name="Siena2008" />
* 28th-best of 38 in 2014<ref name="2014Sienna1">{{cite web |date=2014 |title=Siena College Research Institute/C-SPAN Study of the First Ladies of the United States 2014 FirstLadies2014_Full Rankings.xls |url=https://scri.siena.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Appendix_A_Overall_Survey_Results.pdf |access-date=21 October 2022 |website=scri.siena.edu |publisher=Sienna College Research Institute/C-SPAN}}</ref>
* 27th-best of 40 in 2020<ref name="Siena2020results">{{cite web |title=Copy of FirstLadies_Full Rankings_working_dl_2.xls |url=https://scri.siena.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/First-Ladies-Full-Rankings-2020.pdf |website=scri.siena.edu |publisher=Siena Research Institute |access-date=March 11, 2025 |date=2020}}</ref>

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

== Further reading ==

* {{Cite book |last=Leech |first=Margaret |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sr53AAAAMAAJ |title=The Garfield Orbit |publisher=Harper & Row |year=1978 |isbn=9780060125516}}
* {{Cite book |last=Millard |first=Candice |url=https://archive.org/details/destinyofrepubli0000mill |title=Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President |publisher=Doubleday |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-385-52626-5}}
* {{Cite book |last=Peskin |first=Allan |url=https://archive.org/details/garfieldbiograph0000pesk |title=Garfield |publisher=Kent State University Press |year=1978 |isbn=9780873382106}}
* {{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/cretejamesperson0000unse |title=Crete and James: Personal Letters of Lucretia and James Garfield |publisher=Michigan State University Press |year=1994 |isbn=9780870133381 |editor-last=Shaw |editor-first=John}}
* {{Cite book |last=Shaw |first=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4M_qeO9nQDwC |title=Lucretia |publisher=Nova History Publications |year=2001 |isbn=9781594541513}}

==External links==
{{commons category-inline}}
*[http://firstladies.c-span.org/FirstLady/22/Lucretia-Garfield.aspx Lucretia Garfield] at [[C-SPAN]]'s ''[[First Ladies: Influence & Image]]''

{{s-start}}
{{s-hon}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Lucy Webb Hayes|Lucy Hayes]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[First Lady of the United States]]|years=1881}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Mary Arthur McElroy|Mary McElroy]]<br />{{Small|Acting}}}}
{{s-end}}

{{US First Ladies}}
{{James A. Garfield}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garfield, Lucretia}}
[[Category:1832 births]]
[[Category:1918 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century American women]]
[[Category:19th-century Disciples of Christ]]
[[Category:20th-century American people]]
[[Category:20th-century American women]]
[[Category:20th-century Disciples of Christ]]
[[Category:American Disciples of Christ]]
[[Category:American people of English descent]]
[[Category:American people of German descent]]
[[Category:American people of Irish descent]]
[[Category:American people of Welsh descent]]
[[Category:Burials at Lake View Cemetery, Cleveland]]
[[Category:First ladies of the United States]]
[[Category:Garfield family|Lucretia]]
[[Category:Hiram College alumni]]
[[Category:People from Hiram, Ohio]]
[[Category:People from Mentor, Ohio]]
[[Category:People from South Pasadena, California]]
[[Category:Spouses of Ohio politicians]]
[[Category:People from Garrettsville, Ohio]]