She was born in Wytheville, VA in 1872

 

At age 15 she went to Martha Washington College to study music, with a second year at a smaller school in Richmond. She was a direct descendant of Virginia aristocracy and as well as the famous American Indian, Pocohontas,

 

 

 

Her husband, Woodrow Wilson, served as president from 1915 to 1921.

 

Edith met Norman Galt, a prosperous jeweler; in 1896 they were married, but in 1908 her husband died unexpectedly. She met President Wilson in 1915 and they were married shortly after that meeting.

 

President Wilson’s health failed in September 1919 as a stroke left him partly paralyzed. His constant attendant, Edith Wilson took over many routine duties and details of government. Edith Wilson submerged her own life in her husband's, trying to keep him fit under tremendous strain from dealing with the war in 1917. She was "the first woman to run the government" for the role she played when her husband suffered prolonged and disabling illness.    

 

One of the things she will be remembered for is that she brought sheep onto white house lawn and auctioned off wool for Red Cross.