Helen “Nellie” Taft was the wife of William Howard Taft, the 27th President of the United States. She served as First Lady from 1909 to 1913.
Early Life
Helen Louise Herron was born on June 2, 1861, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her father, Judge John Williamson Herron, was a college classmate of Benjamin Harrison and a law partner of Rutherford B. Hayes. Helen, who was called “Nellie,” attended private schools and attended the University of Cincinnati. She worked as a teacher prior to her marriage to William Taft.
Marriage to William Taft
Nellie met “that adorable Will Taft” at a sledding party in 1879. Their friendship turned romantic, and they were engaged in April 1885. William Taft called Nellie a “treasure,” further describing her as “self-contained, independent, and of unusual application.”
William and Nellie were married on June 19, 1886, at her parents’ home in Cincinnati. They honeymooned in New York City and Sea Bright, New Jersey, before embarking on a three-month European tour.
Nellie supported her husband’s blossoming legal career and his political aspirations. He rose from state judge to Solicitor General of the United States to federal circuit judge. In 1900, President William McKinley appointed William Taft Governor of the Philippine Islands, a position he held from 1900 to 1903. Nellie and the couple’s three children accompanied William Taft to his post. Nellie continued to travel with William when he was appointed Secretary of War in 1904.
First Lady of the United States
In 1908, William Taft was elected President. At his inauguration, Nellie Taft became the first presidential wife to ride beside her husband in the procession from the Capitol to the White House.
Just two months later, Nellie Taft suffered a severe stroke. She worked for two years to rehabilitate herself and was finally able to resume her duties. As First Lady, Nellie Taft focused on elevating the White House social scene, with formal dinners and elegant garden parties. As detailed in her official White House biography, Nellie Taft regarded a White House garden party celebrating the Taft’s’ silver wedding anniversary as “the greatest event” in her tenure as First Lady.
Nellie Taft’s most enduring legacy is the Japanese cherry trees that line the capital’s tidal basin. In 1909, she organized the planting of thousands of trees, inspired by a park she had visited when her husband was governor of the Philippines.
Later Life
After leaving the White House, the Tafts moved to New Haven, Connecticut, where William Taft taught law at Yale Law School. In 1921, they returned to Washington, D.C. when William Taft was appointed Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Nellie Taft remained in the city following her husband’s death in 1930. She died on May 22, 1943, at the age of 81.
