Helen Herron Taft

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Helen Herron "Nellie" Taft (June 2,1861 - May 22,1943) was the wife of William Howard Taft, the President of the United States. She acted as the First Lady of the United States from 1909 to 1913.

Her parents were Harriet Collins and John W. Herron. She was their fourth child. She spent her childhood in Cincinnati, Ohio. When Helen Herron was 18 years old, she met Will Taft. They married in 1886. William Howard Taft and Helen Herron Taft had three children:

Robert A. Taft (1889-1953), United States Senator from Ohio
Helen Taft Manning (1891-1987), Professor at Bryn Mawr College
Charles Phelps Taft II (1897-1983), mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio.

She remained associated with her husband’s rise in administration and politics. When her husband became the president, she gave special attention to the social life at the White House. When she suffered from stroke, her daughter Helen Taft Manning left college for a year to look after the social life at the White House.

During their stay at the White House, the couple celebrated their silver wedding anniversary in 1911. People celebrate a silver anniversary on completion of 25 years of any occasion. She had also written a book named Recollections of Full Years. The book describes her work and life. Her husband died in 1930. She continued to live in Washington D.C. after the death of her husband. She died on 22 May 1943.