Sarah Childress Polk
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Sarah Childress Polk was the first lady of the United States from 1845 to 1849. She was the wife of the 11th president of the United States, James K. Polk.
Portrait, 1845
Sarah and James K. Polk, c. 1848–1849
The Polks on the portico of the White House alongside Secretary of State James Buchanan, and former first lady Dolley Madison.
Polk in her later years
Julia Gardiner Tyler
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Julia Gardiner Tyler was the first lady of the United States from June 26, 1844, to March 4, 1845, as the second wife of President John Tyler. A member of the influential Gardiner family, Tyler had ma
Sarah Childress Polk
…was never robust, against overwork. A devout Presbyterian, as First Lady she banned dancing, card games, and hard liquor at official receptions. Unlike Julia Tyler's waltzes, the Polk entertainments were sedate and sober affairs which earned the First Lady the nickname "Sahara Sarah". Although some accounts stated…
Official portrait, 1844
The advertisement for which Julia Gardiner posed
An unverified daguerreotype suggested to be of Julia Tyler while she was first lady of the United States
Sherwood Forest Plantation in Charles City County, Virginia, where the Tylers lived after leaving the White House