First Ladies by Margaret Brown Klapthor (1979)

Discarded from Women's studies collection, probably meant for children. I really liked these one page biographies of all the first ladies, going though 200 years of US history through them. I didn't realize how many wives had died before or during the presidency or were ill, and then someone else, usually a relative, took over the social duties: Jefferson's daughter, Andrew Jackson's niece, Van Buren's daughter-in-law, and more. Buchannen never married, so his niece was hostess for him. Cleveland married in office - a woman 27 years younger and his partner's daugher for whom he was guardian. I can imagine how that would have played out today. Some wives had long lives after the death of their famous husbands. All fascinating.