White House hostesses are the women who receive and entertain the guests of the president of the United States, in place of the president’s wife. Most White House hostesses assisted a president whose wife was deceased or too ill to handle social functions. The wives of presidents are called first ladies (see First ladies of the United States ).
The paragraphs below list presidents who had White House hostesses. The presidents’ names are followed by the dates of their terms, the reasons White House hostesses were needed, and then the names of the hostesses and their relationships to the presidents.
Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809). Wife deceased. Hostesses: Martha Randolph (daughter) and Dolley Madison (wife of James Madison, Jefferson’s secretary of state).
Andrew Jackson (1829-1837). Wife deceased. Hostesses: Emily Donelson (niece) and Sarah Yorke Jackson (daughter-in-law).
Martin Van Buren (1837-1841). Wife deceased. Hostess: Angelica Singleton Van Buren (daughter-in-law).
William H. Harrison (1841). Wife ill. Hostess: Jane Irwin Harrison (daughter-in-law).
John Tyler (1841-1845). First wife died in 1842; remarried in 1844. Hostesses between marriages: Priscilla Cooper Tyler (daughter-in-law) and Letitia Tyler Semple (daughter).
Zachary Taylor (1849-1850). Wife ill and disliked social functions. Hostess: Mary Elizabeth Bliss (daughter).
Millard Fillmore (1850-1853). Wife ill. Hostess: Mary Abigail Fillmore (daughter).
Franklin Pierce (1853-1857). Wife grief-stricken during first half of term due to son’s death. Hostess at that time: Abby Kent Means (wife’s aunt).
James Buchanan (1857-1861). Never married. Hostess: Harriet Lane (niece).
Andrew Johnson (1865-1869). Wife ill. Hostess: Martha Patterson (daughter), when mother unable to host.
Chester A. Arthur (1881-1885). Wife deceased. Hostess: Mary Arthur McElroy (sister). 
Grover Cleveland (1885-1889 and 1893-1897). Unmarried until 1886. Hostess until marriage: Rose Cleveland (sister).
Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921). First wife died in 1914; remarried in 1915. Hostesses between marriages: Margaret Wilson (daughter) and Helen Woodrow Bones (cousin).
