Polk, Sarah Childress (1803-1891), was the wife of James Knox Polk , who served as president of the United States from 1845 to 1849. Mrs. Polk encouraged her husband’s political career and became his closest political adviser. She looked over and approved his writings. She also read newspapers and clipped items from them for him to see.
Mrs. Polk, whose maiden name was Sarah Childress, was born on Sept. 4, 1803, near Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Her father was a well-to-do merchant. Sarah was brought up in a strict religious environment. She was well-educated for a girl of her time. Her family sent her to the Female Academy in Salem, North Carolina. This institution, founded by the Moravian Church, ranked among the best schools in the South.
Sarah met James Knox Polk in Murfreesboro when he was beginning his political career. The city was Tennessee’s capital from 1818 to 1826. The future president became chief clerk of the state’s Senate in 1821 and was elected to its House of Representatives in 1823. Sarah Childress and James Knox Polk married on Jan. 1, 1824. The couple had no children.
Major changes took place in the White House when Mrs. Polk became first lady in 1845. Julia Gardiner Tyler, the previous first lady, held lively balls and other social functions in the White House. The Polks held quiet receptions but disapproved of lively entertainment. Mrs. Polk banned dancing and alcoholic drinks in the White House.
James Knox Polk died in June 1849, a few months after his term as president ended. For the next 42 years, Sarah Polk lived at “Polk Place,” an estate in Nashville her husband had bought. She died on Aug. 14, 1891.
