Taft, Helen Herron (1861-1943), was the wife of William Howard Taft, who served as president of the United States from 1909 to 1913. Intelligent and ambitious, she constantly urged her husband to seek public office. She hoped he would become president. As first lady, she was an excellent White House hostess.
Mrs. Taft, whose maiden name was Helen Herron, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on June 2, 1861. Helen, who was often called “Nellie,” came from a well-to-do family. Her father was a judge and was active in Republican politics. While growing up, Helen Herron found her upper middle-class life dull.
In 1877, Helen and her family visited Washington, D.C., where they were White House guests of President Rutherford B. Hayes and Lucy Webb Hayes, the first lady. Later in life, Helen said the visit marked the first time she had thought of being the wife of a United States president.
Helen attended a preparatory school in Cincinnati called Miss Nourse’s School for Girls, and the University of Cincinnati. She especially liked music classes. She taught at the White-Sykes School for Boys in 1882 and 1883. In 1884, she organized a “salon” where people met to discuss literature.
Helen Herron first met William Howard Taft in 1879. Taft later attended Herron’s salon. A romance gradually developed between the two, and they married on June 19, 1886. The couple had three children. The first child, Robert Alphonso, became a major American political leader, serving in the United States Senate for many years. The second child, Helen Herron, became a professor and dean of Bryn Mawr College. The youngest, Charles Phelps, held various political offices, including that of mayor of Cincinnati.
Mrs. Taft was much more ambitious than her husband, and he appreciated her efforts to get him to pursue political offices. William Howard Taft was governor of the Philippines from 1901 to 1904, when he became secretary of war in President Theodore Roosevelt’s Cabinet. He held the Cabinet post until 1908. Taft succeeded Roosevelt as president in 1909.
Mrs. Taft enjoyed her role as first lady. She was equally at ease hosting large White House dinners and small teas. But she suffered a stroke shortly after becoming first lady and had to cut down on her activities somewhat. Mrs. Taft is responsible for the famous Japanese cherry trees that encircle the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C. After she expressed interest in such trees, the mayor of Tokyo presented some to the United States. The first trees at the Tidal Basin were planted in 1912.
The Tafts moved to New Haven, Connecticut, after they left the White House in 1913. They moved back to Washington in 1921 when William Howard Taft became chief justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Mrs. Taft continued to live in the city after her husband’s death in 1930. She died on May 22, 1943.
See also Taft, William Howard ; Taft, Robert Alphonso .
