Mary Arthur McElroy | |
|---|---|
.jpg) 1885 portrait | |
| 25th First Lady of the United States | |
| In role September 19, 1881 – March 4, 1885 | |
| President | Chester A. Arthur |
| Preceded by | Lucretia Garfield |
| Succeeded by | Rose Cleveland (acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Mary Arthur July 5, 1841 Greenwich, New York, U.S. |
| Died | January 8, 1917 (aged 75) Albany, New York, U.S. |
| Spouse |
John Edward McElroy
(m. 1861; died 1915) |
| Children | 4 |
| Parent |
|
| Education | Emma Willard School |
| Signature |  |
Mary McElroy (née Arthur; July 5, 1841 – January 8, 1917) was an American woman known as being the younger sister of the 21st president of the United States, Chester A. Arthur, for whom she served as a hostess (serving as the twenty-fifth first lady) for her older brother's administration (1881–1885). She assumed the role because Arthur's wife, Ellen, had died nearly two years earlier.
McElroy was born in New York and attended the progressive Emma Willard School. She married insurance salesman John Edward McElroy and worked for some time as a teacher. When her brother Chester A. Arthur became president, she lived in the White House during winter months to host social events and care for her niece. As acting first lady, McElroy ended the tradition of suspending social events during Lent, and she held large weekly receptions. She was a popular hostess, and contemporary Washington social life celebrated her for her lively receptions.
When her tenure as hostess ended, McElroy returned to her family in Albany, New York, and she later worked in Ireland to preserve the Arthur family homestead. She handled her brother's affairs during his illness and after his death, taking responsibility for his funeral and his presidential legacy. McElroy died in Albany in 1917. She is one of the most obscure first ladies, and relatively little scholarly research about her life exists.