Margaret Taylor

Margaret Taylor
First Lady of the United States
In role March 4, 1849 – July 9, 1850
President	Zachary Taylor
Preceded by	Sarah Polk
Succeeded by	Abigail Fillmore
Personal details
Born	Margaret Mackall Smith (1788-09-21)September 21, 1788 Calvert County, Maryland, U.S.
Died	August 14, 1852(1852-08-14) (aged 63) Pascagoula, Mississippi, U.S.
Resting place	Zachary Taylor National Cemetery
Spouse	Zachary Taylor ​ ​ (m. 1810; died 1850)​
Children	6, including Sarah Knox, Mary Elizabeth, and Richard Taylor

Margaret "Peggy" Mackall Taylor (née Smith; September 21, 1788 – August 14, 1852) was the first lady of the United States from 1849 to 1850 as the wife of President Zachary Taylor. She married Zachary in 1810 and lived as an army wife, accompanying her husband to his postings in the American frontier. She had six children, two of whom died in childhood while the remaining four were sent to boarding schools in the eastern United States. After a brief period of stable domestic life in the 1840s, her husband was elected President of the United States to her dismay in 1848. She managed the White House from the upstairs residence while she delegated her responsibilities as White House hostess to her daughter. She was highly reclusive throughout her tenure as first lady, which ended abruptly with her husband's death in 1850. She lived in obscurity until her death two years later.