Letitia Tyler Semple

Letitia "Letty" Christian Semple (née Tyler; May 11, 1821 – December 28, 1907) was an American society lady, educator, and briefly an unofficial First Lady during her father John Tyler's presidency. The National First Ladies' Library named Semple and her sister-in-law Priscilla Cooper Tyler "First ladies who never married presidents". Semple served in this role from March to June 1844.

Governor Robert Love Taylor described Semple as "The most notable Southern woman surviving the classic old régime".

Biography Semple was born Letitia Christian Tyler, Jr., to John Tyler (a son of John Tyler Sr.) and his first wife Letitia Christian Tyler on May 11, 1821, in Charles City County, Virginia. Nicknamed "Letty", she was their fourth child and second daughter.

In February 1839, Semple married James A. Semple at the age of 17. The Women's History Blog characterized their marriage as an unhappy one. When her father assumed the presidency on April 4, 1841, Semple and her husband had become estranged because of his mental illness, and she moved into the White House with her parents and siblings. During her time hosting, The Chattanooga Times wrote "she was the friend of the most famous statesman and public men the country has produced..."

During the American Civil War, Semple served in Williamsburg, Virginia as a volunteer nurse for Confederate soldiers after the Battle of Manassas. At the end of the war, she opened a school, called the Eclectic Institute, located in Baltimore, Maryland.

Semple and her stepmother Julia Gardiner Tyler never got along; "Refusing to show her the most basic civility, [Semple] forever resented her stepmother and there would be no reconciliation."