About Sarah Childress Polk
Sarah Childress Polk (September 4, 1803 – August 14, 1891) was the first lady of the United States from 1845 to 1849. She was the wife of the 11th president of the United States, James K. Polk. Well educated in a successful family, Sarah met her future husband at a young age. They never had children of their own though they fostered relatives. Socially keen and well informed, Sarah helped her husband's career with her hosting skills and advised him on political matters at times, but she stayed out of the public limelight. Following her husband's death in 1849, Sarah had a 42-year widowhood, the longest of any First Lady. == Early life and education == Sarah Childress was born in 1803 to Elizabeth Whitsitt and Joel Childress, a prominent planter, merchant, and land speculator—the third of their six children. She was well educated for a woman of her time and place, attending the exclusive Moravians' Salem Academy in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in 1817, one of the few institutions of higher learning available to women in the early 19th century. Sarah Childress met James K. Polk while both were receiving instruction from Samuel P. Black at his house in Murfreesboro, Tennessee; he was 19, she was 12. They would be formally introduced in the early 1820s with Polk's involvement with the State Legislature.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.