Dolly Madison stands out among the early American first ladies. In fact, it could honestly be said she was the first First Lady, in the sense that she established the role of being the hostess at the White House. She did that for her own husband. Later on, she served that function for Franklin Pierce, whose wife died before he became president. The PBS program American Experience did a ninety minute movie about her in 2010. Unfortunately, the PBS American Experience web-site says that video has expired, and You Tube only has six clips, that show less than twenty minutes of that program. One of the historians that are interviewed for this program is Catherine Allgor. She wrote "A Perfect Union: Dolly Madison and the Creation of the American Nation", in 2007.

Edith Wilson wife of Woodrow Wilson effectively ran the White House for about a year and a half after Woodrow Wilson suffered a stroke and was incapacitated during his second term in office.

Also, Abigail Adams was a large and active figure alongside John Adams. Their letters show him often seeking her advice on politics and matters of state. Her presence in American politics was even great enough to earn her enemies including anti-federalist Albert Gallatin (whose statue is in front of the Treasury Building) who once deridingly referred to her as "Mrs. President," a nickname which stuck.

Lucy Hayes was active in the temperance movement before, during, and after her husband's presidency. She was later nicknamed "Lemonade Lucy," but it was her husband who banned alcohol from the White House during his presidency.

James A. Garfield's wife, Lucretia Rudolph Garfield, collected his diary entries, letters, and any other written material from her husband during his life, and those are now housed in what might be deemed the first "Presidential Library" in Mentor, Ohio. While he served only a short time as president (March 4, 1881 – September 19, 1881), the preservation of these documents sheds light on Garfield's character as a man concerned and cognizant of his position as president. These letters also define and outline his ambitious anti-slavery, anti-cronyism policies that he sought to enact as 20th president of the United States. In addition, their letters to one another - as well as his letters to his political contemporaries - indicate deeply nuanced lives that might have otherwise been lost. If not for Lucretia's efforts to retain these documents, there is a chance Garfield's legacy would have simply been reduced to that of being a Civil War general turned Congressman who happened upon presidency, but then died too early to make a noteworthy impact as president. Lucretia effectively ensured that her husband's legacy could be much more than the small sum of his days as president.

To learn more, I highly recommend Candice Millard's Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine & the Murder of a President (2011) ISBN 978-0-385-52626-5.