MAMIE GENEVA DOUD EISENHOWER
Name: Mamie Eisenhower
Born: November 14, 1896 Boone, Iowa, U.S.
Died: November 1, 1979 Washington, D.C., U.S.
Mamie Geneva Doud Eisenhower (November 14, 1896 – November 1, 1979) was the wife
of General and President Dwight D. Eisenhower, and First Lady of the United
States from 1953 to 1961.
Birthplace of Mamie Doud Eisenhower, 709 (formerly 718) Carroll Street, Boone,
Iowa
Born in Boone, Iowa, Mamie Doud moved with her family to Colorado when she was
seven. Her father, John Sheldon Doud, married to Elivera Carlson, had retired at
the age of 36 after making a fortune in the meatpacking industry. After briefly
living in Pueblo and then Colorado Springs, the Douds settled in Denver. Mamie
and her three sisters grew up in a large house with several servants.
During winters the family made long visits to relatives in the milder climate of
San Antonio, Texas. There, in 1915, at Fort Sam Houston, Mamie met Dwight D.
Eisenhower, a young second lieutenant on his first tour of duty. On St.
Valentine's Day in 1916 he gave her a miniature of his West Point class ring to
seal a formal engagement; they were married at the Doud home in Denver on July 1.
For years, Mamie Eisenhower's life followed the pattern of other Army wives: a
succession of posts in the United States, in the Panama Canal Zone; duty in
France, in the Philippines. She once estimated that in 37 years she had unpacked
her household at least 27 times. Each move meant another step in the career
ladder for her husband, with increasing responsibilities for her.
Mamie Eisenhower, with her husband, Dwight, on the steps of St. Louis College,
San Antonio, Texas, in 1916
Their first son, Doud Dwight Eisenhower or "Icky," who was born on January 7,
1917, died of scarlet fever in 1921. A second child, John Sheldon Doud
Eisenhower, was born in 1922 in Denver. Like his father he had a career in the
army; later he became an author and served as a U.S. ambassador to Belgium.
During the Second World War, while promotion and fame came to "Ike," his wife
lived in Washington, D.C. After he became president of Columbia University in
1948, the Eisenhowers purchased a farm at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It was the
first home they had ever owned. His duties as commander of North Atlantic Treaty
Organization forces—and hers as his hostess at a villa near Paris—delayed work
on their dream home, finally completed in 1955.
Name: Mamie Eisenhower
Born: November 14, 1896 Boone, Iowa, U.S.
Died: November 1, 1979 Washington, D.C., U.S.
Mamie Geneva Doud Eisenhower (November 14, 1896 – November 1, 1979) was the wife
of General and President Dwight D. Eisenhower, and First Lady of the United
States from 1953 to 1961.
Birthplace of Mamie Doud Eisenhower, 709 (formerly 718) Carroll Street, Boone,
Iowa
Born in Boone, Iowa, Mamie Doud moved with her family to Colorado when she was
seven. Her father, John Sheldon Doud, married to Elivera Carlson, had retired at
the age of 36 after making a fortune in the meatpacking industry. After briefly
living in Pueblo and then Colorado Springs, the Douds settled in Denver. Mamie
and her three sisters grew up in a large house with several servants.
During winters the family made long visits to relatives in the milder climate of
San Antonio, Texas. There, in 1915, at Fort Sam Houston, Mamie met Dwight D.
Eisenhower, a young second lieutenant on his first tour of duty. On St.
Valentine's Day in 1916 he gave her a miniature of his West Point class ring to
seal a formal engagement; they were married at the Doud home in Denver on July 1.
For years, Mamie Eisenhower's life followed the pattern of other Army wives: a
succession of posts in the United States, in the Panama Canal Zone; duty in
France, in the Philippines. She once estimated that in 37 years she had unpacked
her household at least 27 times. Each move meant another step in the career
ladder for her husband, with increasing responsibilities for her.
Mamie Eisenhower, with her husband, Dwight, on the steps of St. Louis College,
San Antonio, Texas, in 1916
Their first son, Doud Dwight Eisenhower or "Icky," who was born on January 7,
1917, died of scarlet fever in 1921. A second child, John Sheldon Doud
Eisenhower, was born in 1922 in Denver. Like his father he had a career in the
army; later he became an author and served as a U.S. ambassador to Belgium.
During the Second World War, while promotion and fame came to "Ike," his wife
lived in Washington, D.C. After he became president of Columbia University in
1948, the Eisenhowers purchased a farm at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It was the
first home they had ever owned. His duties as commander of North Atlantic Treaty
Organization forces—and hers as his hostess at a villa near Paris—delayed work
on their dream home, finally completed in 1955.