Martha was born on October 25, 1828 in Greeneville, Tennessee, the eldest of Andrew Johnson and Eliza McCardle's five children. She attended local schools in the Greeneville, Tennessee area. While her father was serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, Martha attended Miss L.S. English's Female Seminary in Georgetown and spent time at the White House during the term of James K. Polk.
Marriage
She married David T. Patterson, a United States Senator from Tennessee, on December 13, 1855. The couple had two children, Andrew Johnson Patterson and Mary Belle Patterson Landstreet.
First Daughter
Martha's father, Andrew Johnson became President of the United States after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in 1865. First LadyEliza McCardle Johnson suffered from ill health and had little interest in social functions, so her daughter Martha took over hostess responsibilities. Eliza made only two public appearances during her tenure as First Lady. Martha was a popular figure in Washington and set a friendly tone for White House social functions. She disarmed onlookers by announcing, "We are plain folks from Tennessee, called here by a national calamity. I hope not much will be expected of us." In keeping with her image as a country girl, Martha brought two Jersey cows to the White House. The cows pastured on the lawn and Martha milked them daily, "don a calico dress and a spotless apron." Just before the execution of Mary Surratt, her daughter Anna came to the White House, hoping to persuade Johnson to spare her mother's life. Denied access to the president, she lay weeping on the stairs to his office and was comforted by Martha, who said there was nothing she could do to stop it. The White House had fallen into disrepair after the Civil War. Much of the furniture was dirty and broken, the walls and floors were stained with tobacco juice, and the entire house was infested with insects. Martha oversaw a $30,000 renovation of the White House. She hung new wallpaper, slipcovered for old furniture, and used muslin cloth to cover the carpets during receptions. During her remodel, Martha discovered a series of George P. A. Healy presidential portraits that were originally commissioned by Congress in 1857. Martha framed and displayed them in the Transverse Hall where they can still be seen.
