ABSTRACT
Letitia Christian was born on November 12, 1790, at Cedar Grove plantation, twenty miles east of Richmond, Virginia, and about fourteen miles from Greenway, the plantation of John Tyler's family. Her father, Robert Christian, was a well-to-do planter who was prominent in Federalist politics, and her mother was Mary Browne Christian. Letitia was the third of eight daughters and the seventh of twelve children. Little is known of her life before she met and married John Tyler. She apparently had the minimal education afforded most women of her day. By all accounts, she was a very beautiful and gracious, but introverted, woman who preferred the company of her family and close friends, and enjoyed such simple pursuits as knitting and gardening. She was completely devoted to her children and they to her. Religion also played an important role in her life.
