Eliza Ballou Monument
Richmond, Cheshire County, New Hampshire
Marker Inscription
Birthplace of President Garfield's mother
The Story
This monument in the hills of Cheshire County marks the birthplace of Eliza Ballou, born here in 1801, who would become the mother of James A. Garfield, the 20th President of the United States. Widowed young, Eliza raised her children in frontier poverty on an Ohio farm, and her son's rise from a log cabin to the White House became one of the era's celebrated 'self-made man' stories. When Garfield was sworn in as president in 1881, Eliza became the first mother to witness her son's presidential inauguration. Small New England towns like Richmond often took quiet pride in the native sons and daughters whose lives reached far beyond their borders.
Why it matters
The marker ties a remote New Hampshire hamlet to the national story of a martyred president, honoring the maternal roots behind one of America's classic rags-to-riches political legends.
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Related people
- · Eliza Ballou
- · James A. Garfield
Themes & tags
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