and yes, abigail fillmore cooked in this very room. this was her kitchen. the original staircase has quite an angle to it. we believe it was a wooden ladder when abigail and millard lived here. as a young wife and mother dressed in a long skirt and with a toddler on her hip, she ascended that ladder into the bedroom. within this room, we have the fillmore bed and dresser. we know abigail was a wonderful seamstress. we have her quilt here. a very colorful quilt called the tumbling block pattern. the house being on main street here in east aurora, was a very busy place. it was frontier but it was developing so abigail would've had many visitors. she would have had people come in. possibly they would have had tea. we see her as a hospitable young woman. young wife. young mother. teacher. >> that house is still available to visit if you are ever in east aurora, new york. the 13th president of the united states was the last whig president. this is picking up from something that paul brought up earlier they came from modest , means. they came from a series of pres

literacy and reading would have been abigail fillmore's cause. this bookshelf was part of the first white house library. >> she much preferred her tie to a room with a good book than standing in a receiving line making mindless chatter. >> we know that abigail was a very wonderful seamstress. we do have her quilt here, a very colorful quilt called the tumbling block pattern. >> she was one of the true intellectuals. she loved reading. she was very caught up on politics and liked very much being a part of all the cultural accoutrements that came with living in washington. ms. swain: welcome to c-span series "first ladies: influence & image." in this program, we'll meet three first ladies; one, her husband's trusted political adviser. the next, a steadfast general's wife; and the third, a teacher who established the first white house library. they served during the 1840s and early '50s as the country continued to grow and tensions continued to mount over the issue of slavery. to introduce us to sarah polk, margaret taylor, and abigail fillmore, we

questions with the audience we tell the story of the 45 first ladies farenthold, margaret taylor and abigail fillmore on influence of image.