[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 42 (Tuesday, March 30, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E483]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E483]]
                    HONORING ABIGAIL POWERS FILLMORE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. RALPH REGULA

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 30, 2004

  Mr. REGULA. Mr. Speaker, today, March 30, 2004, marks the 151st 
anniversary of the death of First Lady Abigail Powers Fillmore, founder 
of the very first White House Library.
  Abigail Powers was born on March 13, 1798, in Stillwater, NY, and 
received a good education and love for learning and libraries through 
the personal library of her father, Reverend Lemuel Powers (d. 1800). 
She became a school teacher at age sixteen and helped establish a small 
circulating library in Kelloggsville, New York about 1817 that greatly 
influenced the intellectual development of her future husband and 
President of the United States, Millard Fillmore.
  Abigail Powers Fillmore found the White House destitute of books when 
she became First Lady in 1850 and encouraged and supported her 
husband's request for appropriations from Congress to establish a 
library in the Executive Mansion. She used the $2,250 appropriated by 
the 31st Congress to select library books for the Executive Mansion and 
transform the Yellow Oval Room into the first official White House 
Library. Subsequently, the White House Library was the center of many 
cultural, social, and political activities during the Fillmore 
Presidency and has been a legacy enjoyed by subsequent presidential 
administrations for over 150 years.
  We honor the life and work of Abigail Powers Fillmore. She serves as 
a reminder to us of the importance of continuing to advocate for 
libraries and for educational programs. In these times of economic 
difficulty and challenge, we continually are reminded of the key role 
libraries play in providing Americans with the opportunities they need 
to promote lifelong learning.

                          ____________________