(24 June 1885 - 6 August 1914) (her death) (3 children)
Wilson's eagerness to set a wedding date met with some initial hesitancy on Ellen's part due to traumatic developments in her family. In late 1883 Ellen's father Edward began suffering from severe depression and ultimately was admitted to the Georgia State Mental Hospital, where in 1884 he committed suicide. After closing the family home in Rome, Georgia and recovering from the initial shock, Ellen advanced her artistic interests by gaining admission to the Art Students League of New York; post graduation, she pursued portrait art and received a medal for one of her works from the Paris International Exposition. These endeavors provided much needed relief, and even independence, in the wake of the family trauma. Nevertheless she ultimately, and happily, agreed to sacrifice further independent artistic pursuits in order to keep her marriage commitment, and In 1885 she and Wilson married.
Children: Margaret Woodrow Wilson (16 April 1886 - 12 February 1944); Jessie Woodrow Wilson (28 August 1887 - 15 January 1933); Eleanor Randolph Wilson (5 October 1889 - 5 April 1967). Jessie married Francis Bowes Sayre on 25 November 1913 at the White House. They had two children, Francis, Jr. and Eleanor Axson Sayre. Eleanor married William Gibbs McAdoo on 7 May 1914 at the White House. They had two daughters, Ellen Wilson and Mary Faith McAdoo.