Born in Garrettsville, Ohio, Garfield first met her husband in 1849 at Geauga Seminary. After a long courtship, they married in 1858. They would eventually have seven children together, five of whom lived to adulthood. Highly educated and intellectually curious, Garfield was well attuned to the internal machinations of the Republican Party, which proved to be of great aid to her husband's political career. She was well regarded during her brief period in the White House, but after only a few months contracted malaria and went to Long Branch, New Jersey, to recuperate.