Lucretia went to the Library of Congress to research the history of the White House. Her intent was not to restore the White House, but to " a sense of history" to it. She feels as if there are ghosts in the White House because of all of the history it had seen in the eighty years it had been standing. "She really had a sense of history and the history of the house." Unfortunately she contracted malaria and by the time she recovered President Garfield had been shot and killed and she was no longer first lady.