"First Ladies" & President's Wives

The "first lady" doesn't have to be the president's wife, and throughout history there have been different kinds of first ladies. Daughters, nieces, and even daughter-in-laws have all taken on the role. This can happen for many reasons, in Buchanan's case he never married, in Thomas Jefferson's his wife died before he became president. That is where I ran into problems.

Should I write about the president's wife or the woman who acted as the "first lady"? The obvious choice would be the first lady, but this series is called "Life Before the White House", and would it be right to ignore the women who played such important roles in our presidents lives before they were ever elected?

I decided to honor both, and whenever there is a case like is mentioned earlier I will write about both women. The first ladies that served during the presidency, and the ones that served before.