Elivera M. Doud

Elivera M. Doud (May 13, 1878 – September 28, 1960) was the mother of Mamie Eisenhower.

Biography

Elivera Mathilda Carlson was born in Boone, Iowa, to Swedish immigrant parents. Her father, Carl Severin Jeremiasson (later Carl Carlson), was born in Dagsås parish, near the village of Sibbarp, Halland County, Sweden during 1841. Her mother, Johanna Maria Andersdotter (later Maria Andersson), was born in Fjärås parish, Halland County, Sweden in 1841. They were married in Sweden during March 1868.

Elivera Carlson and John Sheldon Doud were married on August 10, 1894. Elivera and her husband had four daughters: Eleanor, Mamie, Eda Mae, and Mabel Frances. The family moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 1897, and then to Pueblo and Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 1905, before settling in Denver in 1906.

The Doud family winter-vacationed in San Antonio, Texas, every year, and it was there that their daughter Mamie met a young Lt. Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1915. In 1952, a year after the death of her husband, Elivera Doud accompanied her daughter and son-in-law on the presidential campaign trail. She was a favorite among Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower’s friends and associates because of her sparkling personality and sense of humor. After Dwight D. Eisenhower's presidential inauguration in 1953, Elivera moved into the White House with her daughter and son-in-law. There, she became involved in the activities of the Daughters of the American Revolution and Republican women’s clubs.