She took less interest in the role of White House hostess, and she suffered from ailments that prevented her from carrying out some of her duties, including an injured ankle that limited her mobility.

[1] She was also made familiar with abolitionism as a child, as the Baptist faith opposed slavery and her family was friends with local abolitionist George Washington Jonson.

[2]: 182  She continued studying further subjects after leaving school, learning to speak French and play the piano.

He was a member of the New York State Assembly at this time, and Abigail was responsible for tending to the house and children on her own while he was away for work.

[7]: 84  Millard also started a law practice in the city, and its success brought the Fillmores a comfortable life with financial security.

[10]: 41 Millard was elected as a member of the United States House of Representatives in 1832, and Abigail stayed in Buffalo while he was in Washington, D.C.

He stepped down in 1834, but he was elected again in 1836, and this time Abigail accompanied him to Washington, leaving the children with relatives in New York.

Here she would fulfill the social obligations of a politician's wife, and she also sought out cultural and academic institutions in the city.

[2]: 183  While she held fashionable society in contempt, she enjoyed observing people's behavior and attending parties.

[9]: 159 Fillmore became a prominent figure when her husband was nominated as the Whig candidate for vice president in the 1848 presidential election, and she became known to the public through a flattering description in The American Review.

[7]: 85  Abigail found social life in Washington uninteresting,[4] and she spent much of her time as second lady tending to her sister, who had had a stroke.

[9]: 160  Being the second lady meant being involved with high-profile social circles, and she expressed joy at interacting with prominent authors of the day, such as Ann S. Stephens, Lydia Sigourney, and Emma Willard.

[2]: 187  Though she was an active conversationalist, she did not enjoy the social aspects of the role; she found that most guests had little interest in her intellectual pursuits, and she considered them to be "cave dwellers".

[9]: 162  She also took advantage of the cultural elements of Washington while she was first lady, regularly attending art exhibitions and concerts, breaking precedent by traveling without her husband.

[10]: 44  She also oversaw the expansion of the White House heating system and had a kitchen stove installed to replace the practice of cooking by fireplace.

[9]: 163 Due to her poor health, Fillmore delegated many of her duties to her daughter Abbie, who was responsible for meeting with callers outside of the White House.

[2]: 187  Her ankle injury further complicated her role as White House hostess, and she would often be bedridden for a day after standing for hours to manage a long receiving line.

[2]: 186  She was also relieved from further responsibilities due to the more reserved nature of social life at the White House caused by President Taylor's death and growing political polarization.

[10]: 43  She modeled the room after the style of Andrew Jackson Downing, using cottage furniture with walnut frames.

Abigail hosted writers such as William Thackeray, Charles Dickens, Washington Irving,[6]: 86  and Helen Aldrich De Kroyft and performance artists such as Anna Bishop[10]: 45  and Jenny Lind, essentially creating a White House literary salon.

[7]: 86 Washington went into a period of mourning, and much of the federal government temporarily ceased operations in respect of her death.

[2]: 182  On February 10, 1858, five years after her death, her husband, then 58, married 44-year-old Caroline Carmichael McIntosh, a wealthy Buffalo widow.

[11]: 61 In the years preceding the American Civil War, the position of first lady received very little public attention.

[2]: 184  Biographers of Millard Fillmore have generally given little attention to Abigail, in part due to the lack of surviving documents.

[4] Historians disagree on the extent that her poor health and ankle injury prevented her from carrying out White House duties; some say that it was severe enough to limit her ability, while others say that it was merely an excuse to avoid the responsibilities of a first lady.