[138]

On the threshold of office, what have we to expect of him? In an 1881 Puck cartoon, Arthur faces the cabinet after President Garfield was shot.
Arthur's sister, Mary Arthur McElroy, served as White House hostess for her widowed brother;[138] Arthur became Washington's most eligible bachelor and his social life became the subject of rumors, though romantically, he remained singularly devoted to the memory of his late wife.[139] His son, Chester Jr., was then a freshman at Princeton University and his daughter, Nell, stayed in New York with a governess until 1882; when she arrived, Arthur shielded her from the intrusive press as much as he could.[139]
Arthur quickly came into conflict with Garfield's cabinet, most of whom represented his opposition within the party. He asked the cabinet members to remain until December, when Congress would reconvene, but Treasury Secretary William Windom submitted his resignation in October to enter a Senate race in his home state of Minnesota.[140] Arthur then selected Charles J. Folger, his friend and fellow New York Stalwart as Windom's replacement.[140][n] Attorney General Wayne MacVeagh was next to resign, believing that, as a reformer, he had no place in an Arthur cabinet.