Frances Cleveland

Frances Clara Cleveland Preston (née Folsom, christened Frank Clara; July 21, 1864 – October 29, 1947) was the first lady of the United States from 1886 to 1889 and again from 1893 until 1897, as the wife of President Grover Cleveland. She was the first to hold the position nonconsecutively. Having married Cleveland at age 21, she was the youngest first lady in American history.

When Folsom was an infant, she first met Grover Cleveland. Her father, Oscar Folsom, was also a close friend to Cleveland. When her father died in 1875, Cleveland became the executor of the estate, paid off the family's outstanding debts, and provided for the well-being of Frances and her mother, Emma. After graduating Wells College she married Grover Cleveland during his first presidential term. When he lost reelection in 1888, the Clevelands went into private life for four years and began having children. After Grover Cleveland was elected president again in 1892, Frances dedicated much of her time in the second term to her children.

The Clevelands had five children, four of whom survived to adulthood. Cleveland became involved in education advocacy, serving on the Wells College board, supporting women's education, and organizing the construction of kindergartens. Grover Cleveland died in 1908, and in 1913, Frances married Thomas J. Preston Jr.. She continued to work in education activism after leaving the White House, becoming involved with Princeton University. During World War I, she advocated military preparedness. She died in 1947 and was buried alongside her first husband in Princeton Cemetery.

Early life

Childhood

Born in Buffalo, New York, on July 21, 1864, Frances Clara Folsom was the first child of Emma (née Harmon) and Oscar Folsom. Her only sibling, Nellie Augusta, died in infancy in 1872. Her father was a lawyer who had a law partnership with Grover Cleveland. She and Cleveland first met when Folsom was still an infant; he was a regular presence in her childhood, and he bought her her first baby carriage. Although the Folsoms were financially secure when she was born, her father's gambling habits and his penchant for helping others with his money caused them financial trouble as she grew.

Folsom attended school at Madame Brecker's French Kindergarten and Miss Bissell's School for Young Ladies, both of which were among Buffalo's best-regarded schools and guaranteed her an education above that of most women in her time. When not in school, she regularly spent time with Cleveland, known to her as "Uncle Cleve". As a child, she went by the name Frank, and she was christened under this name as a teenager. The name sometimes caused her problems when she was assigned to boys' activities in school.

Folsom's father died in a carriage accident on July 23, 1875. Cleveland was given charge of his estate and became Folsom's unofficial guardian. Folsom and her mother moved to live with relatives, first with Folsom's aunt in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and then with her grandmother in Medina, New York. They eventually returned to Buffalo and lived in different boarding houses until they found a home.

Wells College

When Folsom was 14, she joined the Presbyterian Church, to which she remained devoted throughout her life. She attended Central High School in Buffalo, where she was briefly engaged to a seminary student, but the engagement was broken when they decided to remain friends. Folsom left Central High School in October 1881, before her schooling was finished.

Although Folsom had not finished school, Cleveland used his authority as the mayor of Buffalo to obtain for her a certificate of completion and entry into Wells College in Aurora, New York as a sophomore. Here she learned etiquette and manners from Helen Fairchild Smith, and she quickly became a prominent student at the school, taking her place at the center of its social life. At Wells, she became interested in photography and political science, and she participated in the Phoenix Society, a campus debate club. Folsom received two more marriage proposals at Wells, both on the same day. She accepted one of them, but this engagement was also ended by a decision to remain friends.

Cleveland, who became governor of New York at this time, maintained correspondence with Folsom while she attended Wells. He visited her, sent her flowers, and brought her on tours of New York when her schedule permitted. Folsom was unable to attend Cleveland's presidential inauguration as it conflicted with her final exams, but she visited him at the White House during spring break some weeks later. Washington, D.C., left a positive impression on her, and she accompanied the new president on his nightly walks in the East Room while she stayed at the White House. Folsom was also permitted to ascend the Washington Monument before its opening, where she met former first lady Harriet Lane.

Engagement

Folsom graduated from Wells on June 20, 1885, and she spent the summer at her grandfather's home in Wyoming County, New York. Cleveland proposed marriage by letter in August 1885, while Folsom was visiting a friend in Scranton, Pennsylvania. After accepting, Folsom accompanied her mother and her cousin on a year-long tour of Europe. Despite Folsom's eagerness to wed, her mother and her future groom both insisted that she take the opportunity to travel and contemplate her future before marriage. Everyone involved agreed to keep the planned wedding a secret, and the president's sister Rose Cleveland served as White House hostess in the meantime. Rumors of their engagement were initially dismissed as gossip, as speculation of the president's love life was common. Popular gossip considered Frances' mother to be a more likely partner. Rumors grew after reporters caught up with the Folsoms and found them shopping for a wedding gown.

By the time of the Folsoms' return voyage, reporters were tracking their whereabouts, and they were forced to board their ship home in secret. They were greeted by the press upon returning to the United States, and rumors of Cleveland's interest were seemingly confirmed when representatives of the president took the Folsoms away. It was only the next night that the White House officially announced that the president intended to marry Frances Folsom. Cleveland visited Folsom in New York while he was in the city attending a Decoration Day parade on May 30, 1886, and the Folsom women took a train to Washington, D.C., on June 1. Media attention quickly turned Folsom into a celebrity.

First Lady of the United States

Wedding

The wedding of Grover Cleveland and Frances Folsom took place in the Blue Room of the White House on June 2, 1886. The president wished for a quiet wedding, so only 31 guests were invited, and the press was explicitly denied entry. Hundreds of well-wishers gathered outside of the White House to celebrate. Frances Cleveland was the first presidential spouse to marry in the White House, and she was the youngest presidential spouse in American history. She was 21 years old, and her groom was 49. After their wedding, the Clevelands went on honeymoon for a week in Deer Park, Maryland, where they were closely followed by reporters who intruded on their privacy. After returning to the White House, they held two wedding receptions, one of which was open to the public.

First term

Frances Cleveland was immediately popular as first lady, attracting unprecedented publicity. She and Grover drew enough attention that the Clevelands chose not to use the living quarters of the White House. Instead, they moved to their private residence, the "Red Top", to escape from the public and the media. Each evening, the couple drove to their private home to oversee improvements. Cleveland worked with socialite Flora Payne to better prepare for a role in high society. She also became close friends with poet Richard Watson Gilder and his wife Helena, and accompanied them in meeting prominent writers of the time. Cleveland stayed involved with Wells College as well, taking a seat on its board of trustees in 1887.

Cleveland maintained an openness with the public that was not shared by her husband or by her predecessor Rose Cleveland. To accommodate all who wished to visit the White House, she hosted many social events on Saturdays to ensure that they did not conflict with the schedules of working women. Cleveland received countless letters from the American people, many of them asking her to influence the president's granting of patronage jobs. She read all of the mail that she received, but she sought assistance from the president's secretaries in replying, eventually hiring her friend Minnie Alexander as a personal secretary. Her openness extended to the White House staff as well, with whom she maintained close relationships.