Frances Folsom Cleveland was the wife of President Grover Cleveland, who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. She served as First Lady from 1886 to 1889 and again from 1893 to 1897. She was first woman to marry a president in the White House and remains the youngest woman to serve as First Lady.
Early Life
Frances (officially Frank) Folsom was born on July 21, 1864, in Buffalo, New York. She was only child of Emma C. Harmon and Oscar Folsom, who served as a law partner of Grover Cleveland. After Oscar Folsom died in a carriage accident, Cleveland served as the executor of his estate and remained a close friend of the family. Following her father’s death, Frances and her mother lived with various family members before returning to Buffalo. Frances attended private schools and graduated from Wells College in Aurora, New York.
Marriage to Grover Cleveland
Frances regularly corresponded with Grover Cleveland throughout college and during a subsequent tour of Europe with her mother. During that time, he was elected President and moved to the White House. A romance also began between the couple, despite their 27-year age difference.
Cleveland proposed to Frances in the spring of 1885 while she was visiting him at the White House with her mother. Frances and Grover Cleveland were married on June 2, 1886 in the Blue Room of the White House. The couple went on to have five children: Ruth (1891–1904), Esther (1893–1980), Marion (1895–1977), Richard (1897–1974), and Francis (1903–1995).
First Lady of the United States
Frances Cleveland assumed the White House hostess duties from Grover Cleveland’s sister Rose Elizabeth Cleveland, who had filled the role for his first 15 months in office. Frances Cleveland’s unpretentious charm made her extremely popular as First Lady. She held two receptions a week, including a Saturday afternoon reception to accommodate women with jobs. When Grover Cleveland lost his 1888 reelection bid, the family moved to New York City. They returned four year later when he was again elected president in 1892.
Later Life
Frances was by husband’s side when he died in 1908 at their home in Princeton, New Jersey. She went on to remarry in 1913. Her new husband, Thomas J. Preston, Jr., was a professor of archeology at Wells College. Frances Cleveland died on October 29, 1947, in Baltimore, Maryland. She was 83 years old.
