Jane Means Pierce was the wife of President Franklin Pierce, the 14th U.S. President. She served as First Lady of the United States from 1853 to 1857.
Early Life
Jane Appleton was born on March 4, 1853, in Hampton, New Hampshire. Her father, Reverend Jesse Appleton, was a Congregationalist minister, who also served as president of Bowdoin College. Following the death of her father when she was 13, Jane went to live with her grandparents.
Marriage to Franklin Pierce
Jane Appleton married Franklin Pierce on November 19, 1834, in Amherst, New Hampshire. The couple went on to have four children; tragically, they all died very young.
Although Franklin was serving in the U.S. House of Representatives when they were married, Jane did not support his political aspirations. As a result, he retired in the height of his political career, while serving as a U.S. senator. Upon Franklin’s retirement, the Pierce’s returned to New Hampshire. Franklin left home to serve in the Mexican War, returning safely as a war hero.
First Lady of the United States
In 1852, the Democratic party nominated Franklin Pierce for president. When she learned he was nominated, Jane fainted, as she had been desperately hoping that his political career had ended. Her son Benjamin (Benny) wrote in a letter to her: “I hope he won’t be elected for I should not like to be at Washington and I know you would not either.” Much to their disappointment, Franklin Pierce was elected the 14th President of the United States.
Following the election, Pierce’s son eleven-year-old son, Benjamin, died in a train crash while on his way to Washington, D.C. with his parents. Due to the grief of losing her son, Abigail did not attend her husband’s inauguration.
Jane moved into the White House in March 1853. However, the death of her son sent her into a severe depression, and she did not attend any public events as First Lady for the first two years of her husband’s presidency. In her absence, her friend, and aunt by marriage, Abigail Kent Means served as the White House’s social host.
Even when she did appear publicly, Jane was physically and emotionally fragile. Mrs. Robert E. Lee wrote described Jane Pierce in a private letter: “I have known many of the ladies of the White House, none more truly excellent than the afflicted wife of President Pierce. Her health was a bar to any great effort on her part to meet the expectations of the public in her high position but she was a refined, extremely religious and well educated lady.”,
Later Life
After Franklin left office, the couple traveled, first to the Caribbean and then to Europe, hoping to find a cure for Jane’s depression. Jane Pierce died of tuberculosis on December 2, 1863. She was buried near her son, Benjamin. When her husband died six year later, he was buried by her side at Old North Cemetery in Concord, New Hampshire.
