(22b & 24) Frances Clara Folsom Cleveland Preston

 

Frances Clara Folsom Cleveland Preston

Birthdate

07/21/1864

Death date

10/29/1947

President

Grover Cleveland

Dates of service

06/02/1886-03/04/1889 (first term),  

03/04/1893-03/04/1897 (second term)

Relationship to president

Spouse

Other marriages 

Second marriage to Thomas J. Preston Jr. 

 

Websites 

First Ladies National Library Biography of Frances Cleveland

White House Historical Association: Frances Cleveland

The White House: Frances Folsom Cleveland

Papers/letters collections

Manuscripts for Frances Cleveland

Grover Cleveland Love Letters to Frances Cleveland

Historical sites

Frances Folsom Cleveland’s White House Wardrobe

Frances Clara Folsom Cleveland Gravesite

Fascinating details

  • Frances Cleveland is the second first lady to marry a president during his term in the White House. Julia Tyler was the first.
  • She became the youngest first lady at 21 years old (27 years younger than Grover Cleveland). She was also the daughter of President Cleveland’s former law partner. 
  • Her and President Cleveland had a second home in Washington to provide some privacy.
  • Their daughter Esther was the first child of a president to be born in the White House.
  • She supported the Women's Christian Temperance Union, African American Children's Charities, as well as the education and professional employment of women. She was also a patron of music and the arts.
  • The candy bar “Baby Ruth” is named after Grover and Frances’ first-born Ruth Esther.
  • Frances Cleveland was the first widow of a president to remarry.

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