First Lady of the United States (1886–1889, 1893–1897)
Frances Cleveland
1886 portrait
First Lady of the United States
In role March 4, 1893 – March 4, 1897
President
Grover Cleveland
Preceded by
Mary Harrison McKee (acting)
Succeeded by
Ida Saxton McKinley
In role June 2, 1886 – March 4, 1889
President
Grover Cleveland
Preceded by
Rose Cleveland (acting)
Succeeded by
Caroline Harrison
Personal details
Born
Frances Clara Folsom
(1864-07-21)July 21, 1864 Buffalo, New York, U.S.
Died
October 29, 1947(1947-10-29) (aged 83) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Resting place
Princeton Cemetery
Political party
Democratic
Spouses
Grover Cleveland
(m. 1886; died 1908)
Thomas Preston
(m. 1913)
Children
Ruth
Esther
Marion
Richard
Francis
Education
Wells College (BA)
Signature
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 is the only first lady in U.S. history to have served in the role during two non-consecutive terms.
Folsom met Grover Cleveland while she was an infant, as he was a friend of her father, Oscar Folsom. When her father died in 1875, Grover became the executor of her father's estate. He took care of Oscar's outstanding financial debts and provided for the well-being of Frances and her mother Emma. She was educated at Wells College, and after graduating she married Grover while he was the incumbent president. When her husband lost reelection in 1888, they went into private life for four years and began having children. They returned to the White House when her husband was elected again in 1892, but much of her time in the second term was dedicated 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. She was widowed in 1908, and she married Thomas J. Preston Jr. in 1913. Cleveland-Preston 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.
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...
States President Grover Cleveland and First Lady FrancesCleveland. She is the namesake of the Baby Ruth candy bar. Cleveland was born in New York City...
The wedding of President Grover Cleveland, who was 49 years old, and his bride Frances Folsom, who was 21 years old, took place on June 2, 1886, in the...
Frances Folsom Cleveland. Esther Cleveland was born on September 9, 1893, in the White House, to the President of the United States, Grover Cleveland...
ISBN 978-1-4381-0815-5. Scofield, Merry Ellen (2016). "Rose Cleveland, FrancesCleveland, Caroline Harrison, Mary McKee". In Sibley, Katherine A. S. (ed...
States portal Grover Cleveland Birthplace Presidencies of Grover Cleveland Child with Maria Halpin Children with FrancesCleveland Informational notes...
New Hampshire. His parents were President Grover Cleveland and First Lady Frances Folsom. Cleveland was born in 1903 in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, a...
and The Old Man. She has also guest starred as historical figures FrancesCleveland, Virginia Hall, and Alexander Hamilton on Comedy Central's Drunk History...
hostess lasted only four months before the return of popular first lady FrancesCleveland. Though McKee was generally well liked by Washington society, these...
ISBN 978-0-19-539285-2. Scofield, Merry Ellen (2016). "Rose Cleveland, FrancesCleveland, Caroline Harrison, Mary McKee". In Sibley, Katherine A. S. (ed...
eds. (1900). "Cleveland, Grover" . Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. New York: D. Appleton. "Biography of FrancesCleveland". whitehouse.gov...
as a "Queen Mother" figure. She became friends with First Ladies FrancesCleveland, Caroline Harrison, and Edith Roosevelt. Caroli, Betty Boyd (2010)...
titular Andy as he brings FrancesCleveland (a past version of his girlfriend Satan to the present, leading to Grover Cleveland following them to reclaim...
Nancy Davis Reagan (/ˈreɪɡən/; born Anne Frances Robbins; July 6, 1921 – March 6, 2016) was an American film actress and the First Lady of the United...
her final visit to Washington in 1887, when she met with first lady FrancesCleveland, to whom she would sometimes provide advice.: 261 Tyler suffered...
Frances Sevilla Cleveland Axtell (June 12, 1866 – May 27, 1953) was an American clubwoman, suffragist, politician, and federal official. She was one of...
Confederate sympathies. Saxton later studied at the Sanford School in Cleveland, Ohio from 1863 to 1865. At all the schools she attended, Saxton excelled...
Lucretia Garfield Mary McElroy Rose ClevelandFrancesCleveland Caroline Harrison Mary Harrison FrancesCleveland Ida McKinley Edith Roosevelt Helen Taft...
S. Cabinet Frances Folsom Cleveland Preston (1864–1947), wife of US President Grover ClevelandFrances Quinlan, American musician Frances Stewart, Duchess...
daughter Mary Harrison McKee, Buchanan's niece Harriet Lane, and Cleveland's sister Rose Cleveland. Each of the 45 presidents of the United States have been...
Lucretia Garfield Mary McElroy Rose ClevelandFrancesCleveland Caroline Harrison Mary Harrison FrancesCleveland Ida McKinley Edith Roosevelt Helen Taft...
Lucretia Garfield Mary McElroy Rose ClevelandFrancesCleveland Caroline Harrison Mary Harrison FrancesCleveland Ida McKinley Edith Roosevelt Helen Taft...
Lucretia Garfield Mary McElroy Rose ClevelandFrancesCleveland Caroline Harrison Mary Harrison FrancesCleveland Ida McKinley Edith Roosevelt Helen Taft...
papers and unveiling his statue in Madison Square. In 1889, First Lady FrancesCleveland invited McElroy to a White House luncheon as a guest of honor. McElroy...
Lucretia Garfield Mary McElroy Rose ClevelandFrancesCleveland Caroline Harrison Mary Harrison FrancesCleveland Ida McKinley Edith Roosevelt Helen Taft...
Wilson's First Ladies. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas. Saunders, Frances Wright (1985). Ellen Axson Wilson: First Lady Between Two Worlds. University...
numerous others, including Presidents Rutherford B. Hayes and Grover Cleveland. Once widowed, Polk unofficially adopted a grandniece, Sarah Polk Jetton...
the legal guardian See also section on Grover and FrancesCleveland See also section on Grover Cleveland and Maria Halpin Wilson's second wife Edith Wilson...
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