Florence Kling Harding

                    First Lady Florence Harding was born Florence Mabel Kling on August 15, 1860, in Marion, Ohio, and given the nickname of Flossie.  Her parents were Amos King (June 15, 1833) and Louisa Mabel Hanford Bouton (September 2, 1835-June 23, 1893).  Her father married a second time in July 1907 to Caroline Beatty Denman (1858-1925).  She was the oldest of three children; her brothers were Clifford Bouton (October 13, 1861-July 11, 1937) and Vetallis Hanford (November 7, 1866-July 1, 1938).

                    Florence'sancestry was German, French, and English.  Her French Huguenot ancestors migrated to England in order to escape religious persecution.  Her maternal English ancestors came from the Hanford clan and were among the colonial founders of Canaan, Connecticut.  Her grandmother Elizabeth Vetallis was probably a Catholic from southern France.  Some residents from Marion, Ohio, claimed in 1920 that her paternal grandfather was Jewish and originated from Wurttemberg, Germany; his people were German in origin, but there is no documentation about their religion.  

                    Amos Kling owned a hardware store, banker, and local investor as well as owning and developing real estate.  There was claim that he was the "richest man in a small town," and Florence "grew up in a setting of wealth, position, and privilege."  One of those privileges was a music course at the Cincinnati Conservatory that completed her education.  She was very much like her "strong-will father in temperament" and became self-reliance, a rarity for girls at that time.  

                    Florence was pregnant when she eloped at age 19 with Henry "Pete" Atherton DeWolfe in 1880, her childhood friend and neighbor.  There is apparently no official record or legal marriage license for the couple; therefore, they might have just had a common law marriage.  At any rate, DeWolfe was a spendthrift and heavy drinker, and the couple separated soon after the birth of their son, Marshall Eugene DeWolfe (also known as Marshall Eugene Kling) in 1880.  There is apparently a record that she obtained a divorce in 1886 and resumed her maiden name.

                    Florence returned to Marion with her infant son, but she refused to live with her parents.  She rented rooms and earned her money by giving piano lessons to children in the neighborhood.  She eventually allowed her parents to raise her son.

                    Warren G. Harding was the publisher of the Daily Star, the only newspaper in Marion.  Warren and Florence began courting soon after they met in 1890 and were soon engaged.  Florence's father did not approve of the match; he accosted Warren in the street, called him names, and threatened his life if he did not leave Florence alone.

Warren was 25 and Florence was 30 when they married on July 8, 1891 in his home in Marion, Ohio, a house designed and built by Warren.  Warren called his wife "Duchess," and Florence called her husband "Wur'n" as she pronounced it.  They did not have any children together, but Marshall, Florence's son, lived with them sometimes.  He worshipped his stepfather and wanted to follow in his steps in the newspaper business.  

The marriage was not a happy one because Harding neglected his wife; he sought refuge from her strong personality with his friends and with other women.  The marriage was apparently a success as a business because Florence used her "dominating personality" and "great ambitions for her husband" (George H. Mayer, World Book Encyclopedia, Vol. 9, p. 58) to make him successful. 

Florence used her "martial demeanor" and "managerial skills" to make his newspaper a financial success.  She took over and ran the Star's circulation department for 14 years and made sure that the paper was efficiently distributed and subscriptions were paid.  She also worked hard to help him become politically successful, and the newspaper prospered as his political success increased.  She was a tireless worker for his election after he was nominated for President in 1920.  She said once, "I have only one real hobby - my husband."  Norman Thomas, one of her newsboys, recalled that "Mrs. Harding in those days ran the show.  Her husband was the front; it was she who was the real driving power in the success …."  

Mrs. Harding had never been to the White House prior to the election of her husband.  After meeting with President-elect and Mrs. Harding to discuss the social customs and the value of ceremony in the White House, former President Taft wrote to his wife Helen that the new First Lady was "a nice woman" and would "readily adapt herself."  This proved to be very true because Mrs. Harding hosted elegant garden parties and readily mixed with guests as the First Lady. She opened the mansion and the grounds again as they had been closed due to President Wilson's long illness.  She energetically performed her duties as First Lady even though she suffered from a chronic kidney ailment.  The Hardings had a crowded social calendar, but Mrs. Harding still found time to host garden parties regularly for veterans.  Even though the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution made liquor illegal, President and Mrs. Harding had fun poker parties in the White House library.

Florence was outspoken with her political views, particularly against the League of Nations and for women's suffrage.  She was very involved in her husband's life and possibly helped to write his inaugural speech because she mouthed some of the words and passages.  She reportedly said to her husband upon their arrival at the White House, "Well, Warren Harding, I got you the Presidency.  Now what are you going to do?"

The Harding campaign had taken place from the front porch of their home; therefore, Florence was able to carve out a dual public role as traditional housekeeper and modern activist.  After the election, she "continued to strike a duality as a modernist and traditionalist. She was one of the earliest First Ladies to feel that the citizenry were her constituency and her role entailed more than hostess in the White House.  `I feel that there is a great duty and responsibility which I must live up to,' she explained."

Florence Harding was "`particularly anxious… to help the women of the country to understand their government…  I want representative women to meet their Chief Executive and to understand the policies of the present administration.'  She invited not only women's political groups but also women federal workers, girls graduating from high school, college girls, and even African-American girls from local Dunbar High School.  She broke an unwritten social code and invited divorced women to social events.  While she did not publicly address the issue of birth control, she refused to condemn the movement for it when pressed by a reporter. Believing firmly in the necessity of physical exercise for women, she hosted a women's tennis exhibition game on the White House courts.  To the Camp Fire Girls, she wrote:  `The part that women play in the world has been greatly changed … It has broadened and enlarged and we will all be wise to recognize that a larger consideration for the health and physical advancement of the girls will better fit them for the role they must assume.'  Her message to the Girl Scouts was almost militaristic:  `Let us, as in the past, persist in overcoming all obstacles.  No matter what the sacrifice may be we must proceed with the great upbuilding work….'" 

Mrs. Harding was interested in astrology and visited Madam Marcia, a noted clairvoyant in Washington in early 1920 - while Warren was a still long shot to win the election.  The Madam predicted that Warren would be elected President and that he would die suddenly while in office.

Florence enjoyed traveling with her husband.  She was with him when he made his nationwide "Voyage of Understanding" during the summer of 1923.  She was by his side when he suddenly became sick and died in San Francisco, California, on August 2, 1923.  His death came before the major scandals in his administration became known by the public.  She showed "astonishing fortitude" as she accompanied the body of her husband on the long train ride back to Washington as well as enduring the state funeral at the Capitol and the last service and burial at Marion.  She also destroyed many documents in an effort to protect the image of her husband.

Mrs. Harding planned to remain in Washington, D.C. to make a new life for herself there as well as to travel in Europe;  however, her kidney ailment flared up again.  Her friend and former Surgeon General, Dr. Charles E. Sawyer, insisted that she go back to Marion for treatment and recovery.  She died in Marion of renal failure on November 21, 1924, less than sixteen months after the death of her husband, and was buried next to him.  "The Harding Memorial in Marion, Ohio, is considered by many historians to be the most beautiful of Presidential Tombsin the United States." 

Frances Folsom Cleveland

                    Frances Clara Folsom was born on July 21, 1864, in Buffalo, New York, and was the daughter of Oscar Folsom and Emma Harmon.  Frances was her parents' only child to survive infancy as her sister, Nellie Augusta, died just previous to her first birthday.  Frances was given the name of Frank in honor of an uncle, but she later adopted the feminine version of the name, Frances. 

Oscar was a lawyer as well as a descendant of the earliest settlers of Exeter, New Hampshire.  Frances' ancestors from both sides of her family came from England and settled in the area that would later be known as Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire; from there they eventually migrated to western New York.

Frances' father was a longtime and close friend of Grover Cleveland; therefore, it was only natural for Grover (age 27) to take an interest in the new baby.  He bought a baby carriage for her and otherwise pampered her as she was growing up.  When Oscar died in a carriage accident on July 23, 1875, without a written will, the court appointed Cleveland to be the administrator of his quarter-million dollar estate.  Frances was 11 years old at the time of her father's death and continued to live with her mother who was still living. 

Frances attended Central High School in Buffalo, New York, and Medina High School in Medina, New York, before attending Wells College in Aurora, New York.  It was sometime during her college days that Cleveland developed romantic feelings for her.  Soon after her graduation from college, he sent a letter to her in August 1885 with his proposal, and she accepted.  The engagement was not announced until five days before the wedding.  Frances' mother was not pleased initially with the engagement because she believed that the President should have asked her - the mother - to be his bride rather than the daughter.

                    President Cleveland was 49 and Frances was 21 when they were married on June 2, 1886, at the White House.  Cleveland was the only President to be married in the White House and spent his wedding day working as he usually did.  The wedding took place at 7:00 p.m. in the Blue Room of the White House and was performed by the Reverend Byron Sutherland, assisted by the Reverend William Cleveland, the groom's brother.  The wedding was a small affair and was attended by relatives, close friends, the Cabinet and their wives.  The bride's mother and both grandmothers could have been in attendance.  The words "honor, love, and keep" were substituted for "honor, love and obey".  The music was provided by John Philip Sousa and the Marine Band.  The newlyweds honeymooned for five days at Deer Park in the Cumberland Mountains of Western Maryland.

                    Frances became the youngest First Lady and remains so today.  She endured "intense media interest" when she took over the duties of White House hostess, but "her charm won her popularity."  When President Cleveland was defeated in the 1888 election, the Clevelands moved to New York.  Before leaving the White House, Frances told the staff, "I want you to take good care of all the furniture and ornaments in the house, for I want to find everything just as it is now when we come back again … four years from today" (World Book Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 671).  As Cleveland was the only President to serve two nonconsecutive terms so Frances was the only First Lady to be in two nonconsecutive administrations.  

                    Grover and Frances were parents of five children, two son and three daughters:  Ruth (1891-1904), Esther (1893-1980), Marion (1895-1977), Richard Folsom (1897-1974), and Francis Grover (1903-1995).

                    Cleveland Hall was constructed on the Wells College Campus in 1911 in honor of Frances Cleveland.  It originally served as a library but now holds foreign language classes.  Frances lived in Princeton, New Jersey, after Cleveland passed away in 1908.  She married again at age 49 on February 10, 1913, to Thomas J. Preston, Jr., a professor at Princeton University.  In doing so, she became the first presidential widow to marry again.  Frances passed away on October 29, 1947, in Baltimore and was buried in Princeton next to President Cleveland.

                    Information for this article except as noted came from Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Folsom_Cleveland_Preston

Elizabeth Kortright Monroe

                    Elizabeth Kortright was born on June 30, 1768, in New York; she was the daughter of Laurence Kortright and Hannah Aspinwall Kortright.  Her father was an officer in the British army and had made a fortune "privateering" during the French and Indian War.  Elizabeth was no taller than five feet as shown by one of her gowns in the collection of the James Monroe Museum.  She "acquired social grace and elegance at an early age."

                    Miss. Kortright attracted the attention of James Monroe in 1785 while he was a member of the Continental Congress meeting in New York.  James and Elizabeth were married on February 16, 1786, in New York City when he was twenty-seven and she was seventeen.   The couple spent a brief honeymoon on Long Island and then returned to live with her father until Congress adjourned.  They then returned to Virginia where their first child was born.

                    James and Elizabeth were parents of three children, two daughters and one son.  Eliza Monroe Hay (1786/87-1835) married George Hay in 1808 and was a substitute for her ailing mother.  The son (1799-1801) died at age two.  His grave stone lists his name as "J.S. Monroe."   He was apparently named James Monroe, Jr., with speculation that his middle name was Spence.  Maria Hester Monroe Gouverneur (1803-1850) married her cousin, Samuel L. Gouverneur, on March 8, 1820, and was the first child of a President to be married in the White House.

                    Elizabeth accompanied her husband when he was appointed to be Minister to France by President George Washington.  Life in Paris was anything but dull because the Monroe family was there for the Reign of Terror that came after the onset of the French Revolution.  Elizabeth, acting as the wife of the American Minister, helped to secure the release of Madame LaFayette, wife of the Marquis de Lafayette, upon learning of her imprisonment and threatened death by guillotine.  The American citizen, Thomas Paine, also found refuge with the Monroe family after his arrest for his opposition to the execution of Louis XVI.

                    While the Monroe family was in France, Eliza became friends with Hortense de Beauhrnais who was the step-daughter of Napoleon; the girls attended the school of Madam Jeanne Campan, who had previously advised Marie Antoinette in court etiquette.  The Monroe family and the Napoleon Bonaparte family were friends.

                    The Monroe's only son was born in Virginia in 1799 upon their return from France but died in 1801.  In 1803 President Thomas Jefferson appointed Monroe to be Minister to Great Britain and to Spain.  Their youngest daughter, Maria, was probably born in England in 1803.  Monroe was sent back to France in 1804 to negotiate the purchase of Louisiana.

                    While Monroe was still serving as Ambassador to both Great Britain and Spain in December 1804, James and Elizabeth were invited by Napoleon to attend his coronation in Paris and were part of the delegation from the United States.  The family returned to Virginia in 1807.

                    James was elected to be Virginia Governor in 1811 but served in that office for only four months. He was appointed as Secretary of State in April 1811 and didn't have much to do with the War of 1812.  As the war was going badly, President James Madison turned to Monroe and appointed him to be Secretary of War in addition to being Secretary of State.  He served in both positions from October 1, 1814, until February 28, 1815, when the peace treaty was ratified.  He resigned from the office of Secretary of War and was formally reappointed as Secretary of State.  He held this position until he was elected to be President of the United States.

                    Because James had observed court etiquette during his trips to Europe, he decided to have a strict social attitude in the White House when he became President.  Mrs. Monroe suffered from ill health and received only those visitors that she invited to the White House.  Her oldest daughter, Eliza Hay, was sent to "pay calls" and served as official White House hostess in place of her ailing mother.  People in Washington considered Mrs. Monroe to be "snobbish" until they realized that she was following the wishes of the President in establishing protocol.   During her husband's second term in office, Mrs. Monroe's Wednesday receptions were popular events.  The Marquis de Lafayette visited the White House on New Year's Day, 1825, and added a touch of splendor to the Monroe's last months there.

                    Elizabeth Monroe had the unenviable position of following Dolley Madison as First Lady.  Mrs. Madison had "captivated" Washington society and set a high standard for all future First Ladies.  Considered to be snobbish during her husband's first term in office, Mrs. Monroe regained respect and admiration during his second term.

                    Mrs. Monroe was sick and suffered several long illnesses until her death on September 23, 1830, in her home (Oak Hill) at age 62.  She was interred at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia.

                    Information for this article is from Wikipedia.