Grover Cleveland was a bachelor when he assumed the presidency in 1885. One year later he made history by becoming the first president to marry in the White House. On June 2, 1886 he took Frances Clara Folsom as his bride.
The ceremony was held in the blue room. Frances, 27 years his junior, was the daughter of Cleveland’s law firm partner. Educated at Wells College, She was a popular First Lady.
The Clevelands were a close and affectionate couple whose relationship was also characterized by mutual respect. Cleveland once wrote of his wife,“I have in her something better than the presidency for life.”
Anyhow, Richard (famous poet and editor of Century Magazine, now forgotten) met Frank (as she would be called by her family and friends) when they were both speaking at a graduation ceremony at a womens' college (Wellesley ?- I'm too lazy to look it up- well, that was stupid, its right up above, Wells) and he praised her and invited her to come visit them. She was engaged to Grover then. Frank and her mother went to see Richard and Helena at their summer house and she hit it off with Helena (almost every intelligent woman in the world thought Helena walked on water) and after she moved into the White House, she started a social life for old Grover who had no friends and no social life. Grover was pulled into spending summers with the Gilders in Marion for the fishing. Joe Jefferson (famous actor) also lived there and the three men went fishing while the wives had fun hanging out. Grover and Richard ended up fishing in Tyringham, while Frank and Helena and grown children and the Twain family hung about.
I had hoped that Frank kept a diary, but I couldn't find one. (All of the Gilder's artist friends got to design the new US Currency that was issued in Grover's 2nd term.) (Richard and wife got to sleep overnight in White House without Grover there, so in the morning Richard slipped into the Oval Office and had his coffee pretending to be President and wrote a funny Proclamation that sadly never saw the light of day) There are privileges to being the fishing buddy.
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