Grover Cleveland Seeks to Insulate His Wife, the Very Popular Frances Folsom Cleveland, From Publicity

In 1886, 21-year old Frances Folsom married President Grover Cleveland in the White House, becoming (and remaining) the only presidential couple married in that historic building. The youngest First Lady ever, and woman of great charm, she increased her profile by holding two receptions a week – one on Saturday afternoons, when women with jobs were free to come. Overall, she was the subject of intense media interest and enjoyed enormous popularity.

Although he did not anticipate the degree to which the press would intrude on his private life with his new bride, President Cleveland foresaw that the public interest in “Frank,” as she was known to those closest to her, would be great and possibly an oppressive burden for them both. In seeking to prevent this as much as was possible, he purchased a 27 acre working farm in the Georgetown Heights section of Washington. The house afforded the privacy he wished to ensure for him and his new bride, and they only lived at the White House during the active social season, from November to December and then from February to April. But despite these efforts to minimize the intrusion and allow for a private life, the press’s interest in Mrs. Cleveland remained unabated.

Cleveland was defeated for reelection in 1888, and the couple left office on March 4, 1889. When leaving the White House that day, Mrs. Cleveland told the staff to keep things as they were, as the Clevelands would be back four years later. She proved right. The ex-President spent the interim four years as a lawyer in New York City. Even during this phase in exile, the press could not get enough of Mrs. Cleveland.

Joseph I.C. Clarke was a noted journalist and playwright. He started as assistant editor of the Irish Times, and then joined the New York Herald. He was the managing editor of the New York The Morning Journal from 1883–95, editor of the Criterion from 1898–1900 and of the Sunday edition of the New York Herald from 1903-1906. In March 1890, his newspaper conducted a poll to determine the most popular woman in New York, and the winner was: Frances Cleveland. For this, she was awarded a prize, and Clarke wrote her to make arrangements to present it. How this honor sat with Mrs. Cleveland is hard to say, but her husband was anything but pleased. Perhaps he was concerned about how his political opponents might use the incident, or perhaps he just did not want the invasion of privacy. What we know for sure is that he took matters in hand and answered Clarke’s letter to Mrs. Cleveland on her behalf.

Autograph letter signed, New York, March 15, 1890, to Clarke as editor of The Morning Journal, asking that proceeds of the award be donated to charity rather than given to his wife. “Mrs. Cleveland has referred to me your letter of this date, informing her that in a voting contest to name the most popular woman in New York inaugurated by the Morning Journal, her name stood at the head of the list, and asking that a silver wreath which she thus secured may be presented to her on the 18th instant. Mrs. Cleveland fully appreciates the friendliness which has been communicated in this affair and which actuates the proposal made; and yet she hopes she may be permitted to say that she would have been better pleased if she had not involuntarily appeared as a contestant for such a prize. If she is allowed to suggest the disposition to be made of this prize which she learns from your note depended upon the contest mentioned, her especial desire is that instead of being presented to her, the same be sold and the proceeds of such sale contributed to the Charity Organization Society of the City of New York.”

This is an interesting and very unusual letter for a number of reasons: that he wrote for her rather than her responding, meaning that he considered the matter of at least some importance; that he objected to the very fact of the poll, and apparently felt it was a negative and possibly politically harmful; and that he wanted to avoid publicity for his wife, for personal and privacy reasons. There may also be a combination of motives here.