One corner of the cake seems to have been nibbled, and Shannon recalled a "legend" of a Cub Scout in the 1950s who bit the cake on a dare.

The president worked a full day before attending his own wedding. Their romance began when Folsom and her mother visited Cleveland at the White House the spring after his inauguration. The humble house where future U.S. President Grover Cleveland was born has been preserved pretty much as it was in 1837. The humble house where future U.S. President Grover Cleveland was born has been preserved pretty much as it was in 1837. Cleveland successfully courted her through the mail and a series of letters. However, it was not his only pervy act. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.

( Log Out /  The couple lived in a private residence most of the year so that Grover could provide extra protection for his wife.
More Civil Service Reform. Artist: Thomas Nast. Visitors can see his cradle, his marriage certificate, and the bed on which he was born (there's a big plaque set into the wall over it). One less popularly discussed but just as intriguing trail of Presidental history.

Grover Cleveland Wedding and Baby. The Wedding at the White House, June 2nd--the Mother's Kiss', Wedding of U.S. President Grover Cleveland, with Mrs. Grover Cleveland Receiving Kiss from her Mother, from a sketch by C. Bunnell, Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, June 12, 1886 Frances Folsom Cleveland. While political news remains momentarily plunged in the lurid pulp of a photo scandal, it's worth remembering that, once upon a time, we had a middle-aged bachelor president who courted and married his first wife in office -- and that she was a woman 27 years his junior. All rights reserved. All Rights Reserved. © I Can’t Believe It’s NonFiction and www.icantbelieveitsnonfiction.com, 2017-2019. Image and text provided by HarpWeek. tourist attractions and odd sights in New Jersey, Best Western Plus Fairfield Executive Inn. View All. He married Frances Folsom on June 2, 1886 when he was 49 years old. Frances remarried in 1913. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. The only presidential White House wedding happened 125 years ago. Grover Cleveland was the 22nd president of the United States from 1885-1889 and the 24th president from 1893-1897. It's a fruitcake, whose sugary embalming has preserved it into its third century -- longer than any other cake in America, according to Sharon. As a 49-year-old bachelor in the White House, however, he had mothers across the country looking for ways to introduce their daughters to him. As a single man, Grover took responsibility. Artist: Augustus Saint-Gaudens (American, Dublin 1848-1907 Cornish, New Hampshire). She reluctantly gave her permission. More on Piece of Grover Cleveland's Wedding Cake. A family friend, Cleveland actually bought Frances Folsom her first baby carriage when she was an infant and later guided her education after her father died, according to Folsom's WhiteHouse.gov biography. The wedding of President Grover Cleveland and Frances Folsom (right) on June 2, 1886, in the White House's Blue Room. RoadsideAmerica.comYour Online Guide to Offbeat Tourist Attractions. It was revealed before their wedding that Grover may have fathered a child out of wedlock when Frances was just a child. ( Log Out /  Start here.Use RoadsideAmerica.com's Attraction Maps to plan your next road trip. We've never had any problems.". He was the only president to be married at the White House. Dimensions: Diameter: 5 1/2 in. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. After the wedding, Frances had her dress altered into an evening gown that she wore for formal events. Perhaps some future scientist will unlock its DNA or possibly clone it, since, according to Sharon, scholars cannot find the Methuselah cake's original recipe.

Grover was the only president to serve 2 non-consecutive terms. The wedding of Grover Cleveland and Frances Folsom in 1886. Coincidently, I was watching a program the other day regarding rumors of Aretha Franklin’s first child, eerily similar to Frances’. Raping a date and fathering an illegitimate child upon his victim was the worst thing (that we know of) about Grover Cleveland. 3 of 14. Credits, Media/Business Inquiries Caldwell, New Jersey. When the Clevelands vacated the White House at the end of Grover’s first term, Frances told the staff to keep the place up for them because they would be back. The couple’s first daughter, Ruth, was in the inspiration for the candy bar, Baby Ruth. Grover Cleveland . He was 49; she was 21. Oscar was Grover’s law partner. He married Frances Folsom on June 2, 1886 when he was 49 years old. Attraction status, hours and prices change without notice; call ahead! Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Trip Planning Caution: RoadsideAmerica.com offers maps, directions and attraction details as a convenience, providing all information as is. Wikimedia. icantbelieveitsnonfiction Blog Posts September 22, 2020 September 22, 2020 2 Minutes. She was the first child born in the White House. Grover secretly proposed by letter in August 1885, right after Frances graduated.

Grover Cleveland was not most people's idea of a romantic man. Click on the image to open a larger version of the cartoon or read the caption and explanation. Submit a letter to the editor or write to [email protected].

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Only once has the White House hosted the wedding of a sitting U.S. president, and it happened 125 years ago today. Grover died in 1908. Only about 35 people attended the wedding that was held in the Blue Room of the White House. Inaugurated in 1885, Cleveland married Frances Folsom, the daughter of one of Cleveland's law partners in Buffalo, in the Blue Room of the White House the following year. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to I Can’t Believe It’s NonFiction and www.icantbeliveitsnonfiction.com  with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. He might not have been the child’s father, but the other candidates were all married. We want to hear what you think about this article. The cake chunk, in a presentation box designed by Tiffany, doesn't look anything like a modern fluffy wedding cake topped with a tiny bride and groom. The American people and the press were obsessed with the First Lady. Vermontasaurus, Post Mills, Vermont (Oct 5-11, 2020). Things were, uh, different back then. Newspapers reported that the skirt of Frances’s wedding dress was so stiff that it could stand on its own. Visitors can see his cradle, his marriage certificate, and the bed on which he was born (there's a big plaque set into the wall over it). Frances was just 21 years old, making her the youngest First Lady in history. DEA/ICAS94/Contributor/Getty Images Cleveland was the first sitting president to get married in the White House. When Frances began attending Wells College, Grover asked her mother if he could court Frances. That kind of intimacy is impossible now; the cake is kept safely behind glass. When Oscar died in a carriage accident on July 23, 1875, Grover became the administrator of his large estate. "We're sort of blessed with it and cursed with it," said Sharon Farrell, curator of the Grover Cleveland Birthplace, as she showed us her attraction's most famous artifact: a chunk of cake from the wedding of America's 22nd President on June 2, 1886.
The need that people have to know what goes on in the houses of public figures is scary. Stories, reports and tips on tourist attractions and odd sights in New Jersey. "We don't do anything special for it," she said. Frances was born July 21, 1864 in Buffalo, New York to Oscar and Emma Folsom. "We check it for insect infestations. Invitation image via the New Jersey Department of State. Piece of Grover Cleveland's Wedding Cake.

Follow I Can't Believe It's NonFiction on WordPress.com. Drawing by T. de Thulstrup, via Wikimidia Commons, originally appearing in the June 12, 1886 issue of Harper's. She repurposed the skirt later with a different top for other occasions. Change ).

Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  He continued to support that child until his death.

The cake was a fruitcake and has held up surprisingly well over the past 133 years. He was immensely private, somewhat abrasive, and weighed 300 pounds. Strange and amusing destinations in the US and Canada are our specialty. He had known Frances since she was born and took it upon himself to see that she got the best possible education. 2 of 14. He was the only president to be married at the White House. It did not pass. There was a rumor that the child may have been fathered by Oscar. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. © Copyright 1996-2020 Doug Kirby, Ken Smith, Mike Wilkins. Later, in 1893, during Grover’s 2nd term, Frances gave birth to their 2nd daughter, Esther. A collection of strange, but true, stories…. But we're here to see... the cake. TheAtlantic.com Copyright (c) 2020 by The Atlantic Monthly Group. But when asked about his marriage plans, Cleveland … The public was under the impression that Grover was to be engaged to Emma and were shocked to learn the truth just 5 days before the wedding. President Grover Cleveland, a notorious bachelor at 49, was to wed 21-year-old Frances Folsom after a yearlong clandestine engagement. Unfortunately, some things culturally continue like needing protection from being captured in photography, or videography for that matter, non-consensually. The bride was 27 years younger than the groom. According to the History Channel, the fabric was so stiff that the dress could stand up by itself. Grover Cleveland was the 22nd president of the United States from 1885-1889 and the 24th president from 1893-1897. ( Log Out / 

Grover Cleveland Groomed a Child To Be His Wife. An illustration of President Grover and Frances Cleveland's wedding. A video summary of this week’s post can be found athttps://youtu.be/YBs41dSnI3s. Some of these boxes, with cake still inside, are on display and in private collections across the country. Grover attempted to combat this by supporting legislation that no woman could be photographed without her permission.

The couple changed the words of their vows from the traditional “obey” to “keep.” They gave out pieces of their wedding cake in Tiffany boxes as favors. The bride was 27 years younger than the groom. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! No portion of this document may be reproduced, copied or revised without written permission of the authors. Picture of the Day: Grover Cleveland's White House Wedding, June 2, 1886 The only presidential White House wedding happened 125 years ago. Wedding invitations had …

Blessed Be the Union. The White House Wedding of Grover Cleveland and Frances Folsom. On June 12, 1886, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the wedding of President Grover Cleveland to Frances Folsom.