American Freedom Museum: Fun Fact Friday
From the desk of Jan Hommel, Museum Director:
Q: Which president gave a baby gift to his wife when she was born?
A: Grover Cleveland. As a bachelor, Cleveland was a law partner with his good friend Oscar Folsom. When a new baby was welcomed to Folsom’s family, Grover Cleveland was twenty-seven years old. Cleveland was so excited and such a devoted friend that he bought Oscar’s baby, Frances, a new carriage as a baby gift. Little did anyone know that when Frances turned twenty-one, he would marry her and she would become the youngest First Lady in U.S. history. They were also the only First Couple to marry in the actual White House.
Grover Cleveland was the twenty-second and twenty-fourth president of the United States. He was the only president to serve two nonconsecutive terms. Cleveland lost reelection to Benjamin Harrison after his first term. He and his wife told the White House staff, “Take good care of the place. We’ll be back!” He defeated President Harrison in 1892. (The Essential Book of Presidential Trivia)