Prior to his accepting public office in the late sixties, Grover Cleveland and Oscar Folsom had been law partners. He was a frequent visitor at the Folsom home, when the little blue-eyed, brown-haired daughter, Frances, was attending the select French kindergarten conducted by Madame Bucher in Buffalo. The bachelor mayor made a pet of her. She always climbed upon his knee when he came and called him “Uncle Cleve.” In 1875, when she was eleven years old, her father, Oscar Folsom, was killed in a carriage accident. It was later discovered that he had made his partner the guardian of his child. Mrs. Folsom, the mother, took the little girl to Medina, her own home town, but the latter later returned to Buffalo to attend school. Finally, she entered Wells College, where she was a student for three years. Miss Folsom was a favourite among teachers and pupils; also an object of envy to the girls who all noted the letters and flowers from the Governor of New York. While she was in college, Cleveland was nominated for the Presidency, and there was much buzzing of girlish tongues over the regular letters from Washington.
The following June, when the class of ’85 held its commencement at Wells, no young graduate attracted more attention and comment than pretty Miss Folsom. This was due, in part, to the superb flowers which came to her from the White House, over which there was much gossip and speculation.
Before she sailed with her mother for a year of sightseeing in Europe, the President had conveyed to her his desire to lose a ward and gain a bride. To the intimate family group only their engagement was announced.
Miss Folsom, with a French trousseau, finally arrived in May. She was met by Secretary Lamont, who checked all newspaper attempts to approach her for information by whisking her and Mrs. Folsom aboard a steamer he had waiting. He personally conducted them to the Gilsey House, where they remained for a few days. President Cleveland, in the meantime, concluded that his presence was necessary in New York on Memorial Day. Thus their final plans were completed. He returned at once to Washington, and early on the morning on the second of June, Miss Rose Cleveland hurried to the station, returning shortly with the young lady and her mother.
All day the President and his lovely fiancée addressed unusually elaborate boxes of wedding cake, each carrying a card bearing their combined autographs. The President had previously sent to a limited number of guests the following simple form of invitation:
Executive Mansion,
May 29, 1886.
My dear Mr.——
I am to be married on Wednesday evening at seven o’clock at the White House to Miss Folsom. It will be a very quiet affair and I will be extremely gratified at your attendance on the occasion.
Yours sincerely,
Grover Cleveland.
As this was the first and only time a President was married in the White House, the wedding marked an epoch in the history of the mansion.