230. “Pronouncing the story of her alleged relations,” Buffalo Evening Telegraph, 14 August 1884.
230. “Henceforth” he would run the newspaper “in the interests of the Republican Party,” New York Times 5 August 1884.
231. “Of the truth of the story,” Buffalo Evening Telegraph, 14 August 1884.
232. “They are, and God knows they are true too,” New Rochelle Pioneer, undated.
233. A “swell” free buffet seven days a week. Michael and Ariane Batterberry, On the Town: The Landmark History of Eating, Drinking, and Entertainments from the American Revolution to the Food Revolution (Oxford: Routledge, 1998), 145.
233. His mother would receive the extraordinary sum of ten thousand dollars. Chicago Inter-Ocean, 29 September 1884.
233. I have read the statement published in the Buffalo. Chicago Tribune, 30 October 1884.
235. Without being “molested,” New Rochelle Pioneer, undated.
235. Don’t worry, I am going away. Note published in Tell the Truth, or the Story of a Working Woman’s Wrongs (New York: Popular Press, 1884). The pamphlet was distributed by the Republican Party and consisted of reprinted articles from the Evening Telegraph and other anti-Cleveland newspapers.
235. She was a “magnetic girl . . . full of life. New York Mercury, as quoted in Chicago Tribune, 13 August 1884.
236. “Mrs. Halpin is evidently an epileptic,” Boston Globe, 2 November 1884.
237. “I am known in this city and no one can point,” Brooklyn Times, undated, reprinted in Tell the Truth pamphlet under the headline, “Maria Halpin’s Parent Relates the Story of his Daughter’s Career.”
238. “Betrayed into the hands of her enemies,” New York Star, undated, as quoted in Tell the Truth.
239. “I have had trouble enough already, without more,” New York Star, undated, reprinted in Tell the Truth.
241. “Yes, I know Cleveland, perhaps better than any man living,” Chicago Tribune, 30 September 1884. Cleveland’s letter to Talbott does not survive.
242. “They engaged me to care for a young child,” ibid., 1 October 1884.
12. “A BULLET THROUGH MY HEART”
244. “I’m glad you’ve come. I want to talk,” Hudson, 184–190.
247. “I hope it will die out at once,” GC to Daniel Lamont, 14 August, 1884, Nevins, Letters, 40–41.
248. “As a candidate for the presidency I knew that I should,” Harry Thurston Peck, Twenty Years of the Republic, 1885–1905 (New York: Dodd, Mead and Co., 1920), 234–236, Blaine withdrew the lawsuit in December 1884, complaining that the “law gives no adequate redress” in cases of libel involving a public figure.
249. Cleveland descended the staircase and strode. New York Times, 30 July 1884.
249. “If one of you young fellows doesn’t take,” Nevins, 175.
250. “I hope that brass bands and such nonsense,” GB to Lamont, 10 August 1884, Nevins, Letters, 39.
251. “Remember me to Apgar,” ibid., August 11 1884, 40.
251. “Very frequently had no better couch to sleep on,” New York Times, 27 October 1884; Nevins, 177.
252. Hendricks, along with two nieces, was traveling. Chicago Tribune, 18 September 1884.
252. “For many years, days devoted to business,” Michael Farquhar, Treasury of Great American Scandals (New York: Penguin Books, 2002), 166.
253. “The issue is evidently not between the two great parties,” Buffalo Evening Telegraph, 21 July 1884.
254. “Filthy and disingenuous,” New York Post, 8 August 1884.
255. “Moreover, he has, we are informed,” ibid., 12 August 1884.
255. The “Rev.” Ball, who originated the vile slander. Boston Herald, 10 August 1884.
256. The Twinings had arrived in America: Modern History of New Haven and Eastern New Haven County, vol. II (New York and Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1919), 282–286.
257. “When he was younger than he is now,” Twinings’s report published as, The Facts and Evidence Concerning the Private Life of Grover Cleveland, 27 October 1884.
258. “Everybody and his eldest son,” Boston Globe, 30 August 1884.
258. “Indignant and disgusted with the people,” Buffalo Courier, 31 October 1884.
260. “The facts of the case show that she was not seduced,” ibid., 11 August 1884.
260. “There was no abduction,” ibid.
260. “To see grown men, apparently in their right mind,” Twain quoted in Farquhar, 166.
261. “Have just received your package of Boston Journals,” New York Post, 13 August 1884.
261. “Abundant rumors” that Cleveland’s immoral behavior. Mark Wahlgren Summers, Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion: The Making of a President 1884 (Chapel Hill and London: University of North Carolina Press, 2000), 279.
262. “On coming down to breakfast one morning,” New York Times, 27 October 1884.
262. “Everything looks well for Cleveland,” George F. Peabody to William Gorham Rice, 7 September 1884; Box 7, Folder 1, William Gorham Rice Papers, New York State Library, Albany, New York.
263. An “oversensitive and insecure” woman. Applegate, 85. Applegate relates the story of the hot bowl of soup on page 84.
263. Provocative evidence about her “abysmal” marriage, ibid., 444. 264. “What! The Governor took no personal physicians,” New York Times, 27 October 1884.
264. “I am shocked and dumbfounded by the clippings,” GC to Mrs. Henry Ward Beecher, undated but around 20 October 1884, Nevins, Letters, 45. The letter was read by Reverend Beecher before a large rally in Brooklyn the night of 23 October 1884.
265. “Crushed in spirit and broken in health,” New Rochelle Pioneer, 13 September 1884.
266. Frederick, “at the suggestion of my mother,” Boston Globe, 2 November 1884.
266. “Grover Cleveland is the father,” New York Morning Journal, 14 August 1884, reprinted in Tell the Truth, 31.
267. “I would rather put a bullet through my heart,” ibid.
13. THE AFFIDAVIT
268. “The scandal business is about wound up,” GC to Wilson Bissell, 11 September 1884, Nevins, Letters, 42.
268. “On some other shoulders than mine,” GC to Charles Goodyear, 14 September 1884, ibid., 43.
269. Beard was born “deaf as a post,” Morning Oregonian, 15 September 1895. Judge ceased publication in 1947.
271. “We trust the skies will smile upon our festival,” Buffalo Courier, 2 October 1884.
271. “O hell! A man don’t decorate or illuminate his house,” GC to Bissell, 5 October 1884, Nevins, Letters, 44.
272. “Balm to the wounds of slander,” Buffalo Courier, 3 October 1884.
272. “Lady of the highest social station and of the most rigid code,” The Facts and Evidence Concerning the Private Life of Grover Cleveland, a political pamphlet distributed by the Cleveland campaign, 44.
272. “Beyond anticipations,” GC to Bissell, 5 October 1884, Nevins, Letters, 44.
272. “And now that the Buffalo rumpus is over,” ibid.
273. Brooklyn’s “best families,” Brooklyn Eagle, 23 October 1884.
274. “Before many of you were born I was rocking the cradle,” ibid.
276. “Immovably opposed” to her going public, Boston Globe, 10 August 1884.
278. Frederick T. Halpin, being duly sworn. Affidavit in possession of author. It was also published in several newspapers 30 October 1884.
278. Maria B. Halpin, being duly sworn. Chicago Tribune, 31 October 1884. Affidavit in possession of the author.
279. “Leave his house,” Boston Globe, 2 November 1884.
279. “I did not intend to say anything about the affair,” Chicago Tribune, 31 October 1884.
14. PRESIDENT-ELECT
283. “And spontaneity will win?” Hudson, 205–210.
285. The Fifth Avenue Hotel was the social. New York Times, 4 April 1908.
286. An “insult to Christian civilization,” Summers, 280.
&nb
sp; 287. “Flicker of annoyance,” ibid., 282.
287. “I am the last man in the United States,” ibid., 285.
288. “Now swallow the Cleveland pill,” Nevins, 171.
288. “I must tell you about one girl here,” W. F. Lampton, “Mrs. Cleveland as a College Girl,” Ladies Homes Journal, March 1904, 12.
288. “Five minutes more that time and we should never have been married,” Nevins, 302.
289. Her dorm room was still fragrant with roses. Annette Dunlap, Frank: The Story of Frances Folsom Cleveland, America’s Youngest First Lady (Albany: SUNY Press, 2009), 22.
289. Frances asked around and found somebody. New York World, 8 November 1892.
290. “Girls, wouldn’t it be pretty nice for me to spend a winter,” Lampton, Ladies Home Journal, May 1905.
291. “A fellow can’t cast but one, you know,” New York Times, 3 November 1884.
293. “Don’t disturb me unless something decisive,” Summers, 9.
293. “Suspiciously slow,” ibid.
293. “The only hope of our opponents is a fraudulent count,” William Gorham Rice and Francis Lynde Stetson, Was New York’s Vote Stolen? (New York: The North American Review Publishing Co., 1914), 83.
295. “I believe I have been elected president,” Summers, 11.
295. “Cleveland is elected,” King declared. Horatio King to his father, also named Horatio King, 8 November 1884, Archives and Special Collections, Waidner-Spahr Library, Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, MC1999.9, Box 1, File 11.
295. The air was so thick with tobacco smoke. New York Times, 14 November 1884.
296. “An ass in the shape of a preacher,” Summers, xi; 296; 301.
296. “Opened his mouth and swallowed a presidency,” Summers, 282.
297. “It’s quite amusing to see how profuse,” GC to Bissell, 13 November 1884, Nevins, Letters, 47–48.
298. “I can see no pleasure in it and no satisfaction,” ibid., 13 November 1884, 47–48.
298. “I feel this moment I would never go there again,” ibid., 5 December 1884, 50–51.
299. “I wish you a very ‘Merry Christmas,’” Ibid., 25 December, 51.
15. ROSE
301. Rose was a creature of rigid habit. Washington Post, 14 January 1887.
301. Grover Cleveland’s announcement naming his sister. Ibid., 28 December 1884; 18 January 1885.
302. She could conjugate ancient Greek verbs. Ibid., 14 January 1887, quoting Laura C. Holloway’s The Ladies of the White House.
302. “Well, Dan, if you won’t go, I won’t, that’s all,” Nevins, 198.
303. “How d’ye do, Mr. President?” Washington Post, 4 March 1885.
304. Rose moved into a bedroom on the second floor. Ibid., 26 April 1885.
305. Mrs. Hendricks won the evening’s accolades. Ibid., 5 March 1885.
305. Rose held her first reception. Ibid., 8 March 1885.
306. When Rose invited a delegation: Ibid, 14 March, 1885.
306. “It is only a strong man who can keep his wine glass upside down,” ibid., 10 May 1885, quoting Rose Cleveland’s 1882 article from Youth’s Temperance Banner.
307. Ms. Annie Van Vechten arrived at the White House, ibid., 23 April 1885.
308. “I can’t realize it is Washington,” Lewis L. Gould, ed., American First Ladies (New York and London: Garland Publishing Inc., 1996), 247. Sue Severn, whose husband, William I. Severn, had researched an unfinished biography of Frances Folsom Cleveland and conducted extensive interviews with her youngest son, Francis G. Cleveland, and other family members, wrote the chapter.
308. They playfully calculated how many times they had to walk from one end. Robar, 15.
308. “Very romantic,” Robar, 17.
309. “Decided favorite,” Washington Post, 29 March 1885.
309. “She’ll do! She’ll do!” Nevins, 311.
309. “Handsome matron,” Washington Post, 30 May 1885.
309. “How perfectly ridiculous it is to talk of the president,” ibid., 30 May 1886.
310. “Rumors afloat,” ibid., 17 November 1884.
310. “Have you come to think that your oldest grandchild,” Frances Folsom to Col. John Folsom, 23 March 1885, Nevins Collection, Columbia University, Box 106.
312. It was not unusual for President Cleveland to answer the phone. Alyn Brodsky, Grover Cleveland: A Study in Character (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2000), 157.
312. “That man who cooks,” New York Times, 3 April 1911. The quote is from Alexander Fortin’s obituary.
313. “Plenty more in the box,” Washington Post, 7 April 1885.
313. “Capable of great development,” ibid., 9 April 1885; 6 June 1886 (“Echoes of the Wedding.”)
314. Equated upper-crust society to a salivating and servile dog. Ibid., 10 May 1885.
314. “Rather terrifying,” Nevins, 300.
314. “Romanist peril” and “annoying,” ibid.
315. “She’d had a pretty hard time here,” GC to Mary Cleveland Hoyt, 30 April 1885, Nevins, Letters, 63.
315. This “scurrilous” story. Washington Post, 26 January 1939, from an interview with Charles A. Hamilton.
16. THE BRIDE
317. Frances and her classmates planted the ivy. Robar, 16.
318. “Frank made a hero out of him. Dunlap, 4.
318. Not subjecting his “darling,” Severn in Gould, 248.
318. “Poor girl,” Cleveland would remark some time later. Nevins, 303.
320. “I don’t see why the papers keep marrying me to old ladies,” Robert McNutt McElroy, Grover Cleveland, the Man and the Statesman: An Authorized Biography (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1923), 184.
320. “This is the man who went to war for me,” GC to John E. Hale, 13 September 1887, Nevins Collection, Columbia University, Box no. 102. Cleveland spelled Benisky’s name Benninsky.
321. “Boiling seething lava of Vesuvius,” Severn in Gould, 248.
322. “Well, then,” she said, “will you answer this question,” Washington Post, 7 June 1886.
322. “I should have begged you wildly never, never,” Katherine Willard to Frances Folsom, 13 March 1886, GC Papers, LOC.
323. In a state of complete “misery,” Robar, 19.
323. “I wish all you dear girls could have such,” Utica Herald, quoted in Washington Post, 18 May 1886.
324. “There was not the slightest doubt but that it was genuine,” Washington Post, 18 April 1886.
324. “I expect to be married pretty early in June.” GC to Mary Cleveland Hoyt, 21 March 1886, Nevins, Letters, 103–104.
324. “It looks as if Frank would reach New York,” ibid., 14 April 1886, 106.
325. Frances had found a father figure. Brodsky, 162.
325. “To him she was nothing but a child,” Washington Post, 30 May 1886.
325. Frances had to be “admonished,” ibid., 18 May 1886.
326. “I am very indignant at the way Frank,” GC to Mary Cleveland Hoyt, 19 April 1886, Nevins, Letters, 106–107. See also GC letter to Mrs. Hoyt, 26 April 1886.
326. “I have no reason to believe that Mr. Cleveland is about to be married,” Washington Post, 19 April 1886.
326. Cleveland’s “acquaintance with the lady began when she was hardly knee high,” ibid., 27 April 1886.
327. “Miss Folsom is considerably more than a schoolgirl,” ibid., 18 May 1886.
327. “Rubbish and nonsense,” ibid., 4 May 1886.
329. “She possesses no airs; she is remarkably humble,” New York Times, 29 May 1886. A reporter from the Times happened to be a passenger on board the Noordland and wrote his account when he reached shore.
329. Colonel John Folsom was dead. Buffalo Evening News, 20 May 1886.
331. “Offensive partisanship,” Washington Post, 14 June 1886.
331. “Arrived safe. All in good hands,” Brodsky, 172.
17. DEATH OF A NEWSPAPER
333. His cousin wasn’t “quite herself yet,” Washingt
on Post, 30 May 1886.
335. Frances acknowledged him with a coquettish little wave. New York Times, 1 June 1886. Author’s note: Decoration Day became Memorial Day after World War I.
336. “Radiant vision of young springtime,” William H. Crook, Memories of the White House: The Home Life of Our Presidents from Lincoln to Roosevelt (Boston: Little Brown and Co., 1911), 170.
336. Dolly Madison’s mirror. Robar, 27.
337. Augustus Hill Garland, who detested all social functions. Washington Post, 26 June 1908.
338–339. Sunderland pronounced them husband and wife. The account of Cleveland’s wedding comes primarily from an excellent article in the Washington Post, 3 June 1886.
340. Maria Halpin also got married. Chicago Tribune, 2 July 1887.
341. “Gentlemen,” Ed Butler said, “I have purchased the Telegraph: Buffalo Express,” 18 August 1885; Smith, 46.
342. “Simply because her heart was not there,” Washington Post, 29 June 1886.
342. A romance titled The Long Run. Ibid., 19 July 1886.
342. She smelled a whiff of smoke. New York Times, 22 September 1886.
343. “Your reception in Chicago would be the greatest literary,” Washington Post, 16 January 1887.
343. A “callow youth,” ibid., 7 October 1886.
344. “The difference between us is this,” ibid., 16 January 1887.
345. “The Weeds it will remain,” Ibid, 25 July 1886.
344. He found her offer to be disgraceful and a “humiliation,” ibid., 23 September 1886.
345. “Miss Cleveland has been in poor health,” ibid., 19 October 1886.
345. “The worst of lies,” Rose Cleveland, letter to Washington Post, ibid.
345. Mail fraud charges. New York Times, 5 September 1891.
345. When Cleveland saw him at the station he called out, “Hello!” Ibid., 13 July 1887.
346. “Utterly unfit for young girls,” Washington Post, 12 February 1888.
18. THE TRIAL
348. “Dirty and disreputable,” Dunlap, 42–43.
348. “A direct menace to the integrity of our homes,” Ladies Home Journal, May 1905.
A Secret Life: The Lies and Scandals of President Grover Cleveland Page 40