Grover
Cleveland – Caldwell, NJ
February
14, 2016
It
probably wasn’t romantic love that 27-year-old Grover Cleveland, future
President of the United States, felt for Frances Folsom, his future wife, when he
first held her in his arms. She was undeniably cute and probably cooed at him. His
first gift to her was a baby carriage—for her to ride in! You see, Frances had just been born to
Cleveland’s law partner and friend, Oscar Folsom.
Over
the years, Cleveland spent a great deal of time with Frances, even serving as a
baby sitter. When Frances was 11, Oscar
Folsom died suddenly in a carriage accident. Cleveland was named her guardian.
(Remember this happened with the family of Rutherford B. Hayes, too, when his
father died of typhus; Hayes’ Uncle
Sardis took over the family since a woman could not be the head of a
family.) As a well-off lawyer, Cleveland
provided for the family and eventually sent Frances to Wells College. It was
while she was in college and he was in the White House that his feelings turned
romantic. He proposed to her in a letter.
In
honor of this romantic tale, we decided to spend Valentine’s Day — not to
mention President’s Day weekend — at Cleveland’s birthplace in Caldwell, N.J.
***
We
headed out on Saturday, Feb. 13, driving four hours north on Interstate 95 on a
super-cold and windy President’s Day weekend.
We
stayed overnight in Parsippany, about a 15-minute drive away. We hunted down
our hotel and headed out
for dinner immediately, without checking in first
(Cathy had to help edit coverage of one of the many frenzied 2016 Republican
presidential debates). We chose Tino’s BBQ & Grill, a small, family-owned restaurant specializing in Portuguese fare. We
went with the whole barbecued chicken, which was huge and cut into big pieces,
grilled with very tasty spices. It came with roasted potatoes and a sautéed
vegetable mixture of carrots, cabbage and broccoli.
 |
| BBQ chicken at Tino's. |
The next day—Valentine's Day—we drove
to Caldwell with the temperature not much above zero, and the wind was
whipping. When we stopped to fill up
our gas tank, we were thrilled that New Jersey law doesn't allow you to pump
your own gas. Tom commented to the shivering gas station attendant that at
least it was sunny. He replied, "This is very worst."
"The Caldwells," on Bloomfield
Avenue is mainly a series of shopping centers lining a divided road until you
get to the historic district. Downtown
Caldwell — what we saw of it since walking outside for any length of time was a
non-starter — was a couple blocks of stores and churches lining Bloomfield
Avenue. The First Presbyterian Church, dedicated in 1875, is the center
 |
| Did we mention it was cold? |
 |
| First Presbyterian Church |
Grover’s birthplace didn’t open
until 1 p.m. on Sunday, so assisted by the wind we walked (very quickly) down
to the house and peaked out of our thick clothes at the surroundings, we turned
around and fought our way through the gale to Rock n Joe’s, a coffeehouse at
the corner of Bloomfield and Smull avenues. We chose a small round table, with
one seat a booth bench, with the bright—and warm—sun beaming in through the
glass front. The café has comfy chairs and sofas throughout, but they were all
taken. Record albums, concert posters and photos of famous musicians of the
1970s and ‘80s line the walls – Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane, Rolling
Stones, ZZ Top, B-52s, David Bowie, and of course Bruce Springsteen (this is
New Jersey, after all). We asked our 20-something waitress if she knew any of the
artists. “No. Well, I know who David Bowie is.” (Bowie had just died the month
before)
 |
| Warming up at Rock n Joe's. |
 |
| The rockin wall at Rock n Joe's. |
We ordered a tomato garden vegetable
soup and an incredibly tasty panini (choose the 8-grain) of grilled chicken,
mozzarella and red pepper, which we split. For dessert, and further warm-up, a
nicely chocolaty hot chocolate before we ventured back into the chill to visit
Grover Cleveland’s birthplace.
***
Grover was named for a longtime
pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, Stephen Grover, which was typical and
a major sign of respect back then. Grover was actually born Stephen Grover
Cleveland, but he dropped the “Stephen” in his teens because he liked “Grover”
better, as it was more distinctive.
Grover's father was the current pastor
at the church, and Grover was born in the parsonage, the two-story frame house
where we now stood. Grover was born here
on March 18, 1837, and lived here for four years, until his father moved to New
York to become the reverend of a church in Fayetteville, New York in 1841. His
father later moved to two other parishes in Holland Patent, New York.
 |
| Cleveland's birth home. |
The house was constructed in 1832,
and it has the same footprint today as it did back then – it also has the same
floors, doorframes and fireplaces. According to our tour guide, Paula, a retired
high school history teacher, the Clevelands were the second family to occupy
the house, moving here in 1834.
The house had to have been cramped,
since the Clevelands had three rooms to house Grover, his moth
 |
| Inside the house. |
er and father and six brothers and sisters. All cooking and bathing was done in the downstairs kitchen, while most of the children stayed upstairs in the third room. The baby stayed in the Cleveland parents’ room. Today, Grover’s cradle is in that room, made in 1787 of white pine.
When his father died, Grover’s plan
to go to Hamilton College ended. Instead, he took jobs to help support his
family. His two older brothers were in the Army so they couldn’t help out.
Grover worked at law firms and passed the bar, without ever going to college or
law school. (This was not uncommon.)
The three rooms now are full of
memorabilia, from Grover’s childhood to his marriage to Frances (including his wedding
clothes, the invitation and the wreath Frances wore on her head) to the casts
that were made of his mouth when he was treated for mouth cancer. There are
also campaign buttons and ribbons, his pipe and other assorted personal items.
 |
| Guide Paula shows Cathy an old photo. |
***
 |
| Exhibits in the Cleveland home. |
As
the election of 1884 unfolded, the Gilded Age was in full swing — one-eighth of
the population owned seven-eighths of the country’s wealth. The Republicans,
who had won every election since 1860, put up James G. Blaine as their
candidate. The Democrats selected Cleveland, who had had a meteoric political rise.
In the space of three years, he rose from Mayor of Buffalo to New York Governor.
Now he was one election away from the Presidency.
The
election proved to be the dirtiest to date.
His opponents unearthed an old paternity case against Cleveland. He was accused of having a child with Maria Halpin, a woman to whom he was not married. Although both were unmarried at the time, this was a scandal by late 1800’s standards. The papers ran a cartoon of a woman holding a baby screaming, “Ma, Ma, where’s my pa?” (After he won the election, this line was added to the rhyme: “Gone to the White House, ha ha ha.” But Cleveland admitted his role even though he was not sure if the child was actually his. In fact, it may have been that of his married law partner, Oscar Folsom. The mother, who was paid $500, named the boy Oscar.
 |
| Ma, Ma, where's my pa? |
Cleveland
ran on a platform of civil service reform, free public education and lower
tariffs on imports. He was supported by the Mugwumps
(an Algonquin word for “war leader” and also a derisive term for
Republicans who abandoned their own party to support Cleveland). The Mugwumps
were said to be too sanctimonious to support the scandal-plagued Blaine. (Blaine had been involved in a railroad
financial scandal.)
The
election of 1884 took place during the long recession of 1882-1885. In the days leading up to the election,
Blaine sat quietly in a church service where the minister called the Democratic
party the party of “rum, Romanism, and rebellion.” The press picked up this story and the Catholic voters—including many of the
Irish Americans in New York—did not appreciate this comment and voted against
Blaine. Blaine lost New York by about
1,047 votes of 1.1 million cast. So Cleveland
squeaked by on the popular vote, 4,875,000 to 4,852,000 (a 0.5% margin), but
more comfortably in the Electoral College, 219 to 182.
With
his win, Cleveland became the first Democrat elected president since James
Buchanan in 1857.
Like
the Democrats before him, Cleveland was a conservative. (Back in the 1800s, the
Democrats were the often the conservative party and the Republicans were often the
party of radical change; Lincoln skirted
the Constitution to abolish slavery.) Cleveland
continued the conservative tradition by vetoing just about every bill passed by
Congress — 414 in his first term. That was twice as many as all the other former
presidents combined. He vetoed a bill to provide money to drought-stricken
farmers because it would “encourage the expectation of paternal care on the
part of the government and weaken the sturdiness of our national
character.” He vetoed the Rivers and
Harbors Bill—an infrastructure improvement bill—to save money. He vetoed many of the pensions to Union veterans
both because he thought many were fraudulent and because they were too much of
a drain on the treasury.
Vetoing
the pension bills was especially egregious to the veterans of the Grand Army of
the Republic because Cleveland was the first president since the 1860s to not
have served in the Civil War. (He was drafted but paid $150 to a Polish immigrant
to fight in his place. That was legal under the Conscription Act of 1863. Cleveland claimed that he needed to support
his family, which was true. Fortunately, his substitute survived the war.) To
further irritate the former vets, Cleveland issued an executive order to return
captured Confederate flags to Southern leaders. He rescinded the order after an
outcry.
In
spite of his conservatism, and his party’s wish for political appointments
after a long drought, Cleveland continued the expansion of civil service
protection, doubling the number of federal workers covered by the Civil Service
Commission. “Our citizens have the right to protection from the incompetency of
public employees who hold their places solely as the reward of partisan
service,” he said.
During
his term in office, Cleveland worked hard to lower tariffs, which he regarded
as a “vicious, inequitable and illogical source of unnecessary taxation.” He
also signed the Interstate Commerce Act, which was written to stop railroad
rate abuse.
Another
notable achievement was the authorization of the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.
just as his term came to an end. Up to
that point, the Smithsonian maintained a collection of live animals on the
Mall—about 200 various species. A new
home was found close to Rock Creek on the outskirts of the city. Cleveland’s home, in the section now known as
Cleveland Park, was close to the zoo.
* * *
 |
| Frances Cleveland |
The
new, and youngest, first lady became a sensation and was adored by the public. She
set the trends for popular fashion. Her image was everywhere, including in
unauthorized advertising such as a cosmetic laced with arsenic. When Ruth,
their first child, was born in 1893, the Curtis Candy Company named a candy bar
after her: Baby Ruth. (Sadly Ruth died at age 12 of diphtheria.
As
he neared the end of his first term in 1888, Cleveland was unpopular, both
because of his anti-veteran stance and because of his embrace of low tariffs on
imported goods. His opponent was former
President William Henry Harrison’s grandson, Benjamin. The 1888 election was
one of the most corrupt campaigns in history.
(But more on that when we visit Benjamin Harrison.) When the votes were
tallied, Cleveland actually won the popular vote 5,540,000 to 5,440,000 but lost
the electoral votes 233-168.
As
they moved out of the White House, Francis is reportedly said to have advised
the White House staff to take good care of everything because they would be
back.
And
four years later they were.
Directions
Grover Cleveland’s house is
located at 207 Bloomfield Avenue in Caldwell, New Jersey. It is open all year but only Wednesday
through Saturday from 10:00 to 12:00 and then 1:00 to 4:00. On Sunday the house is only open from 1:00 to
4:00. https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/presidents/grover_cleveland_birthplace.html
References
Ackerman, S.J. 2014.
First Lady, First Celebrity. Washington Post Magazine. July 6, 2014.
pp. 10-15.
Algeo, Matthew, 2011. The
President is a Sick Man: Wherein the
Supposedly Virtuous Grover Cleveland Survives a Secret Surgery at Sea and
Vilifies the Courageous Newspaperman Who Dared Expose the Truth. Chicago Review Press, Chicago, IL.
Carter, Graydon. 2010. Vanity Fair’s Presidential Profiles. Abrams, New York, NY.
Current, R.N., T.H. Williams,
and F. Freidel. 1975. American
History: A Survey. Fourth Edition. Volume II:
Since 1865. Alfred A. Knopf. New York, NY.
Furgurson, Ernest. 2013.
Moment of Truth. American History. October 2013.
pp. 64-68.
Moore, K. 2007. The American President. Fall River Press. New York, New York.
Riccards, M.P. 1995. The Ferocious Engine of Democracy. Madison Books. Lanham, MD
Smith, Carter. 2005. Presidents:
Every Question Answered.
Metro Books. New York, NY.
Videos
History
Channel. 2005. The
Presidents: The Lives and Legacies of
the 43 Leaders of the United States.
Websites
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