Speculation concerning the upcoming wedding of President George W. Bush's daughter, Jenna, will soon be answered. Will she become the second person ever to be married in the White House?
While we do not have the answer concerning the wedding of 2008, Niles has a connection to the only wedding held at the White House to date. Benjamin Folsom was not able to attend, however.
He was already at rest in Silverbrook Cemetery. There, the uncle of Grover Cleveland's First Lady lies "a short distance from the northeast entrance to that hallowed ground, shielded by the outstretching arms of native oaks," as an article in the Niles Republican of April 28, 1887 noted.
Less than a year before the article appeared, Benjamin Folsom's niece, Frances Clara, married then President Grover Cleveland on June 2, 1886. Twenty-two years earlier, the future president first held his future wife in his arms; the child of his soon-to-be law partner, Oscar Folsom, Benjamin's brother.
When Oscar died Cleveland became administrator of his estate, a task which included guiding the 11-year-old Frances' education. When she entered Wells College, the future president asked her mother for permission to correspond with her daughter.
Click here for the full article on the Niles Daily Star website
Published February 11th, 2008