Jane Pierce
Reluctant First Lady
Jane Pierce, the wife of fourteenth U.S. president Franklin Pierce, is one of the most obscure First Ladies. The main reason for this is that she was a reluctant First Lady. Mrs. Pierce's life is a harrowing tale, marked by much depression and despair. Thus, her life circumstances negatively affected her performance in a very public role that she did not want to fulfill.
New England PuritanJane Means Appleton was born in Hampton, New Hampshire, on March 12, 1806, to Reverend Jesse Appleton and Elizabeth Means Appleton. Reverend Appleton was a strict Congregationalist minister. He was, in fact, so strident in his views that his parishoners, who were descended from Puritans, found him to be strange. Jane inherited many of her father's extreme beliefs; for example, both father and daughter felt such a sense of shame and moral responibility that they denied themselves simple pleasures, particularly eating and sleeping. Jane's adherence to her convictions would ultimately become her downfall.
Higher EducationThe Appletons were highly intelligent and very scholarly; therefore, education was very important to them. Jane's father eventually became president of Bowdoin College. When Jane was a child, the family moved to the school's campus, located at Brunswick, Maine. Reverend Dr. Appleton died when Jane was 13, and Elizabeth and her six children moved to Amherst, Massachusetts. Jane was a serious and sickly child. She was also a striking beauty, although she was painfully shy and introverted. Local boys were interested in Ms. Appleton, but the pious girl wanted nothing to do with them.
The One She Let InJane's views toward young men suddenly changed when she turned 20. She met Franklin Pierce, a Bowdoin graduate who was living in Northampton, Massachusetts. He came to visit Jane's family in order to pay respects to his alma mater's late president. He became immediately attracted to Jane. This attention brought Jane out of her shell, but her mother wanted her to concentrate on serving God.
Franklin had a few strikes against him. First, his family was believed to have a history of alcoholism. Secondly, he was a politician-- and a Democrat to boot. Jane's relatives were staunch Federalists. Most devastatingly of all, Franklin had never been much of a churchgoer. Mrs. Appleton was delighted when her daughter's suitor left to start a law practice in Concord, New Hampshire, which was eighty miles away.
The distance was not enough to keep Jane and Franklin apart. The couple wrote each other frequently. Finally, after having known each other for eight years, they were married by Jane's brother on November 19, 1834. The newlyweds initially moved to Hillsborough, New Hampshire, but Jane was lonely and unhappy. So, they moved to Concord, and Jane was a little happier there, but she became depressed when Franklin went to Washington for congressional sessions. Jane occasionally accompanied her husband on these trips, but she hated politics and Washington and was too withdrawn to enjoy the city's social scene.
The Depths of Despair
Most of Jane's depression was caused by tragedies involving her three sons. Her first son, Franklin Pierce, Jr., born in 1836, died when he was three days old. Jane gave birth to Frank Robert in 1839, and he died in 1843. Jane's youngest son, whom she named Benjamin, was born in 1841. Little Bennie became the center of his mother's universe as well as her reason for living.
The beginning of the end came for Jane when Franklin won the 1852 presidential election. Several days before the Pierce's were scheduled to leave New Hampshire for Washington in 1853, they traveled to Andover, Massachusetts, for the funeral of one of Jane's relatives. They decided to take Bennie for a ride on a new railroad. Sadly, there was a horrific trainwreck. All aboard surived, except for Bennie Pierce. Jane was inconsolable and refused to serve as First Lady. As a result of Bennie's death, the Inaugural Ball was called off. During Franklin's presidency, she dressed all in black and consulted the Fox Sisters, a trio of spiritualists, in order to communicate with Bennie from beyond the grave. She herself passed away on December 2, 1863, at her sister's home in Andover.
Source:
Harris, Bill. The First Ladies Fact Book, p. 201-8. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, Inc., 2005.
What do you think about this article?
More in History
Latest Articles