Grover Cleveland

Born in a modest house in Caldwell, New Jersey on March 18, 1837, Stephen Grover Cleveland became the 22nd and 24th President of the United States — the only president in American history to serve two non-consecutive terms. He is also the only U.S. president both born and buried in New Jersey, a distinction that forever links the Garden State to one of its most consequential native sons. Rising from humble origins as the son of a Presbyterian minister, Cleveland built a political career defined by fiscal conservatism, anti-corruption crusading, and an uncompromising independence that earned him admirers and enemies in equal measure. His ties to New Jersey span his entire life — from his birth in a church manse in Essex County to his retirement and death in Princeton, where he is buried to this day.

Early Life and New Jersey Roots

Stephen Grover Cleveland was born on March 18, 1837, in Caldwell, New Jersey, to Ann (née Neal) and Richard Falley Cleveland. He was the fifth of nine children of Richard Falley Cleveland (1804–53), a Presbyterian minister, and Anne Neal Cleveland (1806–82). The family resided in the Presbyterian Church Manse on what is now Bloomfield Avenue — a home that served as the official residence for the pastor of the local First Presbyterian Church.

He was named Stephen Grover to honor the first pastor of the church, though he would drop the "Stephen" entirely in adult life and go simply by Grover. Naomi Baldwin and Mary DeCamp Shippen served as midwives at his birth.

He was just four years old when his father moved the family to upstate New York to take over another congregation. Grover was educated at Fayetteville Academy and the Clinton Grammar School, and also had a mercantile apprenticeship. At 16, after the death of his father, Cleveland quit school and went to work to help support his mother and his younger siblings. Two years later, in 1855, he moved to Buffalo, New York, to live with an uncle, who used his influence to set up Cleveland as a law clerk.

Although Cleveland spent the bulk of his formative and political years outside New Jersey, the state never let go of him. As a Democrat, Cleveland carried New Jersey in all three of his presidential campaigns, a testament to the regard his home state held for him even across decades of absence.

Political Rise and the Presidency

While rising to political prominence that would sweep him into the White House, Cleveland served as sheriff of Erie County, New York (1871–74); mayor of Buffalo (1881); and governor of the state of New York (1882–85). Each step of that ascent was marked by a consistent refusal to yield to political pressure or patronage networks.

In 1881, running as a Democrat, he was elected mayor of Buffalo, quickly building a reputation as a corruption fighter. Before the first year of his term as mayor was complete, he was elected New York's governor. As governor, he was so opposed to unnecessary government spending that he vetoed eight bills sent up by the legislature in his first two months in office. This helped earn Cleveland national recognition as a reformer who bravely defied machine politics.

In 1884, less than two years into his governorship, he won the Democratic nomination for president and went on to defeat the Republican nominee, James G. Blaine. Cleveland is the only president to date who served two non-consecutive terms, and also the only Democratic president to win election during the period of Republican domination of the White House that stretched from Abraham Lincoln's election in 1860 to the end of William Howard Taft's term in 1913.

In his first term as president, Cleveland cut the size of government; vetoed bills for what he considered unnecessary spending; signed an act creating the Interstate Commerce Commission, which regulated interstate railroad rates; pushed for the gold standard, which he saw as anti-inflationary; and fought against the Civil War-era tariff, which he viewed as a burden on the citizenry.

In total, Grover Cleveland vetoed 414 bills during his first term — twice as many as the 21 presidents who had served before him combined. Some people called Cleveland "The Veto President," which had also been the nickname of President Andrew Johnson.

Defeated for a second term by Republican opponent Benjamin Harrison, Cleveland returned to civilian life in 1889. He regrouped, returned to law practice in New York City, and then won back the presidency in the election of 1892. Easily reelected in 1892, he soon had to deal with the Panic of 1893, the nation's worst and longest depression to date, with many bankruptcies, bank failures, foreclosures, and unprecedented unemployment.

Cleveland beat James Blaine in New Jersey in 1884 by a 50%–47% margin. Benjamin Harrison defeated Cleveland nationally in 1888, but the incumbent president still carried New Jersey by a 50%–48% margin. In the 1892 rematch, Cleveland won New Jersey by a 51%–46% margin.

Marriage, Family, and Personal Life

Cleveland was 47 and a bachelor when he entered the White House in 1885. In June 1886, he married Frances Folsom, 28 years his junior and the daughter of his former law partner. To this day, Grover and Frances are the only presidential couple to have married in the White House. Frances, who was 21 at the time of the wedding, remains America's youngest First Lady.

The couple had five children: Ruth, Esther, Marion, Richard, and Francis. In 1904, Frances and Grover suffered the loss of their first child, Ruth, who died of diphtheria at the age of 12. Ruth is considered in some accounts to be the namesake of the Baby Ruth candy bar, although history is unclear on this point.

Cleveland, who was significantly overweight for most of his adult life, suffered from multiple health issues in his later years. In 1893, at the start of his second presidential term, he underwent a secret surgery aboard a yacht to remove a cancerous tumor from the roof of his mouth. The operation was kept hidden from the public for decades, as Cleveland feared that news of his illness would worsen the already dire economic panic gripping the nation.

Retirement in Princeton

After leaving the White House on March 4, 1897, Cleveland lived in retirement at his estate, Westland Mansion, in Princeton, New Jersey. Cleveland and his wife had decided to move to Princeton even before the end of his second term. Mrs. Cleveland chose the house, and Cleveland named it "Westland" in honor of his close friend Andrew West, a professor at Princeton University. Originally built in 1854 by a member of the prominent Stockton family, Westland resembles Morven, another Stockton house in Princeton.

For a time, he was a trustee of Princeton University, and was one of the majority of trustees who preferred the dean Andrew Fleming West's plans for the Graduate School and undergraduate living over those of Woodrow Wilson, then president of the university. Although Cleveland never attended college himself, Princeton students frequently marched to the house to serenade him on his birthdays or to celebrate victorious football games.

Cleveland retired to Princeton after leaving the White House in 1897. That year, some Democrats sought to draft him as their candidate for United States Senator. He declined, choosing instead the quieter life of a private citizen and occasional political commentator. Cleveland consulted occasionally with President Theodore Roosevelt (1901–1909) but was financially unable to accept the chairmanship of the commission handling the Coal Strike of 1902.

In June 1908, the 71-year-old Cleveland suffered a heart attack and died in his Princeton home. His funeral was held two days later and he was buried at Princeton Cemetery. His final resting place, flanked by the graves of wife Frances and daughter Ruth, is one of many prominent gravesites of famed New Jerseyans at the Princeton Cemetery at Nassau Presbyterian Church. He remains the only president buried in the state of New Jersey.

The Grover Cleveland Birthplace State Historic Site

The Grover Cleveland Birthplace State Historic Site, located at 207 Bloomfield Avenue in Caldwell, operates as the only museum in the United States dedicated to President Grover Cleveland. Originally called the Presbyterian Church "Manse," the structure was built in the early 1800s and is one of the two oldest houses in Caldwell. Interest in preserving Cleveland's birthplace began when he was governor of New York and grew as his political career continued. The birthplace house first opened to the public in 1913.

The State of New Jersey bought the house from the Cleveland Birthplace Memorial Association in 1934 and now operates it as a historic house museum. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 16, 1977, for its significance in architecture, religion, and local history. Restored to their 1837 appearance when the Cleveland family lived in the house, the first floor rooms offer a glimpse at the modest beginnings of the future president.

The collection of artifacts includes Cleveland's cradle and fishing gear as well as his chair from the White House. It is the nation's leading repository of Cleveland artifacts and political memorabilia.

The Grover Cleveland Birthplace Memorial Association (GCBMA) is a conservancy and advocacy group dedicated to preserving the home and legacy of President Cleveland, the only U.S. President born in New Jersey. The GCBMA activities include support of educational programs and lectures, interpretation and preservation of the birthplace and its collection of historic objects, and history-themed social activities which engage the public.

The middle school for Caldwell and West Caldwell residents is named for Cleveland as well, and Caldwell's town park, also named after Grover, is a walkable space with a playground, pond, tennis courts, and picnic area. The New Jersey Hall of Fame inducted Cleveland in its Class of 2013 in the Historical category, cementing his place among the state's most significant figures.