 |
| image taken from goodreads.com |
To learn about the wife of President Franklin Pierce, I read Ann Covell’s Jane Means Appleton Pierce: U.S. First Lady (1853-1857): Her Family, Life, and Times. More than half the book was devoted to telling the story of Jane’s immediate family and ancestors plus the story of Franklin Pierce. The set-up made the book a bit repetitious, but it also allowed the reader to glean an understanding of, as the title says, the life and time of this reluctant First Lady.
Jane Appleton was a well-educated, shy young lady, who frequently suffered from physical illness. The author speculates that her shyness and introversion were related to her being a middle child and that her frequent illness might have been the result of anorexia, depression, or both. Despite these challenges and the disapproval of her family to their daughter marrying the son of a former tavern owner (before becoming Governor of New Hampshire), Jane Appleton and Franklin Pierce were married in 1834. Over the next 19 years, before the Presidency, their marriage was a series of ups and downs, filled with the stresses of Washington, the calm of Concord, and multiple tragic family deaths, including two young sons.
 |
| Jane Pierce with son Benny c. 1850 image from wikimedia commons |
Jane was always happiest when Franklin was retired from the Congressional life, and when he won the Presidential nomination, after assuring his wife it was entirely unlikely, their marriage was seriously challenged. Even more so when he won the Presidency. Yet, the most tragic challenge to their domestic life was when their third young son died in a tragic train accident just weeks before President Pierce’s inauguration. Two years of self-imposed mourning put a major damper on the often lively social scene of the White House, as First Lady responsibilities were taken over by Abigail Kent Means (the wife of Jane’s uncle), whose main concern was caring for her niece and friend. Jane spent her personal time in the White House by herself or with family and largely secluded from the President. After those first two years, Jane dutifully attended the necessary social events, but the role of First Lady proved tiresome for introverted Jane.
A three-year tour of Europe after President Pierce’s single term proved to be the happiest and most relaxed time for both Franklin and Jane. Upon return to Concord, Jane again became depressive and her health deteriorated. She died of tuberculosis in 1862.
