I’ve said these past few months were hard in my Booking It Through History: First Ladies project, but this month was truly the hardest. Jane Pierce’s life was sad and tragic, and this personal bleakness permeated the White House and Franklin Pierce’s presidency. A horrific accident just weeks before Franklin took office set the tone for this terrible time in White House history. Jane was known as the “shadow in the White House” for a reason.
Each month, I’ll detail the life of the first lady and their legacy. Then I’ll share what I learned while studying them, along with ways you can travel in their footsteps through historical sites and museums. I’ll also share books, podcasts, TV shows, and websites where you can learn even more about that first lady. Read all of the way through the blog post or click on the links below to go straight to those sections.
Life
. , ca. 1886. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/96525506/.
Jane Appleton was born on March 12, 1806 in Hampton, New Hampshire. When she was still a toddler, her family moved to Brunswick, Maine where her father, Rev. Jesse Appleton, a Congregationalist minister, became president of Bowdoin College. Jane’s mother was solemn and religious, likely from the influence of her own mother. Jane’s father died when she was thirteen, and her mother moved back to her family home in Amherst, NH where Jane was raised by her puritanical grandmother and mother. This influenced her greatly in life, emphasizing a punishing God that was related to life’s sufferings.
Jane was a shy and introverted typical middle child with two outgoing older sisters and two mischievous younger brothers. She was intellectual and bright but prone to bouts of pensive melancholy that would plague her the rest of her life. She often was sickly, whether real or imagined, and was anxious which caused eating problems. She was educated at a New England boarding school and was known for her intellect. However she had a lack of confidence that kept her quiet and retiring.
With her dark eyes and chestnut hair, she attracted the attention of a new-to-town lawyer, Franklin Pierce, who was invited to one of her family’s parties. He was handsome and charismatic, the gregarious son of a wealthy tavern owner and governor of New Hampshire. Opposites in every way, the outgoing Franklin was besotted with Jane’s delicate and refined beauty. Her Whig family was less enthralled with his father’s involvement in tavern life and Democratic politics.
With no progress on the courting front, Franklin moved to Hillsborough and established his law practice. He became involved in politics and was the youngest speaker in the New Hampshire state house before being elected to Congress. As Franklin’s success grew, Jane’s family reconsidered their objections and allowed the couple to get married on November 19, 1834.
The wedding was a private affair with Jane wearing a traveling dress since within just thirty minutes of the wedding, Jane and Franklin left to travel to Washington, DC. They didn’t even get a piece of wedding cake, which was handed out after their departure.
Upon their arrival in Washington, Jane was repulsed by the capital city’s social culture and the coarseness of living in a boarding house. She was cold and quiet to Franklin’s colleagues, including their wives which was a social taboo. She often cited her ill health as a convenient reason to not attend functions, causing some to spread rumors about the state of her marriage. She did attend a New Year’s soiree at the President’s home where President Andrew Jackson’s interactions with his grandchildren earned her admiration.
When Congress adjourned for the summer, Jane gladly went back to their home in Hillsborough where she remained as she discovered she was pregnant. She gave birth to her first son, Franklin Pierce, Jr., at her mother’s home in Amherst while Franklin was in Washington in 1836. Unfortunately the baby only lived three days and was already buried by the time Franklin arrived home to console his grief-stricken wife.
Franklin and Jane decided to move to Concord, NH and to get out of politics; however he was nominated for the US Senate and accepted. Jane was distraught, particularly with the death of his parents in 1838-1839 and the death of one of her sisters. She faced overwhelming grief but soon had reason to be happy with the growth of her family. Frank Robert Pierce was born in 1839 and Benjamin (Benny) soon followed in 1841. With Franklin leaving the Senate early to be with his young family, Jane finally had the family time she craved.
This happiness was short-lived with the boys becoming sick with typhus in late 1843. Benny recovered but four-year-old Frank died just five days prior to Franklin and Jane’s tenth wedding anniversary. Grief just kept piling onto Jane as her beloved mother died the following year. Franklin tried to be there for his wife and remaining son, even turning down the offer to be President Polk’s attorney general. However, when war broke out with Mexico, he felt his duty to his country superseded his duty to his family, so he left for war. Jane was despondent over his absence and went to stay with her sister in Andover, Massachusetts.
When Franklin returned injured and a war hero, Jane hoped this would portend a happy, quiet life in small town New Hampshire. And for four years, it was. However in 1852, Franklin was told that he was being considered for the presidential nomination; as a war hero and successful politician that hadn’t been too outspoken on slavery, he seemed like a winning choice for the Democrats. He allowed his name to go forward, however, he didn’t tell Jane until one week before the convention. She must have been so upset.
When the nomination was announced, Franklin and Jane were out for a carriage ride while visiting relatives in Boston. They overheard the announcement, and Jane fainted dead away! She felt deceived, and this agony led to her health rapidly declining. She prayed that he wouldn’t win and even had little Benny in on it; he wrote a letter that still survives about how he didn’t want to live in Washington, DC.
Franklin won by a landslide over the Whig candidate and Pierce’s former military superior, Gen. Winfield Scott. Jane feared the move to Washington and was only assuaged when Franklin emphasized how it may help Benny’s station in life. She did not plan to attend the inauguration but agreed to let Benny attend.
In late December of 1852, they visited relatives in Boston and Andover, staying longer than anticipated due to a death in the family. On January 6, 1853, they took a train bound for their home in Concord to prepare for the inauguration when tragedy struck. The train wrecked, leaving the president-elect wounded and 11-year-old Benny dead with a gruesome head injury. Before Franklin could stop her, Jane saw his lifeless body.
They were taken back to her sister’s home in Andover where the funeral was held. Jane was devastated and didn’t attend the burial. She couldn’t get the image of Benny’s injuries out of her head, resulting in anguish and little sleep. She hadn’t recovered by March when Franklin became president, not arriving in Washington until two weeks after his inauguration. She asked the outgoing First Lady, Abigail Fillmore, to sit in for her during the festivities which resulted in Mrs. Fillmore’s death (see my previous month’s entry for more details). She couldn’t escape death and saw this suffering as God’s punishment for Franklin’s political ambitions.
When she did arrive at the President’s house, she ordered it to be in mourning for two years. Black bunting was draped everywhere, and she wore exclusively black. Her mental state was not good as she was gloomy and catatonic. She spent hours writing letters to Benny as a way to cope with her grief (not as a mystical belief in communing with spirits as has been reported) and wore a locket with Benny and Frank’s hair inside. To ease her suffering, Franklin had a luxurious bathroom installed upstairs at the White House and asked her aunt/friend to serve in her place as White House hostess. Sometimes Franklin’s secretary of war’s wife, Varina Davis, would also substitute for the First Lady.
After two years of mourning, Jane did venture out of the upstairs living quarters, attending most of the weekly receptions and some state dinners while still wearing black. She was delighted with Franklin’s order of a 287-piece china set, the first decorated porcelain table service purchased by the government, and she enjoyed choosing new carpet for the East Room and visiting with her sister who was a frequent guest. The White House underwent extensive renovations that brought many modern conveniences, however, she continued to have bad health and often used it as an excuse to avoid social engagements.
Franklin avoided Jane and had plenty of political crises to deal with as the country slowly moved toward civil war. His vice president died soon after taking office and was not replaced, and he found himself unable to unite his own party over the slavery issue. When he signed the Kansas-Nebraska Act that led to “Bleeding Kansas,” he sealed his own fate against reelection.
After Franklin lost the nomination for reelection, Franklin and Jane embarked on a two-year tour of Europe several months after leaving office. They spent six months in Madeira where their health improved tremendously. She gained weight and rode horseback daily, improving her physical and mental health. They visited France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, and England, enjoying their time with good food and stimulating activities. Towards the end of their trip, however, she began to feel ill again, and once they arrived back home, she became very sick. She moved to her sister’s house in Andover for recovery but died there on December 2, 1863 from what is believed to be tuberculosis. Some of her last words were said to be, “Other refuge, have I none.”
Legacy
Jane Pierce’s legacy is one of sadness and mourning, her personal grief a portend of the country’s coming mourning with the loss of over 700,000 people during the Civil War. One can’t help but look at her inability to rise above the horrific personal suffering and compare it to future first ladies like Mary Todd Lincoln who also faced unbearable loss. How either woman got up each morning after seeing such horrific things is a wonder.
Franklin’s legacy was tarnished with his signing the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which exacerbated the divisiveness between North and South. Jane was anti-slavery and is said to have asked Franklin to intervene in a relative’s imprisonment in Kansas for his anti-slavery beliefs, but she did not speak out strongly against slavery and didn’t lend her fame to the abolitionist movement. One source I read said that she supported the Union during the Civil War and was anti-slavery, but she didn’t seem to have advocated for this during Franklin’s presidency.
Her strict religious beliefs and customs also seemed to keep her from enjoying life as First Lady and didn’t help her husband in his political career. It seems like he succeeded in spite of her less than helpful personality. She seems the exact opposite of the parlor politicians like Dolley Madison and Sarah Polk! I am sure her husband would have welcomed her support but that wasn’t her desire. Many times we see presidents and first ladies as partners in politics, but the Pierces are the exception.
My Time with Jane
I have to say, this has been my least favorite month of my project. Jane Pierce is just not a fun person to study. Many of the tragic things in her life were out of her control, such as the deaths of her sons and her health, but unlike other first ladies who also endured terrible suffering (Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, Dolley Madison, and Louisa Adams also lost children and dealt with many illnesses), she couldn’t rise above her grief. I understand the desire to wallow in grief, but at some point, she had to begin to live again. I think their trip to Europe was the first and only time she allowed herself to live but that was too little, too late. I wonder if her depression would have been a clinical diagnosis today and would have been eased by our modern medical interventions.
Learning more about Jane made it a depressing month, along with the usual dark days of February. It’s my least favorite month for my least favorite first lady (to date!).
Travels with Jane
Jane spent most of her life in New England. I am not going to highlight her European trip below but there are several Pierce-related historical sites to see in New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
New Hampshire:
Col. Robert Means house, 1 Pierce Lane, Amherst
This home is where Jane married Franklin and gave birth to their first child. While the home is private and not open to visitors, you can read all about it here.
The Pierce Manse, Concord
This was the home of Jane and Franklin from 1842-1848 and was the only home they ever owned. It is where Frank Robert died and where Benny spent most of his childhood.
52 South Main Street (site of home from 1856 – death), Concord
The home where they retired after their European tour is no longer standing but a historical marker can be viewed.
Old North Cemetery, Concord
This is the final resting place for Franklin, Jane, and their three boys.
Franklin Pierce Homestead, Hillsborough
While Jane never lived in Franklin’s childhood home, it still is a good place to learn more about her life.
Massachusetts:
Aiken house, Andover
This home belonged to Jane’s sister, Mary, and was the site of Benny’s funeral after his horrific death just a few miles away. Known as the “Summer White House” due to Franklin’s frequent visits, Jane stayed here during the summer to get out of Washington’s heat and miasma. When her health worsened after her European tour, Jane came here to recuperate and died. Her funeral was held here as well, a fitting tribute to her beloved Benny.
Washington, DC:
Smithsonian National Museum of American History
The First Ladies exhibit doesn’t usually have any of Jane’s things displayed, but you can see one of her dresses and mourning locket online.
West Virginia:
Greenbrier Presidents’ Cottage, White Sulphur Springs
Like the presidents before him, Franklin and Jane visited the presidents’ cottage as part of the Greenbrier Resort in 1855, which you can visit today!
To Learn More
Books to Read:
Nonfiction:
Jane Means Appleton Pierce: U.S. First Lady (1853-1857) Her Family, Life, and Times by Ann Covell
I found one nonfiction book about Jane that delved into her family’s ancestry. I would have liked more about Jane herself but there is just a dearth of information.
Podcasts
TV Show
C-SPAN First Ladies: Influence and Image
Websites
White House Historical Association
- Ornaments: The 1997 ornament honors the renovations that Franklin and Jane made to the White House.
Jane Pierce was a sad, tragic figure that was a ghost in her own home, including the White House. Her legacy is one of loss and melancholy, reflecting the true precariousness of the time no matter your station.
I always enjoy these posts, but this one is understandably less pleasant than most. It is good to see the hardship and pain along with the good points, however. All part of the historical story. Hopefully the next will be more enjoyable for you to research and discuss.
It was a hard month! Very sad and tragic. Glad to be moving on! Thanks for reading!