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“It is by contact with humanity that we become more tender, more unselfish, more sympathetic, more wise, and less egotistic.”
First Ladies of the US Rose Cleveland Full Image

Rose Cleveland

Rose Elizabeth Cleveland
Years of service: 1885-1886
Born: 1846

First Ladies of the US Rose Cleveland Full Image

Newly elected President Grover Cleveland, a bachelor at the time, asked his sister, Rose, to serve as White House Hostess at the beginning of his first administration in 1885. The job was tedious for scholarly Rose, whose academic specialty was the Middle Ages. After Grover’s marriage to Frances Folsom, she pursued her writing career, publishing a successful novel titled The Long Run as well as serving as editor for the scholarly magazine Literary Life. Rose met and fell in love with Evangeline Simpson while vacationing in Florida. Evangeline eventually entered a conventional marriage, but after widowhood, the two resumed their intimate relationship. Rose and Evangeline lived as partners in Bagni di Lucca, Tuscany, until Rose succumbed to the Spanish flu in 1918.

 

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Leaders in Literacy

4/30/2024 through 4/30/2025

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First Ladies as Teachers, Educators, and Librarians.

The right to an education is a foundational principle of America’s history, and many First Ladies have taken up this cause. We celebrate National First Ladies Day by kicking off this featured exhibit, presented by Huntington Bank.