President: Grover Cleveland

Wife: Frances Folsom (1864-1947), on June 2, 1886

Kids: Ruth Cleveland (1891-1904); Esther Cleveland (1893-1980); Marion Cleveland (1895-1977); Richard Folsom Cleveland (1897-1974); Francis Grover Cleveland (1903-1995)

Pets: a poodle; canaries and mockingbirds

Bio: Grover Cleveland, (1837-1908), was the 22d and 24th President of The United States. He was born in Caldwell, N. J., on March 18, 1837, the son of a Presbyterian minister. He grew up in western New York, moving to Buffalo shortly after his father died in 1853. His uncle was able to place him in one of the best law offices in the city. For the next 26 years, Cleveland remained in Buffalo.

Cleveland was elected as governor in 1882. He gained favor amongst the conservatives in both the Republican and Democratic parties because of his belief that the government should be as unintrusive as possible. This popularity led to him being nominated for president in 1884. Cleveland won by fewer than 25,000 popular votes!

Cleveland is known to be one of the most honest presidents, offering favors to no one and fighting corruption at every turn. He exposed the ongoing scandal of bogus Civil War pension claims, which took a lot of courage. He also worked very hard and admirably to reduce the tariff, as there was a huge surplus in the US Treasury. Congress fought him all the way on this, though, and eventually won out.

Although he was renominated in 1888, he was defeated by the Republican’s choice, Benjamin Harrison. It has been widely speculated that the election was fixed. Cleveland spent his time as a private citizen in New York City, practicing law with a Wall Street firm. Harrison’s administration was viewed as extremely corrupt, leaving an open door for Cleveland to be re-elected in 1892.

Cleveland had the misfortune to have his entire second administration marred by the worst depression since independence, as well as the Pullman strike fiasco. After his term, Cleveland settled in Princeton, N.J. The former president remained a public figure, lecturing and writing and engaging in business affairs. He died in Princeton on June 24, 1908.