By Brad Dison
When Grover Cleveland entered the White House as the 22nd President of the United States on March 4, 1885, he did so as a bachelor. Shortly thereafter, Frances Folsom visited the president in our nation’s capital. Frances’ father, Oscar, had been good friends with Grover until his death in 1875. It was Oscar who had helped Grover, then 33 years old, win the election for Sheriff of Erie County, New York. When Oscar died, Grover became the executor of Oscar’s estate. Despite Oscar’s large amount of debt at the time of his death, Grover made sure Oscar’s widow, Emma, and daughter, Frances, were well taken care of.
After Frances’ visit to Washington, in an act which is considered old fashioned these days, Grover asked and received Emma’s permission to write to Frances. They soon fell in love and became engaged. On June 2, 1886, the 49-year-old president married 21-year-old Frances Folsom in the Blue Room of the White House. Grover Cleveland remains the only president to marry in the White House, and Frances Folsom remains the youngest first lady in history. In the presidential election of 1888, Grover Cleveland won the popular majority vote but received fewer electoral votes than his opponent, Benjamin Harrison. When Grover and Frances left the White House, Frances purportedly told a staff member, “I want you to take good care of all the furniture and ornaments in the house. I want to find everything just as it is now when we come back again.”
With more free time on his hands, Grover Cleveland began concentrating on building his family. On October 3, 1891, Grover and Frances welcomed their first child, Ruth. At the 1892 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Grover was nominated as the Democratic candidate on the first ballot. On election day, Grover had a wide majority in the popular and electoral votes. Grover Cleveland remains the only president in history to serve non-consecutive terms. During their second term, Grover and Frances welcome two more children, Esther and Marion. When Grover’s second term ended in 1897, Frances was eight months pregnant with their son, Richard. Another son, Francis, was born in 1903. The Clevelands looked forward to living happily ever after.
In January 1904, Grover and Frances’ oldest child, Ruth, developed tonsilitis. On January 6, doctors diagnosed Ruth with diphtheria. Ruth struggled to breathe. Her heart beat irregularly. On the following day, January 6, 1904, 12-year-old Ruth Cleveland died from a heart attack. The nation mourned along with the Clevelands. Within a short time, companies began selling products named in memory of Grover and Frances’ late daughter. There were dolls, kites, shoes, socks, and a whole clothing line. In 1920, the Curtiss Candy Company renamed their Kandy Kake in memory of the president’s late daughter. Under its new name, the former Kandy Kake became the best-selling five-cent confection by the late 1920s. The toys, clothes, and confections were sold under the nickname that Grover and Frances called their daughter. Through the years, the toys and clothes dropped Ruth’s name from their products. Over 100 years later, only the confection retains the Cleveland’s daughter’s name. You know the Kandy Kake as Baby Ruth.
But wait a minute. There is more to this story. In 1920, George Herman “Babe” Ruth was in the midst of one of the most famous baseball careers in the history of the sport. In 1930, ten years after the Baby Ruth candy bar went on sale, Babe Ruth saw the prosperity of the Baby Ruth candy bar—sales reached a height of $1 million per month—and created a company called “Babe Ruth’s Own Candy.” Unfortunately, Babe Ruth was unable to patent the name because it was “confusingly similar to ‘Baby Ruth,’ a trademark on candy already registered.” For nearly 100 years, many people have argued that the Baby Ruth candy bar was named after the the famous baseball player, but the Curtiss Candy Company has stood by their claim. So, the next time you take a bite out of a Baby Ruth candy bar, take a moment to think about Grover Cleveland’s young daughter, Ruth Cleveland, and also think of one of the most famous baseball players of all time, Babe Ruth.
Sources:
1. The Champaign Daily Gazette, January 7, 1904, p.1.
2. Jersey Observer and Jersey Journal, December 1, 1911, p.16.
3. Messenger-Inquirer (Owensboro, Kentucky), April 20, 1928, p.1.
4. Reading Times, February 11, 1930, p.3.
5. The Manhattan Mercury, June 6, 2006, p.11.
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