Presidents' Children: The Tragedy of Benjamin Pierce
On November 19, 1834, Franklin Pierce, then a member of the United States House of Representatives, married Jane Means Appleton, the daughter of Jesse Appleton, a Congregational minister and former president of Bowdoin College, and his wife Elizabeth Means. The Appletons were prominent Whigs, while the Pierce family were Democrats. Jane was very shy and devoutly religious. She was also pro-temperance, a hugely incompatible trait compared to her husband, who enjoyed his alcohol. She encouraging him to abstain, and for a time, he was able to show some restraint in this regard. Jane was constantly ill from tuberculosis and was frequently depressed. She abhorred politics and especially disliked Washington, D.C., creating a tension that would continue throughout their marriage and throughout her husband's political rise.
The Pierces had three sons, and sadly, all three of whom died in childhood. Their oldest son, Franklin, Jr., died on February 5, 1836, just three days after he was born. Their second son Frank Robert (born August 27, 1839) died on November 14, 1843 at the age of four from typhoid fever.
With the loss of her first two children, Jane Pierce became especially devoted to her third child, Benjamin, born April 13, 1841, known as "Benny". Benny's childhood was said to be the happiest period of the Pierces' lives. By many accounts, he was a very sweet child who was doted on by his parents, especially by his mother.
Jane Pierce was unhappy when her husband was nominated as the Democratic candidate for President. She expressed her opposition to his decision to run for president, and saw this as a form of vanity that was offensive to her Creator.
Pierce was elected President in November of 1852, and the family planned its move to Washington, much to Jane's unhappiness. On January 6, 1853, the Pierce family were traveling from Boston to Washington by train, when suddenly a tragic accident occurred. The rail car they were traveling in derailed and rolled down an embankment near Andover, Massachusetts. Franklin and Jane Pierce survived the incident with little injury, but in the wreckage they found 11-year-old Benny crushed to death, his body nearly decapitated. Pierce was unable to prevent his wife from seeing the gruesome sight.
As would be expected, both parents suffered severe extreme depression as the result of the incident, and it must have adversely affected Pierce's performance as president. Jane Pierce told close friends that she believed that the train accident was God's punishment for her husband's vane pursuit and acceptance of high office. She wrote a lengthy letter of apology to Benny for her failings as a mother. Her intense grief prevented her from performing her duties as first lady and she avoided social functions for much of her husband's term as president. For nearly two years, she remained in the upstairs living quarters of the White House, spending her days writing maudlin letters to her dead son. She did not appear at a public function until a public reception held at the White House on New Year's Day, 1855. Varina Davis, the wife of Jefferson Davis (who was then Secretary of War in Pierce's cabinet, and a close friend of Pierce's) filled in for Jane Pierce by performing many of the first lady's duties as hostess at the White House.
Jane Pierce did not attend her husband's inauguration. Franklin Pierce chose to affirm his Presidential oath of office on a law book rather than swear it on a Bible and in his inaugural address he said: "You have summoned me in my weakness, you must sustain me by your strength."
After leaving the White House, the Pierces remained in Washington for more than two months, staying with former Secretary of State William Marcy. The Pierces eventually moved to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Franklin Pierce and Jane spent the next three years traveling, beginning with a stay in Madeira and followed by tours of Europe and the Bahamas. Jane Pierce died of tuberculosis at Andover, Massachusetts, on December 2, 1863. She was buried at Old North Cemetery in Concord, New Hampshire. Her husband was interred there beside her in 1869.
The Pierces had three sons, and sadly, all three of whom died in childhood. Their oldest son, Franklin, Jr., died on February 5, 1836, just three days after he was born. Their second son Frank Robert (born August 27, 1839) died on November 14, 1843 at the age of four from typhoid fever.
With the loss of her first two children, Jane Pierce became especially devoted to her third child, Benjamin, born April 13, 1841, known as "Benny". Benny's childhood was said to be the happiest period of the Pierces' lives. By many accounts, he was a very sweet child who was doted on by his parents, especially by his mother.
Jane Pierce was unhappy when her husband was nominated as the Democratic candidate for President. She expressed her opposition to his decision to run for president, and saw this as a form of vanity that was offensive to her Creator.
Pierce was elected President in November of 1852, and the family planned its move to Washington, much to Jane's unhappiness. On January 6, 1853, the Pierce family were traveling from Boston to Washington by train, when suddenly a tragic accident occurred. The rail car they were traveling in derailed and rolled down an embankment near Andover, Massachusetts. Franklin and Jane Pierce survived the incident with little injury, but in the wreckage they found 11-year-old Benny crushed to death, his body nearly decapitated. Pierce was unable to prevent his wife from seeing the gruesome sight.
As would be expected, both parents suffered severe extreme depression as the result of the incident, and it must have adversely affected Pierce's performance as president. Jane Pierce told close friends that she believed that the train accident was God's punishment for her husband's vane pursuit and acceptance of high office. She wrote a lengthy letter of apology to Benny for her failings as a mother. Her intense grief prevented her from performing her duties as first lady and she avoided social functions for much of her husband's term as president. For nearly two years, she remained in the upstairs living quarters of the White House, spending her days writing maudlin letters to her dead son. She did not appear at a public function until a public reception held at the White House on New Year's Day, 1855. Varina Davis, the wife of Jefferson Davis (who was then Secretary of War in Pierce's cabinet, and a close friend of Pierce's) filled in for Jane Pierce by performing many of the first lady's duties as hostess at the White House.
Jane Pierce did not attend her husband's inauguration. Franklin Pierce chose to affirm his Presidential oath of office on a law book rather than swear it on a Bible and in his inaugural address he said: "You have summoned me in my weakness, you must sustain me by your strength."
After leaving the White House, the Pierces remained in Washington for more than two months, staying with former Secretary of State William Marcy. The Pierces eventually moved to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Franklin Pierce and Jane spent the next three years traveling, beginning with a stay in Madeira and followed by tours of Europe and the Bahamas. Jane Pierce died of tuberculosis at Andover, Massachusetts, on December 2, 1863. She was buried at Old North Cemetery in Concord, New Hampshire. Her husband was interred there beside her in 1869.