June 2: Francis Folsom Cleveland

On this date in History ... June 2, 1886:

21-year old Frances Folsom marries 49-year old President Grover Cleveland in the White House, becoming the only president and first lady to be wed in the White House and making her the youngest first lady (a record previously held by 24-year old Julia Gardiner when she married 54 year old President Tyler in 1844).  

She was the only First Lady to be wed and to give birth in the White House. 

When Cleveland was elected back to the presidency after a four-year gap, she became the only first lady to return to the White House. When Cleveland died in 1908, Frances became the first presidential widow to remarry (in 1913). 

At her death in 1947, she had lived longer after leaving the White House than any other former first lady. 

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April 29: Liberation of Dachau

On this date in History ..... 1945:

The U.S. Seventh Army liberated Dachau, the first concentration camp established just five weeks after Hitler became Chancellor. 

The pile of shoes found by American
soldiers when they entered Dachau.
Photo source: www.theholocaustexplained.org 

American soldiers encountered 30 railroad cars of dead bodies in various stages of decomposition as they neared the camp. Once inside the camp, they found more dead bodies and 30,000 survivors. The story goes that the Americans were so enraged at what they found, that 30 SS guards were machine-gunned down. 

The civilian townspeople of Dachau were forced to come to the camp and see what was going on right next to them. They then had to bury over 9000 of the dead.  (See this blog for more on the story of bringing neighboring civilians to see these camps: www.scrapbookpages.com ).

Incomplete records indicated over 32,000 people died in the camps of Dachau.  (To put this in perspective, my hometown had a population of approx. 36,000 in 2012. Can you imagine going home one day and finding out the entire town had been killed?)   

While the liberation of this camp was going on, Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun were having a wedding ceremony. They committed suicide the next day.

And in case you missed the big headline:  Prince William and Kate Middleton decided to get married on Adolph and Eva's wedding date.  How did the royal wedding planners miss THAT piece of trivia?

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February 2: Queen Victoria's Funeral

On this date in History .... 1901:

The military state funeral of Queen Victoria is held in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. Queen Victoria's funeral was one of the earliest events recorded by British Pathe.

 

After 63 years on the throne, Victoria died at the age of 81 at Osborne House on The Isle of Wight as the longest reigning monarch in history, ruling from 1837 to 1901. She saw ten Prime Ministers come and go.

 

She had left detailed instructions on how she wanted her funeral, including a list of items that she wanted in the coffin with her, such as her late husband’s dressing gown, some photos, and her wedding veil placed over her face. Her coffin was carried by a gun carriage and pulled by eight white horses, to honor her request for a white military funeral.

 

She became queen at an early age (18) after her father and three uncles died at early ages.  Her marriage to Prince Albert in 1840 produced nine children, most of whom married into other royal families.  The death of her husband at the young age of 42, left her in a deep depression and she wore mourning black for the rest of her reign.

 

Queen Victoria and
Prince Albert on their
Wedding Day.

She is credited for the famous quote "We are not amused" and for her influence on wedding fashion. While she was not the first royal bride to wear a white gow, she was the first to wear one in the age of the newly developed science of photography, making her white wedding dress world news. Her style still influences wedding gown designs today.

 

November 4: Lincoln Weds

On this date in History .... 1842:

Abraham Lincoln marries Mary Anne Todd.

They met at a cotillion and began  seeing each other socially the very next day. Despite their 10-yr age difference and her family’s objections, she accepted the proposal of the tall, lanky and living-in-poverty lawyer.  However, Lincoln called off the engagement in early 1841, but they got back together in the fall of 1842. 

Not wasting any time with a long engagement, they made plans to immediately marry. They both wanted a small wedding and planned to wed on Nov 3. They had to push it out a day because Mary’s guardian insisted she be married in their home but a sewing society meeting was being held in the home on the 3^rd. About 30 people attended.  Mary wore a simple white muslin dress but no veil or flowers. They were married for 22 years.

The room where Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd were married.  Photo courtesy of http://rogerjnorton.com/