(22a) Rose Cleveland

Rose Elizabeth "Libby" Cleveland

Websites

First Ladies National Library Biography of Rose Cleveland

Papers/letters collections

Autographed Letter from the Executive Mansion

Historical sites

Rose Elizabeth Cleveland Gravesite

Fascinating details

Rose assumed the social hostess role of first lady, abandoning her own career pursuits, for her brother Grover Cleveland for the first 15 months of his first term.
She graduated from Houghton Seminary and went on to teach at various institutions in Pennsylvania and New York.
Rose’s romantic relationship with Evangeline Marrs Whipple, a widow and philanthropist, was well-documented in an exchange of letters between the two, making Rose the first LGBTQ former first lady. The two moved to Bagni di Lucca, Italy together where Rose eventually passed away from the Spanish flu.

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