Grover Cleveland

AKA:

President Grover Cleveland

Birth Name:

Stephen Grover Cleveland

Birth Date:

March 18, 1837

Birth Place:

207 Bloomfield Avenue, Caldwell, New Jersey

Death Date:

June 24, 1908

Place of Death:

Westland Mansion, 15 Hodge Road, Princeton, New Jersey

Age:

Cause of Death:

Heart attack

Cemetery Name:

Princeton Cemetery

Claim to Fame:

World Leaders

Associates:

Frances Cleveland

Grover Cleveland was the first Democrat elected after the Civil War in 1885, as the 22nd and 24th President Grover Cleveland was the only President to leave the White House and return for a second term four years later (1885-1889 and 1893-1897). President Cleveland vigorously pursued policies barring special favors to any economic group. Vetoing a bill to appropriate $10,000 to distribute seed grain among drought-stricken farmers in Texas, he wrote: “Federal aid in such cases encourages the expectation of paternal care on the part of the Government and weakens the sturdiness of our national character. . . . ” He also vetoed many private pension bills to Civil War veterans whose claims were fraudulent. When Congress, pressured by the Grand Army of the Republic, passed a bill granting pensions for disabilities not caused by military service, Cleveland vetoed it, too. He angered the railroads by ordering an investigation of western lands they held by Government grant. He forced them to return 81,000,000 acres. He also signed the Interstate Commerce Act, the first law attempting Federal regulation of the railroads. Upon retirement Cleveland moved to Princeton where, in the autumn of 1907 he fell seriously ill. In 1908, he suffered a heart attack and died on June 24 at age 71 in his Princeton residence. His last words were, "I have tried so hard to do right."

Fun Facts

The Baby Ruth candy bar is named after Ruth Cleveland, the daughter of President Grover Cleveland. The Curtiss Candy Company, which created the candy bar, has always maintained that it was named in her honor, despite the fact that she died (diphtheria) 17 years before the bar was introduced. Some have suggested that the name was chosen to capitalize on the popularity of baseball player Babe Ruth, but the company has consistently denied this.

The candy maker, located on the same street as Wrigley Field, named the bar “Baby Ruth” in 1921, as Babe Ruth’s fame was on the rise, 24 years after Cleveland had left the White House, and 17 years after his daughter, Ruth, had died. The company did not negotiate an endorsement deal with Ruth, and many saw the company’s story about the origin of the name to be a way to avoid having to pay the baseball player any royalties.

Cemetery Information:

Final Resting Place:

Princeton Cemetery

29 Greenview Avenue

Princeton, New Jersey, 08542

USA

North America

Map:

Map of Princeton Cemetery in Princeton New Jersey

Grave Location:

Section 1, Block U, Lot 15, Grave 12

Grave Location Description

As you enter the cemetery drive past the office on your right make the first turn to the left. Follow this road around and through the cemetery until you come to the locked gates exiting onto Witherspoon Street. Park and walk to the right approximately 100 feet and directly in front of the Pardee Memorial Garden you will find the final resting place of President Grover Cleveland and his wife and one of his daughters.