Harding, Florence Kling, 1860-1924

<p>Florence Mabel Harding (née Kling; August 15, 1860 – November 21, 1924) was the First Lady of the United States from 1921 to 1923 as the wife of President Warren G. Harding.</p>

<p>Florence married Pete De Wolfe at a young age and had a son, Marshall. After divorcing him, she married the somewhat-younger Harding when he was a newspaper publisher in Ohio, and she was acknowledged as the brains behind the business. Known as The Duchess, she adapted well to the White House, where she gave notably elegant parties.</p>

<p>She was born Florence Mabel Kling above her father's hardware store at 127 South Main Street in Marion, Ohio on August 15, 1860. Florence was the eldest of three children of Amos Kling, a prominent Marion accountant and businessman of German descent, and Louisa Bouton Kling, whose French Huguenot ancestors had fled religious persecution. Her younger brothers were Clifford, born in 1861, and Vetallis, born in 1866. Florence attended school at Union School beginning in 1866 and studied the classics. Her father prospered as a banker and was a stockholder in the Columbus & Toledo Railroad, President of the Agricultural Society, and member of the school board. Florence developed a passion for horses early in life and participated in several horse races. Her father trained her in several business skills such as banking, real estate, and farm management.</p>

<p>Aiming to become a concert pianist, Florence began studies at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music after graduating from high school in 1876. As she recalled, she spent seven hours per day on the piano for three years, once playing until her finger bled. On return trips to Marion, Florence often clashed with her father, who would whip her with a cherry switch. At the age of 19 she eloped with Henry Atherton ("Pete") De Wolfe (4 May 1859, Marion – 8 March 1894, Marion) and they were married in Columbus, Ohio, on January 22, 1880. A record of the issuance of their marriage license was printed in The <i>Marion Star</i>. Florence gave birth to her only child, Marshall Eugene, on September 22, 1880. Her husband worked in a warehouse but became a heavy drinker and abandoned the family on December 31, 1882. Florence moved in with her friend Carrie Wallace while her mother Louisa financially supported the mother and child. Florence became a piano teacher to provide extra income and enjoyed skating at night. Her estranged husband had attempted to rob a train in 1885, and the pair were divorced in 1886.</p>

<p>Known as “The Duchess,” Florence Mabel Kling Harding served as First Lady from 1921 to 1923 as the wife of President Warren G. Harding.</p>

<p>Daughter of the richest man in a small town–Amos Kling, a successful businessman–Florence Mabel Kling was born in Marion, Ohio, in 1860, to grow up in a setting of wealth, position, and privilege. Much like her strong-willed father in temperament, she developed a self-reliance rare in girls of that era.</p>

<p>A music course at the Cincinnati Conservatory completed her education. When only 19, she eloped with Henry De Wolfe, a neighbor two years her senior. He proved a spendthrift and a heavy drinker who soon deserted her, so she returned to Marion with her baby son. Refusing to live at home, she rented rooms and earned her own money by giving piano lessons to children of the neighborhood. She divorced De Wolfe in 1886 and resumed her maiden name; he died at age 35.</p>

<p>Warren G. Harding had come to Marion when only 16 and, showing a flair for newspaper work, had managed to buy the little Daily Star. When he met Florence a courtship quickly developed. Over Amos Kling’s angry opposition they were married in 1891, in a house that Harding had planned, and this remained their home for the rest of their lives. (They had no children.)</p>

<p>Mrs. Harding soon took over the Star’s circulation department, spanking newsboys when necessary. “No pennies escaped her,” a friend recalled, and the paper prospered while its owner’s political success increased. As he rose through Ohio politics and became a United States Senator, his wife directed all her acumen to his career. He became Republican nominee for President in 1920 and “the Duchess,” as he called her, worked tirelessly for his election. In her own words: “I have only one real hobby–my husband.”</p>

<p>She had never been a guest at the White House; and former President Taft, meeting the President-elect and Mrs. Harding, discussed its social customs with her and stressed the value of ceremony. Writing to Nellie, he concluded that the new First Lady was “a nice woman” and would “readily adapt herself.”</p>

<p>When Mrs. Harding moved into the White House, she opened mansion and grounds to the public again–both had been closed through President Wilson’s illness. She herself suffered from a chronic kidney ailment, but she threw herself into the job of First Lady with energy and willpower. Garden parties for veterans were regular events on a crowded social calendar. The President and his wife relaxed at poker parties in the White House library, where liquor was available although the Eighteenth Amendment made it illegal.</p>

<p>Mrs. Harding always liked to travel with her husband. She was with him in the summer of 1923 when he died unexpectedly in California, shortly before the public learned of the major scandals facing his administration.</p>

<p>With astonishing fortitude she endured the long train ride to Washington with the President’s body, the state funeral at the Capitol, the last service and burial at Marion. She died in Marion on November 21, 1924, surviving Warren Harding by little more than a year of illness and sorrow.</p>