Pierce, Jane M. (Jane Means), 1806-1863

Jane Means Appleton Pierce was the wife of the 14th President, Franklin Pierce. She served as First Lady of the United States from 1853 to 1857.

Born in Hampton, New Hampshire and raised in Brunswick, Maine, after the death of her father, Jane Appleton's mother had taken the family to Amherst, New Hampshire. While there, Jane met a Bowdoin graduate, a young lawyer with political ambitions, Franklin Pierce.

Although Pierce was immediately devoted to Jane, they did not marry until she was 28 — surprising in that day of early marriages. Her family opposed the match; moreover, she always did her best to discourage his interest in politics. The death of a three-day-old son, the arrival of a new baby, and Jane’s dislike of Washington counted heavily in his decision to retire at the apparent height of his career, as United States Senator, in 1842. Little Frank Robert, the second son, died the next year of typhus.

Service in the Mexican War brought Pierce the rank of brigadier and local fame as a hero. He returned home safely, and for four years the Pierces lived quietly at Concord, New Hampshire, in the happiest period of their lives. With attentive pleasure Jane watched her son Benjamin growing up.

Then, in 1852, the Democratic Party made Pierce their candidate for President. His wife fainted at the news. When he took her to Newport for a respite, Benny wrote to her: “I hope he won’t be elected for I should not like to be at Washington and I know you would not either.” But the President-elect convinced Jane that his office would be an asset for Benny’s success in life.

On a journey by train, January 6, 1853, their car was derailed and Benny killed before their eyes. The whole nation shared the parents’ grief. The inauguration on March 4 took place without an inaugural ball and without the presence of Mrs. Pierce. She joined her husband later that month, but any pleasure the White House might have brought her was gone. From this loss she never recovered fully.

After her husband's retirement, the Pierces made a prolonged trip abroad in search of health for the invalid. The quest was unsuccessful, so the couple came home to New Hampshire to be near family and friends until Jane’s death in 1863. She was buried near Benny’s grave.