The Niles Star

Connection linked to White House

By By Friends of Silverbrook Cemetery
Speculation concerning the upcoming wedding of President George W. Bush's daughter, Jenna, will soon be answered. Will she become the second person ever to be married in the White House?
While we do not have the answer concerning the wedding of 2008, Niles has a connection to the only wedding held at the White House to date. Benjamin Folsom was not able to attend, however.
He was already at rest in Silverbrook Cemetery. There, the uncle of Grover Cleveland's First Lady lies "a short distance from the northeast entrance to that hallowed ground, shielded by the outstretching arms of native oaks," as an article in the Niles Republican of April 28, 1887 noted.
Less than a year before the article appeared, Benjamin Folsom's niece, Frances Clara, married then President Grover Cleveland on June 2, 1886. Twenty-two years earlier, the future president first held his future wife in his arms; the child of his soon-to-be law partner, Oscar Folsom, Benjamin's brother.
When Oscar died Cleveland became administrator of his estate, a task which included guiding the 11-year-old Frances' education. When she entered Wells College, the future president asked her mother for permission to correspond with her daughter.
Even though the marriage of his niece to the President may have been the headline of the day, Benjamin Folsom himself was known as a great contractor working on the N.Y. Central Railway when it was built. In 1946, he took a large contract with the Michigan Central and made his home in Niles. Folsom created the railway which ran from Kalamazoo to Niles.
He built the first dam across the St. Joseph River, which "went out in consequence of a mistake in finishing the lock and it was never replaced," according to Folsom's obituary.
Born in Windsor, Vt. in 1802, Folsom died at 74 years of age, on Nov. 3, 1876. He was buried with his two wives: Polly, who died, Oct. 24, 1842, at 42 years of age, while Folsom was building the railway here and Rebecca, who was also 42 when she died, Oct. 24, 1864.
Benjamin Folsom's niece became an instant celebrity and was affectionately dubbed "Frankie" bringing to modern thought the image of the Duchess of York, Fergie's ability to cause a furor of attention today. She was the first of the First Lady's to actively take a role in support of her husband's position.
Such remarkable stories abound within the boundaries of Silverbrook Cemetery.
Should you wish to become a member of the Friends of Silverbrook Cemetery as they prepare to continue the chronicling and cleaning and maintenance of the historic graves, contact: Friends of Silverbrook Cemetery c/o 508 E. Main St. Niles MI 49120, Tim and Candace Skalla at 684-2455, wskalla@sbcglobal.net or contact Ginny Tyler at 684-3687, SPHINX1974@aol.com.