PersonPolitics

Jane Pierce

Jane Means Pierce (née Appleton; March 12, 1806 – December 2, 1863) was the first lady of the United States from 1853 to 1857, being married to Franklin Pierce, the 14th president of the United States.

Born~Died Mar 12, 1806 ~ Dec 2, 18630 views in 30 daysLast edited Oct 15, 2026, 2:48 PM

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Born ~ Died: Mar 12, 1806 ~ Dec 2, 1863
President: Franklin Pierce
Preceded by: Abigail Fillmore
Succeeded by: Harriet Lane (acting)
Born: Jane Means Appleton, (1806-03-12)March 12, 1806, Hampton, New Hampshire, U.S.
Died: December 2, 1863(1863-12-02) (aged 57), Andover, Massachusetts, U.S.
Resting place: Old North Cemetery
Spouse: Franklin Pierce (m. 1834)
Children: 3
Parent(s): Jesse Appleton, Elizabeth Means
Location: 42.9375, -70.8389

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Contents

1.Early life
2.Marriage and family
3.First Lady of the United States
4.Later life and death
5.Public perception and legacy
6.Political beliefs
7.Notes

Jane Means Pierce (née Appleton; March 12, 1806 – December 2, 1863) was the first lady of the United States from 1853 to 1857, being married to Franklin Pierce, the 14th president of the United States. Born in Hampton, New Hampshire, she married Pierce, then a congressman, in 1834 despite her family's misgivings. She refused to live in Washington, D.C., and in 1842, she convinced her husband to retire from politics. He sought the Democratic presidential nomination without her knowledge in 1852 and was elected president later that year. Their only surviving son, Benjamin, was killed in a train accident before Franklin's inauguration, sending Jane into a deep depression that afflicted her for the rest of her life. Pierce was a reclusive first lady, spending the first two years of her husband's presidency mourning her son. Her duties at this time were often fulfilled by Abby Kent-Means. After Franklin's presidency, they traveled abroad for two years before settling in Massachusetts. She died of tuberculosis in 1863.

Pierce disliked political life and was unhappy in the role of first lady. She took interest in abolitionism, and attempted to influence her husband's decisions on the subject. A Puritan, Pierce was strictly religious and believed the tragedies she suffered were divine retribution for her and her husband's sins. Jane has been described as the opposite of her husband, who was outgoing, political, and a heavy drinker. She was reclusive, averse to politics, and a teetotaler.

Early life

Jane Means Appleton was born in Hampton, New Hampshire, on March 12, 1806, to Congregationalist minister and his wife Elizabeth Means Appleton. The Appletons had six children: three elder daughters, of which Jane was the third, and three younger sons. Their father became president of in 1807, and the family settled in (then part of Massachusetts). Her father's religious practices included a strict diet that caused his health to decline, leading to his death in 1819. After his death, the family lived with Elizabeth's mother in . In her childhood, Appleton acquired a devotion to , .

Early life

Jane Means Appleton was born in Hampton, New Hampshire, on March 12, 1806, to Congregationalist minister Jesse Appleton and his wife Elizabeth Means Appleton. The Appletons had six children: three elder daughters, of which Jane was the third, and three younger sons. Their father became president of in 1807, and the family settled in (then part of Massachusetts). Her father's religious practices included a strict diet that caused his health to decline, leading to his death in 1819. After his death, the family lived with Elizabeth's mother in . In her childhood, Appleton acquired a devotion to , .

This page is based on “Jane Pierce” from English Wikipedia, (r1379665171) CC BY-SA 4.0 used under the license. The original authors are listed in its page history.

Last edited Oct 15, 2026, 2:48 PM · r73737 · Text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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Schneider, Dorothy; Schneider, Carl J. (2010). "Jane Means Appleton Pierce". First Ladies: A Biographical Dictionary (3rd ed.). Facts on File. pp. 88–94. ISBN 978-1-4381-0815-5. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴
Thacker-Estrada, Elizabeth Lorelei (2016). "Chapter Eleven: Margaret Taylor, Abigail Fillmore, and Jane Pierce: Three Antebellum Presidents' Ladies". In Sibley, Katherine A. S. (ed.). A Companion to First Ladies. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 176–196. ISBN 978-1-118-73218-2. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹
Hendricks, Nancy (2015). "Jane Pierce". America's First Ladies: A Historical Encyclopedia and Primary Document Collection of the Remarkable Women of the White House. ABC-CLIO. pp. 108–115. ISBN 978-1-61069-883-2. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³
Cottrell, Debbie Mauldin (1996). Gould, Lewis L. (ed.). American First Ladies: Their Lives and Their Legacy. Garland Publishing. pp. 166–173. ISBN 0-8153-1479-5. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴
Longo, James McMurtry (2011). From Classroom to White House: The Presidents and First Ladies as Students and Teachers. McFarland. p. 64. ISBN 978-0-7864-8846-9. ↩ ↩²
Wallner, Peter A. (2004). Franklin Pierce: New Hampshire's Favorite Son. Plaidswede. ISBN 9780975521632. ↩ ↩² ↩³
Gara, Larry (1991). The Presidency of Franklin Pierce. University Press of Kansas. pp. 31–32. ↩ ↩²
Baker, Jean H. "Franklin Pierce: Life Before the Presidency". American President: An Online Reference Resource. University of Virginia. Archived from the original on December 17, 2010. Retrieved January 16, 2019. Franklin and Jane Pierce seemingly had little in common, and the marriage would sometimes be a troubled one. The bride's family were staunch Whigs, a party largely formed to oppose Andrew Jackson, whom Pierce revered. Socially, Jane Pierce was reserved and shy, the polar opposite of her new husband. Above all, she was a committed devotee of the temperance movement. She detested Washington and usually refused to live there, even after Franklin Pierce became a U.S. Senator in 1837. ↩ ↩² ↩³
Watson, Robert P. (2001). "Jane Means Appleton Pierce". First Ladies of the United States: A Biographical Dictionary. Lynne Rienner Publishers. pp. 95–100. doi:10.1515/9781626373532. ISBN 978-1-62637-353-2. S2CID 249333854. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹
Diller, Daniel C.; Robertson, Stephen L. (2001). The Presidents, First Ladies, and Vice Presidents: White House Biographies, 1789–2001. CQ Press. pp. 160–161. ISBN 978-1-56802-573-5. ↩
Foster, Feather Schwartz (2011). The First Ladies: From Martha Washington to Mamie Eisenhower, an Intimate Portrait of the Women Who Shaped America. Sourcebooks, Incorporated. pp. 49–51. ISBN 978-1-4022-4272-4. ↩ ↩²
"Jane Pierce". Miller Center. October 4, 2016. Retrieved September 24, 2022. ↩ ↩² ↩³
"Biography of Jane Pierce". whitehouse.gov. January 2, 2004 – via National Archives. ↩ ↩²
Caroli, Betty Boyd (2010). First Ladies: From Martha Washington to Michelle Obama. Oxford University Press, USA. pp. 54–55. ISBN 978-0-19-539285-2. ↩ ↩² ↩³
Arnold, Amanda (July 12, 2017). "The First Ladies Who Brought the Occult to the White House". Vice. Retrieved September 26, 2022. ↩ ↩²
"First Lady Biography: Jane Pierce". National First Ladies' Library. Archived from the original on May 9, 2012. Retrieved September 24, 2022. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴
Watson, Robert P. (January 1, 1999). "Ranking the presidential spouses". The Social Science Journal. 36 (1): 117–136. doi:10.1016/S0362-3319(99)80008-1. ISSN 0362-3319. ↩
"Siena College and C-SPAN Announce the Rankings of the First Ladies of the United States (FLOTUS)". PRWeb. Retrieved September 24, 2022. ↩

Schneider, Dorothy; Schneider, Carl J. (2010). "Jane Means Appleton Pierce". First Ladies: A Biographical Dictionary (3rd ed.). Facts on File. pp. 88–94. ISBN 978-1-4381-0815-5. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴
Thacker-Estrada, Elizabeth Lorelei (2016). "Chapter Eleven: Margaret Taylor, Abigail Fillmore, and Jane Pierce: Three Antebellum Presidents' Ladies". In Sibley, Katherine A. S. (ed.). A Companion to First Ladies. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 176–196. ISBN 978-1-118-73218-2. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹
Hendricks, Nancy (2015). "Jane Pierce". America's First Ladies: A Historical Encyclopedia and Primary Document Collection of the Remarkable Women of the White House. ABC-CLIO. pp. 108–115. ISBN 978-1-61069-883-2. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³
Cottrell, Debbie Mauldin (1996). Gould, Lewis L. (ed.). American First Ladies: Their Lives and Their Legacy. Garland Publishing. pp. 166–173. ISBN 0-8153-1479-5. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴
Longo, James McMurtry (2011). From Classroom to White House: The Presidents and First Ladies as Students and Teachers. McFarland. p. 64. ISBN 978-0-7864-8846-9. ↩ ↩²
Wallner, Peter A. (2004). Franklin Pierce: New Hampshire's Favorite Son. Plaidswede. ISBN 9780975521632. ↩ ↩² ↩³
Gara, Larry (1991). The Presidency of Franklin Pierce. University Press of Kansas. pp. 31–32. ↩ ↩²
Baker, Jean H. "Franklin Pierce: Life Before the Presidency". American President: An Online Reference Resource. University of Virginia. Archived from the original on December 17, 2010. Retrieved January 16, 2019. Franklin and Jane Pierce seemingly had little in common, and the marriage would sometimes be a troubled one. The bride's family were staunch Whigs, a party largely formed to oppose Andrew Jackson, whom Pierce revered. Socially, Jane Pierce was reserved and shy, the polar opposite of her new husband. Above all, she was a committed devotee of the temperance movement. She detested Washington and usually refused to live there, even after Franklin Pierce became a U.S. Senator in 1837. ↩ ↩² ↩³
Watson, Robert P. (2001). "Jane Means Appleton Pierce". First Ladies of the United States: A Biographical Dictionary. Lynne Rienner Publishers. pp. 95–100. doi:10.1515/9781626373532. ISBN 978-1-62637-353-2. S2CID 249333854. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹
Diller, Daniel C.; Robertson, Stephen L. (2001). The Presidents, First Ladies, and Vice Presidents: White House Biographies, 1789–2001. CQ Press. pp. 160–161. ISBN 978-1-56802-573-5. ↩
Foster, Feather Schwartz (2011). The First Ladies: From Martha Washington to Mamie Eisenhower, an Intimate Portrait of the Women Who Shaped America. Sourcebooks, Incorporated. pp. 49–51. ISBN 978-1-4022-4272-4. ↩ ↩²
"Jane Pierce". Miller Center. October 4, 2016. Retrieved September 24, 2022. ↩ ↩² ↩³
"Biography of Jane Pierce". whitehouse.gov. January 2, 2004 – via National Archives. ↩ ↩²
Caroli, Betty Boyd (2010). First Ladies: From Martha Washington to Michelle Obama. Oxford University Press, USA. pp. 54–55. ISBN 978-0-19-539285-2. ↩ ↩² ↩³
Arnold, Amanda (July 12, 2017). "The First Ladies Who Brought the Occult to the White House". Vice. Retrieved September 26, 2022. ↩ ↩²
"First Lady Biography: Jane Pierce". National First Ladies' Library. Archived from the original on May 9, 2012. Retrieved September 24, 2022. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴
Watson, Robert P. (January 1, 1999). "Ranking the presidential spouses". The Social Science Journal. 36 (1): 117–136. doi:10.1016/S0362-3319(99)80008-1. ISSN 0362-3319. ↩
"Siena College and C-SPAN Announce the Rankings of the First Ladies of the United States (FLOTUS)". PRWeb. Retrieved September 24, 2022. ↩

Jane Pierce

Early life

Early life

Opinions 0

Marriage and family

First Lady of the United States

Later life and death

Public perception and legacy

Political beliefs

Notes

Early life

Marriage and family

First Lady of the United States

Later life and death

Public perception and legacy

Political beliefs

Notes

Other languages

Sub-pages

Nearby events

Opinions 0

Jane Pierce

Early life

Early life

Opinions 0

Marriage and family

First Lady of the United States

Later life and death

Public perception and legacy

Political beliefs

Notes

Footnotes

Early life

Marriage and family

First Lady of the United States

Later life and death

Public perception and legacy

Political beliefs

Notes

Footnotes

Other languages

Sub-pages

Nearby events

Opinions 0