Esther Cleveland

Esther Cleveland was born on September 9, 1893, in the White House, Washington, D.C., during her father Grover Cleveland's second term as President of the United States. She was the second child of Grover Cleveland and his wife, Frances Folsom Cleveland. She was the first child born to an incumbent U.S. President and First Lady, and she was the only child of a U.S. president to have been born in the White House. Due to this fact, she was nicknamed "the White House baby."

In April 1896, at approximately two years old, Esther contracted measles during an outbreak that led to a quarantine in the White House. At around age seven, she contracted diphtheria. Her first public appearance, or debut, occurred in 1912. During that same year, there were reports of her engagement to Randolph D. West; however, this was denied by her family.

On March 14, 1918, Esther Cleveland married William Sidney Bence Bosanquet at Westminster Abbey. William Bosanquet was born on May 9, 1883, and was a captain in the Coldstream Guards of the British Army. He was involved in liaising with the United States over steel production and was the son of Sir Albert Bosanquet, the Common Serjeant of London. During World War II, Bosanquet managed Skinningrove Iron Works in East Cleveland, England. The couple resided in Kirkleatham Old Hall, located on the outskirts of Redcar. They purchased the entire building in 1930 after half of it was initially occupied by soldiers. Following William Bosanquet’s death on March 5, 1966, Esther returned to the United States and sold the house to the local Council in 1970.

In her later years, Esther Cleveland Bosanquet was known locally in the 1940s and 1950s for her philanthropic activities. Her views on women’s suffrage evolved over time; her mother, Frances Cleveland, was opposed to women voting, believing they were not ready for suffrage. Esther, however, supported her daughter Philippa Foot in her academic pursuits. Philippa Foot became a distinguished philosopher affiliated with Oxford University, with early education under governesses and later higher education supported financially by Esther and William Bosanquet.

Esther Cleveland Bosanquet was the mother of Philippa Foot, who held fellowships and professorships at Oxford and in the United States. Philippa expressed that her early education was limited and that she learned little from home tuition in Kirkleatham. Despite this, her family provided her with the means to attend school in Ascot and later study at Oxford.

Esther Cleveland Bosanquet passed away on June 25, 1980, in Tamworth, New Hampshire, at the age of 86.