Florence Mabel Kling DeWolfe Harding

Born:
August 15, 1860 in Marion, Ohio

Died:
November 21, 1924 in Marion, Ohio

Father:
Amos Hall Kling (1833-1913)

Mother:
Louise Mabel Bouton Kling (1835-1893)

Ancestry: French, German

Siblings:
Two brothers, Clifford and Vetallis, called "Tal"

Physical Description:
5'7" tall, with brown hair, which later turned grayish silver; cornflower blue eyes; large hands and feet; strong jaw, thin mouth. Being nearsighted, she wore a prince-nez all of her life. She was considered mannish in manner and could be abrupt in tone. As a girl, she loved to skate (both roller and ice), ride sidesaddle, and climb trees. Her smile could light up her face but in repose she often appeared sad. Her hair was stiffly marceled and her clothes were always in style.

Religion: Methodist

Education:
Little is know of Mrs. Harding's early life or education, because she destroyed most of the records of this phase of her life. Her father was angry she was a "mere girl" as his first-born but she impressed him with her grasp of business and her musical ability. He wanted her to become concert pianist and forced her to practice eight hours a day. She attended the Music Conservatory in Cincinnati but her father brought her home to take care of her depressed mother.

First Husband:
Henry Athenton DeWolfe (1859-1894), divorced May/June 1886

Child:
Marshall Eugene DeWolfe (1880-1915)

By March 1880, Florence was so desperate to escape her father that she eloped with her first husband to Gallion, Ohio. The marriage was a dismal failure and Florence acknowledged later both were at fault. Henry DeWolfe, called "Pete," was an alcoholic and on Christmas Eve of 1882, he abandoned his wife and child. Florence, with her son, made her way back to Marion. Her father refused to help her so she supported herself by giving piano lessons. Her father took her son from her and raised him as a "Kling." In 1886, Florence was divorced; "Pete" DeWolfe died in 1894. By then, the strong-willed Florence Harding had met the younger Warren G. Harding and she planned a new life for herself. Putting their resources together, they planned their house, built it, and married there.

Second Husband:
Warren G. Harding (1865-1923)

Courtship and Marriage:
Many stories have been told in Marion, Ohio about the romance of Warren Harding and Florence Kling, but all center on why a handsome man five years younger would marry a plain divorcee who was estranged from her millionaire father. The stories don't consider her strengths: her doting nature, her willingness to share all with him, and her intelligence. Whatever and however they met, the marriage took place in the house they built together on July 8, 1891 in Marion, Ohio. Her mother attended but left as soon as her daughter said "I do"; Her father refused to see or speak to his daughter for eight years.

Age at Marriage:
30 years, 327 days

Personality:
Florence grew up in an abusive household with a tyrannical father and a weak, depressed mother. Her father's demands only served to make Florence strong and independent. She was physically active and loved to skate and ride horses. By the time she was sixteen and ready to attend college, she was known for her character and willingness to defy conventional rules. She was strong willed, with a drive and ambition to be more and make more of her life than most women around her. Her divorce had taught to stand on her own, to think independently, and to trust no one but herself. She had under her rather abrupt exterior a deeply loving and sentimental heart. She adored her Warren but after 1911 and the discovery of his adultery, she loved him but no longer trusted him. She was confident but sometimes felt vulnerable and could be shaken by her superstitions. She had a great respect for women and what women could accomplish. She also wanted to see women take a greater role in life, in politics, and in society. She loved people and loved touching them. Her "folksy" manner drew praise. A strong intelligence made her size up people quickly but her emotions sometimes led her astray. She had great reserves of energy but her health was not always up to its demands. She was sometimes impatient with slow-witted people. She was a deeply loving woman who had been deeply hurt and betrayed.

Children:
None by Warren Harding

Years before the White House:
Shortly after her marriage in 1891, Warren went to a Michigan health asylum to recover from digestive troubles, so Florence had to run to her husband's newspaper, The Marion Star, in his absence. When Mrs. Harding saw the dirt, the disarray, and the mismanagement, her business sense reacted, and she took control of the newspaper's advertisements, circulation, the paper boys and the ledger. She turned the failing business into a thriving success. She and her husband were full partners, and he depended on her good sense, drive, and ambition. In 1905, Florence suffered kidney failure and nearly died. The kidney problems would reoccur on and off for the rest of her life. Harding began a six year love affair; when Florence discovered the affair in 1911, she was totally devastated. Through friends, her own good sense, and the love she still bore her husband, she weathered the storm but never again would be so trusting. In 1915, the same year her son Marshall died, Harding was elected to the United States Senate, and they both made a new circle of friends. Her friendship with Evalyn Walsh McLean (of the Hope Diamond fame) opened new doors for Florence and broadened her scope. She was still her husband's strongest ally and advisor. When Harding name was first mentioned as a possible presidential candidate, she was adamantly against it. She didn't fear his intelligence or willingness to work, but rather his moral weakness and his dependence on others for support. Once he decided to run, she threw all of her strength behind him. When he was nominated in June of 1920, she walked down the platform with him, being the first candidate's wife to do so. Her role in the campaign was a vital and pivotal one: one in which Harding acknowledged, "Couldn't have swung it but for the Duchess." (He always called her "the Duchess.") She spoke to all women's groups, allowed for photographic sessions, spoke on the right of women to vote, built a campaign building for the press behind their house and worked hand in hand with the ladies of the press. On November 2, 1920, she became the first First Lady to vote for her husband (Women won the right to vote in August, 1920).

First Lady:
March 4, 1921-August 2, 1923. Today it is hard to realize how very popular Mrs. Harding was in her short time in the White House. She was warm, folksy, and outgoing. She loved the "hoopla" as she called it and made a real effort to see any and all who wanted to meet her. She made herself available to the press, and went to impromptu conferences, often dropping hint of what was up (off the record, of course). She opened the White House to everyone and often took tours to the second floor. Even at the expense of her health, she drove herself to be always visible and ready to go. Remembering her age (she was sixty), she made a real attempt to appear vital and energetic. Her garden parties, given for the veterans of the First World War - "her boys" as she called them - were famous. Appalled at the poor treatment given to veterans, Mrs. Harding worked hard to improve their conditions. She visited the veteran's hospitals and attended charity dinners. She was known to stop the White House car and give a soldier on crutches a lift. She worried incessantly about Harding's grasp of events and had the Cabinet report to her. Warren was surprised at how adept his wife was on government affairs. She involved herself on all issues of humanity, from the Armenian Relief to the protection of animals. She had sentences reduced for some civil cases and even had children removed from the penal system, because she felt they were too young to be sent to jail. She worried about the president's moral weaknesses and fretted at chances he took with the presidency. She collapsed from kidney failure in September 1922 and it was six months before she felt well enough to resume her duties. In the summer on 1923, the Hardings became aware that they were being implicated in a corruption scandal involving their cronies from Ohio. They decided to travel across the country, to tell the people their side of the story. He would go west, to Canada and Alaska, speaking the whole way. Neither the Hardings were well and the President's health collapsed while on tour. He died on the evening of August 2, 1923 in San Francisco. Mrs. refused to allow an autopsy, leading to the rumors that she poisoned him. After a long and exhausting trip back to Washington, Florence Harding faced the State funeral, the trip to Marion, and burial with remarkable courage. When she departed the White House on August 16, 1923, she never looked back.

Last Years and Death:
Mrs. Harding spent of her time arranging the creation of the Harding Memorial Association. She went through her husband's papers and burned those that would reflect badly on him. She was busy and active, but entirely lonely. She returned to Washington in January 1924, living at the new Willard Hotel. She seemed reasonably healthy and pleased with ideas of taking a trip to Europe. In July 1924, however, her doctor asked her come to sanatorium in Marion, Ohio because he was alarmed by her health. Her last public appearance was in the fall of 1924 to walk the Veterans' March in a parade in the drenching rain. She developed a chill and never recovered.

Death: November 21, 1924

Age at Death: 64 years, 98 days

Burial: Marion, Ohio

Legacy:
For many years, Florence Harding was remembered as a bitter wife who drove her husband out of the home and into the White House. Her popularity in 1923 was quickly lost amidst the Harding scandals. Because she saved few of her papers, her image became fixed as the terrible wife of the worst president of our history. In the last twenty years, that has all changed. From recent research, it is evident that Florence Kling Harding was an intelligent, ambitious, and philosophical woman who made her own way in a man's world. She was divorced with a child and supported herself. She married the man she loved and built a career with him. She created the first modern presidential partnership. She worked for women, veterans, abused animals, children in prisons, and the increased role of women in politics, all while retaining her popularity. Her tragedy was to have been eighty years ahead of her time and to have chosen such a weak man as her partner.