Jane Appleton Pierce, wife of Franklin Pierce, 14th president of the United States, died December 2, 1863. She was 56.

Mrs. Pierce was born Jane Appleton on March 12, 1806 in Hampton, New Hampshire. Brought up in a strict religious home, Jane’s father was a minister and president of Bowdoin College from 1807-19.

When her father died in 1819, Jane’s mother moved her family to Amherst, New Hampshire. There she met Bowdoin graduate Franklin Pierce, a lawyer, and aspirant to a political career.

They married in 1834. Her husband, now a U.S. Congressman, was becoming a force in New Hampshire politics. He was elected U.S. Senator in 1837.

Meanwhile, the Pierces’ personal life was experiencing tragedy. Two of their children had died at early ages, one at age 3 days and the other of typhus in 1843.

Franklin retired from the Senate in 1842, due in part to family concerns, including his wife’s disdain for Washington, D.C. life.

Promoted to brigadier general during the Mexican War, Pierce returned home a war hero. The Pierces began living a quiet life in Concord, New Hampshire. Jane was delighted to have her family to herself. She was happy to be raising her one surviving son, Benjamin, in a safe, quiet environment.

But politics wouldn’t leave her husband be. Nominated by the Democratic Party in 1852, Pierce won a comfortable victory over war hero Winfield Scott. Jane was not happy about their impending life in the White House. Their son, whom they called Benny, also told his mother he was not happy about the change in their lives.

Tragedy struck the Pierce family for a third time on January 6, 1853, as they made their way to Washington by rail. The car they were riding in derailed and eleven year old Benny was killed instantly. They were in a state of shock. All of their children were now dead.

Jane Pierce didn’t attend the inaugural ball, and it was all she could do to serve out the next four years as official hostess of the White House. She relied on others to help with her duties.

When they left the White House in 1857, Mrs. Pierce was almost an invalid. The tragedies surrounding her children’s deaths, especially Benny, had taken their toll. An extended trip abroad did little to lift her spirits.

They eventually returned home to Concord, where Mrs. Pierce died on December 2, 1863. She was buried next to her son Benny.