Conditions Governing Use:

Before reproducing or quoting from any materials, in whole or in part, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library.

Conditions Governing Access:

Collection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility.

Preferred Citation:

President Grover Cleveland Collection, Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, College of William and Mary

Biographical / Historical

Flora Adams Darling was born in New Hampshire in 1840, a descendant of Henry Adams who settled in Braintree, Massachusetts, in 1636. She married Col. Edward Irving Darling, 22 years her senior, in 1860, and went with him to live at his Louisiana home. He died of wounds received in battle, December 2, 1863. Her only son was Edward Erving Darling, a minor musician-composer, who died July 13, 1894. Mrs. Darling suffered from repeated attacks of malarial fever and, after 1876, from deafness. Her years of widowhood were spent in writing Mrs. Darling's Letters, or Memoirs of the Civil War, A Social Diplomat, and other books. From 1889 to 1896 her major interests and efforts were devoted to the founding of women's patriotic societies. Mrs. Darling's obsession for organizing and ruling patriotic societies, and her willingness to abandon one when her opinion or desires were thwarted, is illustrated by the rapid succession with which the societies followed each other: Daughters of the American Revolution (D.A.R.) founded October 11, 1890; Daughters of the Revolution (D.R.) founded June 18, 1891; Daughters of the United States of the War of 1812, founded January 8, 1892; founded because of disagreement over policies of the D. A. R., policies adopted over the protest of Mrs. Darling. This collection is composed almost entirely of letters written to her during these years of controversy. There are some delightful, pithy and well-written letters in the group. Further information about this individual or organization may be available in the Special Collections Research Center Wiki: .

Administrative History:

Flora A. Darling was the founder of the United States Daughters and the president   from 1892-1897 and Mrs. Augustus Ramon Salas was an early charter member.

Biographical Information:

Flora Adams Darling was born in New Hampshire in 1840, a descendant of Henry Adams who settled in Braintree, Massachusetts, in 1636. She married Col. Edward Irving Darling, 22 years her senior, in 1860, and went with him to live at his Louisiana home. He died of wounds received in battle, December 2, 1863. Her only son was Edward Erving Darling, a minor musician-composer, who died July 13, 1894. Mrs. Darling suffered from repeated attacks of malarial fever and, after 1876, from deafness. Her years of widowhood were spent in writing Mrs. Darling's Letters, or Memoirs of the Civil War, A Social Diplomat, and other books.

From 1889 to 1896 her major interests and efforts were devoted to the founding of women's patriotic societies. Mrs. Darling's obsession for organizing and ruling patriotic societies, and her willingness to abandon one when her opinion or desires were thwarted, is illustrated by the rapid succession with which the societies followed each other: Daughters of the American Revolution (D.A.R.) founded October 11, 1890; Daughters of the Revolution (D.R.) founded June 18, 1891; Daughters of the United States of the War of 1812, founded January 8, 1892; founded because of disagreement over policies of the D. A. R., policies adopted over the protest of Mrs. Darling. This collection is composed almost entirely of letters written to her during these years of controversy. There are some delightful, pithy and well-written letters in the group. Further information about this individual or organization may be available in the Special Collections Research Center Wiki: .

Administrative History:

Flora A. Darling was the founder of the United States Daughters and the president   from 1892-1897 and Mrs. Augustus Ramon Salas was an early charter member.

Scope and Contents

Collection of Grover Cleveland items given and collected by Flora A. Darling.  Includes a letter from Mrs. Frances F. Cleveland, Lakewood, New Jersey, to Mrs. Augustus Ramon Salas declining the Presidency of the United States Daughters [of 1812], May 11, 1892.  August 27, 1887 document with the Presidental Seal and signature of Glover Cleveland, President  .  Typed black bordered announcement of the death of Hon. Glover Cleveland, "A Proclamation by the President   of the United States [Theodore Roosevelt]," June 24, 1908.

Related Material

Flora Adams Darling Papers, 1862-1908 (Mss. 39.1 D25)

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Cleveland, Grover, 1837-1908
• Letters (correspondence)
• National Society, United States Daughters of 1812
• United States-- Presidents