Are We Related?: Cleveland

August 27, 2024

Many family historians are thrilled when they can connect famous people to their own genealogy. This month I attempted to tie my 4x great-grandmother with a presidential surname to Grover Cleveland (trivia: His first name was actually Stephen). The president in question had several Hoosier connections. Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president, uniquely he was the predecessor and subsequent successor to Hoosier President Benjamin Harrison. Cleveland’s first vice-president, Thomas Hendricks, also from Indiana had been a U.S. Senator and governor for the state before taking on the higher office. Hendricks died during the first year of his vice presidency and was never replaced as a plan for v-p succession was not yet established at the time.

Materials featuring Grover Cleveland found in the IHS collections. IHS (cropped), IHS (cropped), IHS, P0482.

Besides being most well-known as the only non-consecutive two-term president, Cleveland won the popular vote three successive elections, but he lost the electoral college during the second run in 1888 to Harrison. Cleveland was one of the few bachelor presidents, and subsequently the only one to marry while serving in the White House, though other weddings have occurred there.

Cleveland’s family arrived in what would become the United States from England in the mid-1630s. Moses Cleveland (or Cleaveland) was the first family member to immigrate to the Massachusetts Colony. I’ve seen it noted that most people who share this surname draw their ancestry back to this early Cleveland/Cleaveland immigrant share this line.

This blogger and her son visit the gravesite of A. (Arza) B. Spencer in the National Cemetery in New Albany, Indiana. Spencer was the husband of Eliza Cleveland and died during the Civil War. The blogger’s son took his first independent steps in this cemetery. Author’s collection (cropped)

My most recent relative with the Cleveland surname was Eliza Spencer. She was my 4x great grandmother. Her husband, Arza B. Spencer, died of disease during the Civil War. He was the first ancestor I directly tied to Civil War service. When he passed, my 3x great grandfather, Alfred, was about 4 years old. Alfred eventually married and his wife gave him a son in 1885. Unfortunately, Alfred died when my 2x great grandfather, Melvin, was an infant.

With all the deaths of these men while their children were young, the ability to pass down certain bits of information or visual evidence of our relationships, especially photographs, was limited. I do not have any images of my descendants of Eliza Cleveland until we reach Melvin who lived into his upper 80s, far exceeding his father and grandfather. So, while I have some digital documentation found through newspapers and ancestry records, I don’t have any evidence of what my Cleveland surnamed ancestors looked like until they were 2 generations removed.

Amy Vedra, IHS Director of Reference Services, Melvin Spencer and family members, Melvin Spencer, and finally, a full-length portrait of Grover Cleveland. Vedra/Spencer Images, Author’s Collection (cropped); Cleveland photograph, Library of Congress Collection (cropped) [digital copy retrieved 24 August 2024]

There is still the question though…did my Cleveland line also descend from Moses Cleveland, early immigrant to the American colonies? Or really to the heart of the issue, and as the tag line to the blog reads, are Grover and I related. The answer to both is yes! Grover Cleveland is my ancestor, Eliza’s, 4^th cousin, making the president my 4^th cousin, 6x removed. From the above pictures featuring Eliza’s grandson, Melvin, me, and Grover Cleveland, there aren’t any overt familial similarities. It appears they’ve all filtered out of one side or another by the time these family members were born

Also, while not close, this is a connection my 10-year-old son, who’s practically a presidential historian at this point, will happily proclaim. Unfortunately for him, he must add one more ‘removed’ to accurately tout his bragging rights. I hope you enjoyed this blog and encourage you to view more of our content on our Blog site, including the previous 10(!) Are We Related series blogs

Amy Vedra is the director of reference services. She is currently reading her way through the Great American Reads list.

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