Everything about Jessie Benton Fr Mont totally explained
Jessie Ann Benton Frémont (
May 31,
1824 –
December 27,
1902) was an
American writer and
political activist.
Notably remembered for being the daughter of
Missouri Senator Thomas Hart Benton and the wife of
military officer,
explorer and
politician,
John C. Frémont, she wrote many stories that were printed in popular
magazines of the time as well as several
books of historical value. Her writings, which helped support her family during times of financial difficulty, were
memoirs of her husband's, and her own, time in the
American West—back when the West was an exotic
frontier.
A great supporter of her husband, who was one of the first two Senators of the new
U.S. state of
California and a
Governor of the
Territory of Arizona, she was outspoken on political issues and a determined opponent of slavery, which was excluded from the formation of California. By maintaining a high level of political involvement during a period that was extremely unfavorable for women, Jessie Benton Frémont proved herself to be years ahead of her time.
Early life
She was born near
Lexington, Virginia, the second child of Thomas Hart Benton (
1782-
1858) and Elizabeth McDowell (
1794-
1854). She was born in the home of her mother's father, James McDowell. Her father, Senator Benton, had been wanting a son, but went ahead and named her in honor of his father, Jesse Benton.
Jessie was raised in
Washington, D.C., more in the manner of a
19th century son than daughter, with her father, who was renowned as the "Great Expansionist," seeing to her early education and introducing her to the leading politicians of the day, an unusual thing for the period. Jessie was very close to her father and stuck by his side. He shared with her the many books and maps in the valise that always accompanied him on their trips to and from Missouri and Virginia. She began, too, to share his dream of a nation stretching from ocean to ocean. In this manner, she became well educated in the ways of
social structure and the disciplines of
politics,
history,
literature and
languages.
After attaining some fluency in
French and
Spanish, Jessie helped in the
translation of
government documents.
At age 17, while studying and living at Georgetown Seminary, she met Lieutenant
John C. Frémont. Later that year, despite the disapproval of her father, they
eloped and were married on
October 19,
1841.
American West
For a while after their marriage, Jessie and her husband lived on
Army posts, until Frémont was assigned the task of
exploring the
West and scouting land for future
U.S. territorial expansion. It was this assignment that began the couple's rise to fame.
A reconciliation occurred between Jessie and her father when he promoted Frémont's famous explorations of the West. Senator Benton had been persuaded by his ailing wife to accept the marriage, and the couple moved into the Benton home. Frémont left his pregnant wife behind in the
spring of
1842 to lead his first expedition to mark the trails West. He returned, however, days before the birth of their eldest child, Elizabeth Benton "Lily" Frémont, who was born
November 15,
1842, in Washington D.C. He then headed off again and Jessie and the baby remained behind.
Frémont became known as the "Pathfinder to the West." Jessie, intensely interested in the details of his expedition, became his recorder, making notes as he described his experiences. Adding human-interest touches to these printed reports, she wrote and edited best-selling stories of the adventures Frémont had while exploring the West with his scout,
Kit Carson. Thus, she involved herself in her most happy life's work, interpreting her husband and his actions for a public eager for information about the opening of the West. Written during a time when the concept of
Manifest Destiny was becoming increasingly popular, these narratives were received with great enthusiasm.
Her husband was instrumental in the conquest of
California, successfully taking it from
Mexico as a
Territory of the
United States. He served as the 3
Military Governor, in
1847. At the time of the
court-martial of Frémont, during which he attempted to defend his actions in the
Bear Flag Revolt, Jessie gave birth to a son, Benton Frémont, on
July 24,
1848, in Washington, D.C. The baby's death, within the year in St. Louis, she blamed on her husband's accuser, General
Kearny.
In
1849, Jessie and Lily made a harrowing and treacherous journey aboard ship to join Frémont in California. After disembarking and crossing the
Isthmus of
Panama, they boarded another vessel to
San Francisco. With income from their
gold mines, the Frémonts established a home and settled into San Francisco society. As a politically informed woman, Jessie was known to get involved in city politics and discuss with the men any issues that were of importance at the time.
Politics
John C. Frémont served from
September 9,
1850, to
March 3,
1851, as
Senator from California. Their third child, John C. Frémont, Jr., was born
April 19, 1851, at Las Mariposas, California. While the couple was visiting
Paris,
France, their fourth child, Anne Beverly Frémont, was born on
February 1,
1853. She died five months later, on
July 11, in Washington, D.C. Their fifth and final child, Francis Preston "Frank" Frémont, was born on
May 17,
1855, in Washington.
In
1856, Frémont's antislavery position was instrumental in his being chosen as the first-ever
Republican candidate for
President. Jessie played an extremely active role in the
campaign, rallying support for her husband. One particular
campaign slogan read, "Frémont and Jessie too." Her father, however, a lifelong
Democrat, refused to endorse her husband's bid for the presidency.
Frémont garnered many
Northern votes, but ultimately lost the
election to
James Buchanan, though he did surpass the
American Party candidate,
Millard Fillmore. Frémont was unable to carry the state of California. If he'd taken the state of
Pennsylvania he'd have won.
In the years following, the couple moved around a lot, living in California,
St. Louis and
New York. When President
Lincoln appointed Frémont as the Commander of the Department of the West in
1861, they returned to St. Louis.
Jessie served as her husband's unofficial aide and closest adviser. They shared the belief that St. Louis was unprepared for war and needed reinforcements and supplies, and both pressured
Washington, to send more supplies and troops. She threw herself into the war effort, helping to organize a Soldier's Relief Society in St. Louis, and becoming very active in the Western
Sanitary Commission, which provided medicine and nursing to soldiers injured in the war.
One of the most impressive feats of her political career came shortly after Frémont lost his position during the
Civil War for issuing his own edict of
emancipation, summarily freeing all of the slaves in Missouri, which antedated Lincoln's own
Emancipation Proclamation. Jessie actually traveled to Washington, and pleaded with Lincoln on behalf of her husband, but to no avail.
Later years
The Frémonts wouldn't live in St. Louis again, moving to New York and then California, where she was that state's first First Lady. In the
Panic of 1873, John C. Frémont, who had
invested heavily in railroad
stock, lost everything and declared
bankruptcy. Undaunted by their financial situation, Jessie began writing books to help support the family, namely
A Year of American Travel: Narrative of Personal Experience (
1878), a story about her journey to California in
1849, and
Souvenirs of My Time (
1887).
From 1878 to
1881, Frémont served as
Governor of the
Territory of Arizona. Three months after being allowed to resign from the Army with
pension, John C. Frémont died in
1890 in a hotel in New York.
After the death of her husband, the
Congress, in recognition of his valued services, granted Jessie a widow's pension of $2,000 a year. In
1891, she moved into a home at the corner of 28th and Hoover Streets in
Los Angeles, that was presented to her by a committee of ladies of the city as a token of their great regard. She remained in good health until about two and a half years before her death when an accident made her an invalid, but she was able to use a wheelchair and enjoy the outdoors.
Jessie Benton Frémont died at age 78 at her home in Los Angeles. A huge box of fragrant and beautiful roses were sent on
December 29,
1902, by
Mrs. James A. Garfield. The rites of the
Episcopal Church were conducted at 10:30 a.m. on
December 30, at Christ Church, on the corner of Pico and Flower Streets. She was
cremated and her ashes
interred in
Rosedale Cemetery.
Works
- The Story of the Guard: A Chronicle of the War (1863)
- A Year of American Travel: Narrative of Personal Experience (1878)
- Souvenirs of My Time (1887)
- Far-West Sketches (1890)
- The Will and the Way Stories (1891)
- The Origin of the Frémont Explorations (1891)
» The book
Memoirs of My Life (1887) by John C. Frémont includes
Sketch of Senator Benton by Jessie Benton Frémont.
Letters
The letters of Jessie Benton Frémont (1993) edited by Pamela Herr and Mary Lee Spence, Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
» Collection of 271 letters offering insights into the mind and heart of the author, across the span of her life, including her husband's presidential campaign, her role in the Civil War, her time as First Lady of the Territory of Arizona, and her impressions of the late 1800s in California.
Books about her
Jessie Benton Frémont: A Biography (1987) by Pamela Herr
Jessie Benton Frémont: A Woman who Made History (1995) by Catherine Coffin Phillips
Jessie Benton Frémont: Missouri's Trailblazer (2005) by Ilene Stone and Suzanna M. Grenz
Passion and Principle: John and Jessie Frémont, the Couple Whose Power, Politics, and Love Shaped Nineteenth-century America (2007) by Sally Denton
In fiction
Immortal Wife: The Biographical Novel of Jessie Benton Frémont (1944) by Irving StoneFurther Information
Get more info on 'Jessie Benton Fr Mont'.
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