Florence "Flossie" Mabel Kling Harding (previously DeWolfe) (August 15, 1860 – November 21, 1924), wife of Warren G. Harding, was First Lady of the United States from 1921 to 1923.
Born in Marion, Ohio, the daughter of Amos Kling, a prominent Marion banker, and Louisa Bouton-Kling, "Flossie" was a headstrong, dowdy woman, somewhat masculine in manner, with a piercing voice and blue eyes.
Pregnant at age 19, Florence eloped with Henry "Pete" Athen...
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Florence "Flossie" Mabel Kling Harding (previously DeWolfe) (August 15, 1860 – November 21, 1924), wife of Warren G. Harding, was First Lady of the United States from 1921 to 1923.
Born in Marion, Ohio, the daughter of Amos Kling, a prominent Marion banker, and Louisa Bouton-Kling, "Flossie" was a headstrong, dowdy woman, somewhat masculine in manner, with a piercing voice and blue eyes.
Pregnant at age 19, Florence eloped with Henry "Pete" Athenton DeWolfe, her childhood friend and neighbor, in 1880. To date, scholastic researchers have been unable to locate official documentation or a legal marriage license for the couple, leading to the belief that Pete DeWolfe and Florence Kling were never civilly married, but instead declared common law marriage as allowed at the time in Ohio. DeWolfe proved a spendthrift and a heavy drinker. Shortly after the birth of their son Marshall Eugene DeWolfe (also known as Marshall Eugene Kling) in 1880, Florence left her husband and returned to Marion...
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