She was left widowed again in 1901. Towards 1910 she visited Bagni di Lucca, taking residence at the Continental Hotel and later bought casa Bernardini at Bagno alla Villa, where she starter to live with her re-found friend Rose Cleveland and with the writer and illustrator Nelly Ericksen.
During the years of the first world war and especially after the intervention of the United States, she along with her two friends became an untiring organizer of aid work for the families of townspeople called to arms. Her charitable spirit however became manifest above all when after the military disaster of Caporetto in 1917, a penniless group of refugees were invited to Bagni di Lucca, she organized at her own expense a boarding school for the children of these people run by the Stimmatine nuns, which took in around one hundred children. In 1918 the Spanish flu, which cost six million deaths in Europe, claimed the lives of her two friends who both died in the same week and were buried in the English cemetery in Bagni di Lucca, where today it is still possible to visit their tombs. Evangeline Whipple wrote a lovely book on Bagni di Lucca entitled «A Famous Corner of Tuscany », published in London in 1928, in which she concentrated mostly on describing the famous people that passed their summers in the resort.
Evangeline Whipple & Rose Cleveland were buried together in the English Cemetery at Bagni di Lucca. Before Evangeline’s death in 1930, she directed her executors to bury her next to Rose. Nelly Erichsen, their friend, is buried next to them.
Rose Cleveland was the sister of Pres. Grover Cleveland and for 2 years his first lady. Later she became the principal of the Collegiate Institute of Lafayette, Indiana, a writer and lecturer, and the editor of the Chicago-based magazine Literary Life. At age 44, she started a passionate correspondence with a wealthy widow, Evangeline Simpson, with explicitly erotic correspondence. In 1910 the two women moved to Bagni di Lucca, Italy, to live together. They shared the house with the English illustrator and artist Nelly Erichsen. Rose died at home during the 1918 flu pandemic, within one week of Nelly.
During this period, Having bought the property from the Burlamacchi, she completely restored the so called small house, “Casa Piccola” (now Villa San Francesco), situated opposite the garden which is on the back of the large house “Casa Grande” owned by the Burlamacchi, The Small House had its own separate access which a nice stone drive which leads down the Piazza del Bagno and its Thermal Baths.
She died in London September 1, 1930, but wanted her body to be laid to rest in Bagni di Lucca next to the tombs of the two friends who had proceeded her.
“Ah, how I love you, it paralyzes me—it makes me heavy with emotion…. I tremble at the thought of you—all my whole being leans out to you…. I dare not think of your arms.” --Rose to Evangeline. “Oh, darling, come to me this night—my Clevy, my Viking, my Everything—Come! —Evangeline to Rose
Source: http://www.villasanfrancesco.net/Tuscany/Villa/Villa-Tuscany-Bagni-di-Lucca-story-Evangeline-Whipple.html
Rose Elizabeth Cleveland was born in Fayetteville, New York, on June 14, 1846. Known to her family as "Libby", Rose was the youngest of nine children born to Reverend Richard Falley Cleveland and Ann Neal Cleveland. In 1853 the family moved to Holland Patent, New York, where her father was settled as pastor of the Presbyterian church, and where he died that same year. Rose was 7 at the time of her father's death.
She stayed in Holland Patent to care for her widowed mother. Grover Cleveland, Rose's elder brother, was 16 years old at the time. Determined to support his family, Grover left school, and he headed off to New York City to work as a teacher at the State School for the Blind to help support his family. Rose was educated at Houghton seminary in Clinton, New York and she became a teacher at Houghton in order to support herself and her widowed mother.
Rose also taught at the Collegiate Institute in Lafayette, Indiana, and at a girls school in Muncy, Pennsylvania, where she taught in the late 1860s. At Muncy Seminary Rose was known for her strong personality and independence.
Rose gained a nickname throughout her circle of friends in Muncy, they called her "Johnny Cleveland" because she was usually found reading a book under an old tree at a nearby farm. Rose then prepared a course of historical lectures; one lecture in particular focused on Altruistic Faith, which she delivered before the students of Houghton seminary and at other schools.
In the 1880s Rose returned to Holland Patent to care for her ailing mother. During this time Rose taught at Sunday School and did some work in literature. When not employed in this manner, she devoted herself to her aged mother in the homestead at Holland Patent until her mother's death in 1882. After Ann Neal Cleveland's death, Rose was left alone at the homestead known as "The Weeds."
Rose continued to teach Sunday School and give lectures; one lecture on altruistic faith in which she stated,
"We cannot touch humanity at large, except as we touch humanity in the individual. We make the world a better place through our concrete relationships, not through our vague, general good will. We must each find a true partner someone who understands and appreciates us, someone whose faith in us brings out our best efforts. Our deepest craving is for recognition-to be known by another human being for what we truly are," can help provide an understanding on what she believed and stood for.When her elder brother, Grover Cleveland, won the election as 22nd President of the United States, Rose became First Lady and lived in the White House for two years. She stood by her brother as First Lady during his inauguration and his two initial bachelor years in the White House.
During her early tenure as First Lady, Rose received front-page treatment from the New York Times about her appearance during her second reception at the White House. The newspaper reported that Miss Cleveland wore a dress of black satin, with entire overdress of Spanish lace. The satin bodice was cut low and sleeveless, and the transparent lace revealed the shoulders and arms. Rose Cleveland did not completely fit into Washington high society. It was said, "Rose Cleveland was a bluestocking, more interested in pursuing scholarly endeavors than in entertaining cabinet wives and foreign dignitaries." Rose was an intellectual, and she preferred to lecture rather than entertain, but she made sure to perform her duties as First Lady as a favor to her brother.
When President Cleveland married Frances Folsom, Rose resigned and began a career in education. She became the principal of the Collegiate Institute of Lafayette, Indiana, a writer and lecturer, and the editor of the Chicago-based magazine Literary Life.
At age 44, she started a lesbian relationship with a wealthy widow, Evangeline Simpson, with explicitly erotic correspondence. However things cooled off when Evangeline married an Episcopal bishop from Minnesota, Henry Benjamin Whipple. By 1910, after his death, the two women rekindled their relationship and eventually moved to Bagni di Lucca, Italy to live there together. They shared the house with the English illustrator and artist Nelly Erichsen. Rose died at home on November 22, 1918 at 7:32 in the evening during the 1918 flu pandemic. She was buried there in the English Cemetery, and Evangeline was also buried next to Rose in the same cemetery 12 years later.
She published a volume of lectures and essays under the title George Eliot's Poetry, and other Studies (New York, 1885), The Long Run, a novel (1886), "You and I: Or Moral, Intellectual and Social Culture", "How to Win: A Book for Girls" (1887) published with feminist leader Frances Willard, and wrote the introduction for "Social Mirror: A Complete Treatise on the Laws, Rules and Usages that Govern our Most Refined Homes and Social Circles". She translated "The Soliloquies of St. Augustine" (Boston: Little, Brown and Co. 1910), for which she wrote a lengthy introduction and extensive critical notes.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose_Cleveland
Paperback: 760 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; 1 edition (July 1, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1500563323
ISBN-13: 978-1500563325
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Days of Love chronicles more than 700 LGBT couples throughout history, spanning 2000 years from Alexander the Great to the most recent winner of a Lambda Literary Award. Many of the contemporary couples share their stories on how they met and fell in love, as well as photos from when they married or of their families. Included are professional portraits by Robert Giard and Stathis Orphanos, paintings by John Singer Sargent and Giovanni Boldini, and photographs by Frances Benjamin Johnson, Arnold Genthe, and Carl Van Vechten among others. “It's wonderful. Laying it out chronologically is inspired, offering a solid GLBT history. I kept learning things. I love the decision to include couples broken by death. It makes clear how important love is, as well as showing what people have been through. The layout and photos look terrific.” Christopher Bram “I couldn’t resist clicking through every page. I never realized the scope of the book would cover centuries! I know that it will be hugely validating to young, newly-emerging LGBT kids and be reassured that they really can have a secure, respected place in the world as their futures unfold.” Howard Cruse “This international history-and-photo book, featuring 100s of detailed bios of some of the most forward-moving gay persons in history, is sure to be one of those bestsellers that gay folk will enjoy for years to come as reference and research that is filled with facts and fun.” Jack Fritscher
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