page_title: Florence Harding
section_title: Marriage to Harding
hierarchical_section_title: Florence Harding / Marriage to Harding
caption_attribution_description: English: Title: Mrs. Harding Abstract/medium: 1 negative&#160;: glass&#160;; 8 x 6 in.
context_page_description: Florence Mabel Harding was the First Lady of the United States from 1921 to 1923 as the wife of President Warren G. Harding.
  Florence married Pete De Wolfe at a young age and had a son, Marshall. After divorcing him, she married the somewhat-younger Harding when he was a newspaper publisher in Ohio, and she was acknowledged as the brains behind the business. Known as The Duchess, she adapted well to the White House, where she gave notably elegant parties.
context_section_description: In 1890, Florence became engaged to Warren Harding. They married on July 8, 1891, opposed by her father, who thought Warren was social climbing and had a wealthier suitor in mind for his daughter. He repeated a rumor that Harding had black ancestry and threatened to shoot the young man at the courthouse. After the wedding, which Florence's mother secretly attended, the couple embarked on a honeymoon tour of Chicago, St. Paul, Yellowstone, and the Great Lakes. The new Mrs. Harding made the unconventional decision not to wear a wedding ring. Warren referred to her as "the boss", while she affectionately called him "Sonny."
  They had no children of their own, but Florence's son Marshall lived with them intermittently and received encouragement from Warren to work in journalism. When her husband entered the Battle Creek Sanitarium for depression in January 1894, Florence became the informal business manager of the Marion Star though never had any official role, immediately demonstrating both the talent and the character to run a newspaper. She organised a circulation department, improved distribution, trained the newsboys, and purchased equipment at keen prices. Her newsboys became known as "Mrs. Harding's boys" throughout the town, and she alternatively gave out awards for achievement and doled out physical punishment. Some Marion children began to fear Florence for paddling the boys in the street. One of the newsboys, Norman Thomas, later the Socialist presidential candidate, declared that Warren was the front-man, but Florence was the real driving power of the Marion Star. 
  Warren returned to work on the Star in December 1894 though Florence continued to nurse him at home. After the Spanish-American War broke out in 1898, Florence was instrumental in developing the first wire report. Although she never wrote any articles, she did suggest stories based on leads she had, particularly stories to appeal to women. She hired the first woman reporter in Ohio, Jane Dixon, and supported her when there was a backlash from the people of Marion. Through Florence's leadership, the Star prospered and increased its revenue. She also knew about the machinery of the newspaper plant and how to fix it. Though Warren was not particularly supportive of women's rights at the time, belittling rallies for temperance, he greatly appreciated his wife's help at the office and respected her frank opinions. Florence wrote of her husband, "he does well when he listens to me and poorly when he does not."
  Florence encouraged her husband in his first political run for state senate in 1899. She managed the finances and fended off unsurprising objections from her father, who enlisted Mark Hanna for help, though Warren was ultimately elected. Florence observed the legislature from the balcony and frequently made trips to newspaper offices to win her husband good coverage and observe their operations. She also began her custom of consulting with an astrologer during this first stint in Columbus. Encouraging her husband to be pragmatic and not to alienate anyone, he was reelected in 1901. In 1903, he was elected lieutenant governor. Journalist Mark Sullivan wrote of Florence, "As a wife, she had that particular kind of eagerness to make good which, in a personality that is at once superficial and unsure of itself, sometimes manifests itself in a too strenuous activity, a too steady staying on the job." 
  In February 1905, Florence needed emergency surgery for nephroptosis ('floating kidney'), and was initially treated by homeopathic doctor Charles E. Sawyer. His close links with the Harding family, and Florence's total trust and dependence on him, would later prove controversial. Sawyer referred Florence to Dr. Jamez Fairchild Baldwin, who "wired" the kidney in place and did not remove it due to heart damage that she had already suffered. Confined to a hospital bed for weeks, Florence later stated this experience made her more empathetic for hospital patients. During her convalescence, Warren began an affair with a close friend of hers, Carrie Phillips, who had
caption: Portrait of Florence
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