Family Dynamics & Background

A timeline of events in Jessie Frémonts life.

Life of Jessie Frémont

     Prior to meeting John Frémont, Jessie suffered hardships with her family, particularly her father. When Jessie was just 16, John courted her at the age of 27. Her parents disapproved of this relationship so much so that John and Jessie had a runaway marriage. This act, on Jessie's part, represents her overwhelming dedication to her husband which we will see continue during his political career.1

    Throughout Jessie’s career, she was primarily viewed as the wife of John Frémont, with little recognition for her writings. However, she supported her family financially with writing as she wrote 50+ stories. Additionally, her writings became a hot commodity as, “Jessie Frémont broke new ground for women by publicly campaigning with her husband”. John Frémont was one of the first senators in California and eventually ran as the first Republican presidential nominee in the 1840s, but he lost. Jessie Frémont’s writing had a drastic impact on the nation as she contributed to feminization politics and was the “face of the political future”.2

    Jessie’s writings and her relationship with her husband, John were incredibly important. Their family struggled financially after the end of the Civil War when John’s bad business ventures nearly bankrupted them. During this time period Jessie released more than fifty pieces of writing, primarily consisting of children's stories and reminiscences. There is an account of a number of recovered letters between Jessie and various family members and friends that shows her deep love for John, as well as her keen political mind and intellect, with a focus on her strong abolitionist views.3

1Herbon, Lorraine D., "Public Wife: The Life of Jessie Benton Fremont. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2022. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/7189

2Petrulionis, Sandra Harbert. "Jessie Ann Benton Fremont (1824-1902). (Legacy Profile)." Legacy: A Journal of American Women Writers 18, no. 2 (2001): 232+. Gale OneFile: Business (accessed October 24, 2024). https://link-gale-com.proxy1.cl.msu.edu/apps/doc/A87079317/ITBC?u=msu_main&sid=ebsco&xid=c5e6cdd0.

3Frémont, Jessie Benton, Pamela Herr, and Mary Lee Spence. “‘By the Sundown Sea’: The Los Angeles Letters of Jessie Benton Frémont, 1888-1902.” California History 71, no. 4 (1992): 478–93. https://doi.org/10.2307/25161624.

In 1890, women's groups across California came together to raise funds for a special gift for Jessie Frémont and her daughter, a new custom built home. The money was pooled, and a modern innovative house was constructed to honor Jessie and her family. The design of the house reflected the nation's appreciation for the Frémonts' contributions.1

1Public wife: The life of jessie benton fremont. Page 323-324 Accessed December 1, 2024. https://trace.tennessee.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=8730&context=utk_graddiss.

Pictures of Jessie Frémont in Her Later Years

Jessie Benton Fremont and company at her home in Los Angeles (1892)

Jessie Benton Fremont and her nurse, Louamie Hicks. (1901)

Family Dynamics & Background