A Secret Life

The child was born on September 14, 1874, at the only hospital in Buffalo, New York, that offered maternity services for unwed mothers. It was a boy, and though he entered the world in a state of illegitimacy, a distinguished name was given to this newborn: Oscar Folsom Cleveland--the son of the future president of the United States-Grover Cleveland. The story of how the man who held the nation's highest office never took responsibility for his son is a thrilling one that reads like a romance novel-including allegations of rape, physical violence, and prostitution. The stunning lengths that Cleveland undertook to conceal what really happened the evening of his son's conception are truly astonishing-including forcing the unwed mother, Maria Halpin, into an insane asylum.