Their only surviving son, Benjamin, was killed in a train accident before Franklin's inauguration, sending Jane into a deep depression that afflicted her for the rest of her life.

A Puritan, Pierce was strictly religious and believed the tragedies she suffered were divine retribution for her and her husband's sins.

[1]: 89 [2]: 188–189  Her father's religious practices included a strict fasting diet that caused his health to decline, leading to his death in 1819.

[5] She attended the prestigious Miss Catherine Fiske's Young Ladies Seminary in Keene, New Hampshire,[2]: 189  where she received an education of a higher quality than women could typically access.

[10] Appleton's family opposed the relationship for a number of reasons, including their difference in class, his poor manners, his drinking, his tolerance of slavery,[1]: 89  his Episcopalian beliefs,[9]: 96  and his political aspirations.

In 1835, she attended the White House New Year's Day reception with her husband and met President Andrew Jackson.

[6]: 241–244  Following the end of her husband's term in the Senate, Pierce was able to live a domestic life with her family together at home.

President James K. Polk offered Franklin an appointment as United States Attorney General, but he turned it down due to Jane's objection.

[1]: 91  Pierce was also affected by the deaths of her predecessor Abigail Fillmore and Vice President William R. King over the following weeks.

[2]: 190 [9]: 98–99 For the first few months of her husband's term, Pierce did not take visitors and only sparingly attended public receptions,[14] and she entertained only family and friends.

[3]: 111  She did not host social events or supervise the White House in the traditional role of first lady, leaving these responsibilities to her aunt and close friend Abby Kent-Means.

Pierce's cousin Amos A. Lawrence described the effect this had on her husband, saying that he was deeply pious in her presence but drank heavily when she was away.

[16] Taking an interest in abolitionism, she began attending Congressional debates after her period of mourning to follow the issue.

[3]: 113 The Pierces lived in Washington for a month after the end of Franklin's presidential term and then toured New England during the summer.

They traveled abroad for two years, returning home to purchase 60 acres (24 ha) of land in Concord before leaving for the West Indies.

Pierce avoided Concord as it reminded her of her late son, and she often stayed with relatives in Massachusetts for the remainder of her life.

[9]: 100 The general public's first impression of Pierce was in a biography of her husband by family friend Nathaniel Hawthorne at the beginning of Franklin's campaign.

It emphasized her poor health as her husband's reason for declining a role in the Polk administration, creating a reputation as a sickly woman that has persisted ever since.

[9]: 99 [15] She received backlash from the public after canceling Saturday evening Marine Band concerts in view of the Sabbath.

[12] Pierce's influence on her husband manifested through her dislike of politics, including her role in his decision to retire from the Senate in 1842.

[8] Pierce also supported abolitionism, in contrast to her husband's tolerance of slavery in the name of states' rights, and wished for a Union victory in the American Civil War.