[12] Cleveland was distantly related to General Moses Cleaveland, after whom the city of Cleveland, Ohio, was named.[13]
Cleveland, the fifth of nine children, was named Stephen Grover in honor of the first pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Caldwell, where his father was pastor at the time. He became known as Grover in his adult life.[14] In 1841, the Cleveland family moved to Fayetteville, New York, where Grover spent much of his childhood.[15] Neighbors later described him as "full of fun and inclined to play pranks,"[16] and fond of outdoor sports.[17]
In 1850, Cleveland's father Richard moved his family to Clinton, New York, to work as district secretary for the American Home Missionary Society.[18] Despite his father's dedication to his missionary work, his income was insufficient for the large family. Financial conditions forced him to remove Grover from school and place him in a two-year mercantile apprenticeship in Fayetteville. The experience was valuable and brief, and the living conditions quite austere. Grover returned to Clinton and his schooling at the completion of the apprentice contract.