 After accepting the nominations he held a large picnic reception and luncheon on the southern portion of the farm, the land now the large lawn in front of Saint Mary.Mary Greeley died a few days before the election, in which Grant was the clear victor.The combination of those two events had a deleterious effect on Greeley's own health, and he died a few weeks later, before all the votes had been counted, the only time that has happened to a major presidential candidate.