Presidential Progeny

Factual Questions
1

On NPR this morning there was a segment on letters from former Presidents to their daughters. This got me to thinking about how eventually the tolls of time take their effect and even the most influential families have faded from power. Even the Bushes will one day no longer hold the presidency, although this may take a while longer than I’d hoped for. :slight_smile:

But my question is how far into the present (and future) do all of the Presidential lines extend? It also seems that an unusual number of past Presidents have only squired daughters (Carter, Nixon, Clinton and Bush II spring immediately to mind). Is there anything to that? For example, are there any Washingtons or direct descendants of George Washington still around today? I’m only interested in direct lines, not cousins. Who doesn’t have any descendants at all? Who has the most?

2

I’m pretty certain that Washington had no (known) children by Martha and therefore is out of the running right off the bat.

3

JC, can I assume you meant that he had no children by Martha and no other known children, or is there the possibility that he and Martha secretly had a child?

4

I would say that covering up a ‘by-blow’ would be much easier. There’s no progeny from George and Martha (at least according to the tour at Mt Vernon).

5

And President Harding left at least one illegitmate child.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_G._Harding

Scroll down.

6

George Washington had no children of his own. He did have two step children.

But since he was father to a whole country, I guess that took up most of his time.

7

The list I have show the following presidents had no children: Washington, Madison, Jackson, Polk, Buchanan, Harding.

Pierce had three children, all who died as children. The last survivinng child died in a railroad accident on the way to Washington in advance of his inaugaration.

8

Jimmy Carter has three sons – John William “Jack” Carter, James Earl “Chip” Carter
III, and Donnel Jeffrey “Jeff” Carter . They were all adults by the time he was elected president and they were never in the spotlight like Amy was.

9

Wouldn’t you know there would be a website devoted to the children of the Presidents. That will at least get us started. I’m only listing the biological children, though there are numerous instances when children were adopted. I’ve also highlighted the sons who reached an age in which they may have had their own children, for those interested in those who would potentially carry their father’s name to future generations.

**1. President George Washington (1789-1797) **

0 sons / 0 daughters
**2. President John Adams (1797-1801) **

3 sons / 2 daughters

Abigail “Nabby” Adams Smith
*John Quincy Adams *
Susanna Adams
*Charles Adams *
*Thomas Boylston Adams *
**3. President Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809)

1 son / 5 daughters (potentially an additional 3 sons / 3 daughters)**

Martha Washington Jefferson Randolph
Jane Randolph Jefferson
Unnamed Son
Mary “Polly” “Maria” Jefferson Eppes
Lucy Elizabeth I
Lucy Elizabeth II

Children of Sally Hemings
(Tom, Harriet I, Beverly, Harriet II, Madison, Eston)

**4. President James Madison (1809-1817)

0 sons / 0 daughters**
**5. President James Monroe (1817-1825)

1 son / 2 daughters**

Eliza Kortright Monroe Hay
J. S. Monroe
Maria Hester Monroe Gouverneur
**6. President John Quincy Adams (1825-1829)

3 sons / 1 daughter**

*George Washington Adams *
*John Adams II *
*Charles Frances Adams *
Louisa Catherine Adams
**7. President Andrew Jackson (1829-1837)

0 sons / 0 daughters**
**8. President Martin Van Buren (1837-1841)

4 sons / 0 daughters**

*Abraham Van Buren *
*John Van Buren *
*Martin Van Buren, Jr. *
*Smith Thompson Van Buren *

**9. President William Henry Harrison (1841)

6 sons / 4 daughters **

Elizabeth “Betsey” Bassett Harrison Short
*John Cleves Symmes Harrison *
Lucy Singleton Harrison Este
*William Henry Harrison, Jr. *
*John Scott Harrison *
*Benjamin Harrison *
Mary Symmes Harrison Thornton
*Carter Bassett Harrison *
Anna Tuthill Harrison Taylor
James Findlay Harrison
**10. President John Tyler (1841-1845)

8 sons / 7 daughters!!! **

Mary Tyler Jones
*Robert Tyler *
*John Tyler, Jr. *
Letitia (Letty) Tyler Semple
Elizabeth “Lizzie” Tyler Waller
Anne Contesse Tyler
Alice Tyler Denison
*Tazewell Tyler *
*David Gardiner “Gardie” Tyler *
*John Alexander “Alex” Tyler *
Julia Tyler Spencer
Lachlan Tyler
*Lyon Gardiner Tyler *
*Robert Fitzwalter Tyler *
Pearl Tyler Ellis
**11. President James K. Polk (1845-1849)

0 sons / 0 daughters**
**12. President Zachary Taylor (1849-1850)

1 son / 5 daughters**

Anne Margaret Mackall Taylor Wood
Sarah “Knox” Taylor Davis
Octavia Pannel Taylor
Margaret Smith Taylor
Mary Elizabeth Taylor Bliss Dandridge
*Richard Taylor *

**13. President Millard Fillmore (1850-1853)

1 son / 1 daughter**

*Millard Powers Fillmore *
Mary Abigail “Abby” Fillmore
**14. President Franklin Pierce (1853-1857)

3 sons / 0 daughters <sadly, they all died very young>**

Franklin Pierce
Frank Robert Pierce
Benjamin Pierce
**15. President James Buchanan (1857-1861)

0 sons / 0 daughters**

**16. President Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865)

4 sons / 0 daughters**

*Robert Todd Lincoln *
Edward Baker “Eddie” Lincoln
William Wallace “Willie” Lincoln
Thomas “Tad” Lincoln
**17. President Andrew Johnson (1865-1869)

3 sons / 2 daughters**

Martha Johnson Patterson
Charles Johnson
Mary Johnson Stover Brown
*Robert Johnson *
*Andrew Johnson, Jr. *
**18. President Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877)

3 sons / 1 daughter**

*Fredrick Dent Grant *
*Ulysses Simpson “Buck” Grant, Jr. *
Ellen Wrenshall “Nellie” Grant Sartoris Jones
*Jesse Root Grant *
**19. President Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-1881)

5 sons / 1 daughter**

*Birchard Austin Hayes *
*James Webb Cook Hayes *
*Rutherford Platt Hayes *
George Crook Hayes
Fanny Hayes Smith
Manning Force Hayes
**20. President James A. Garfield (1881)

5 sons / 2 daughters**

Eliza Arabella “Trot” Garfield
*Harry Augustus “Hal” Garfield *
*James Rudolf Garfield *
Mary “Mollie” Garfield Stanley-Brown
*Irvin McDowell Garfield *
*Abram Garfield *
Edward Garfield
**21. President Chester Alan Arthur (1881-1885)

2 sons / 1 daughter**

William Lewis Arthur
Chester Alan Arthur II
Ellen Herndon “Nell” Arthur Pinkerton
**22 & 24. President Grover Cleveland (1885-1889 and 1893-1897)

3 sons / 3 daughters**

*Oscar Folsom Cleveland *
Ruth Cleveland
Esther Cleveland Bosanquet
Marion Cleveland Dell Amen
*Richard Folsom “Dick” Cleveland *
*Francis Grover Cleveland *
**23. President Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893)

1 son / 2 daughters**

*Russell Benjamin Harrison *
Mary “Mamie” Scott Harrison McKee
Elizabeth Harrison Walker
**25. President William McKinley (1897-1901)

0 sons / 2 daughters**

Katherine “Katie” McKinley
Ida McKinley
**26. President Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909)

4 sons / 2 daughters**

Alice Lee Roosevelt Longworth
*Theodore “Ted” Roosevelt, Jr. *
*Kermit Roosevelt *
Ethel Carow Roosevelt Derby
*Archibald “Archie” Bulloch Roosevelt *
*Quentin Roosevelt *

**27. President William Howard Taft (1909-1913)

2 sons / 1 daughter**

Robert Alphonso Taft
Helen Herron Taft Manning
Charles Phelps Taft
**28. President Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921)

1 son / 2 daughters**

Margaret Woodrow Wilson
Jessie Woodrow Wilson Sayre
Eleanor “Nellie” Randolph Wilson McAdoo
**29. President Warren G. Harding (1921-1923)

0 sons / 1 daughter**

Elizabeth Ann (Ann) Christian Blaesing
**30. President Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929)

2 sons / 0 daughters**

John Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge Jr.
**31. President Herbert Clark Hoover (1929-1933)

2 sons / 0 daughters**

Herbert Hoover, Jr.
Allan Henry Hoover
**32. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1933-1945)

5 sons / 1 daughter**

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt Dall Boettiger Halsted
James “Jimmy” Roosevelt
Franklin Roosevelt
Elliott Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Jr.
John Aspinwall Roosevelt

**33. President Harry S. Truman (1945-1953)

0 sons / 1 daughter**

(Mary) Margaret Truman Daniel
**34. Dwight David Eisenhower (1953-1961)

2 sons / 0 daughters**

Doud Dwight (Ikky) Eisenhower
John Sheldon Doud Eisenhower
**35. John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1961-1963)

2 sons / 1 daughter**

Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Jr.
Patrick Bouvier Kennedy
**36. Lyndon Baines Johnson (1963-1969)

0 sons / 2 daughters**

Lynda Bird Robb
Luci Baines Johnson Turpin
**37. Richard Milhous Nixon (1969-1974)

0 sons / 2 daughters**

Tricia Nixon Cox
Julie Nixon Eisenhower
**38. Gerald Rudolph Ford (1974-1977)

3 sons / 1 daughter**

*Michael Gerald Ford *
John “Jack” Gardner Ford
Steven Meigs Ford
Susan Ford Vance Bales

**39. James Earl Carter, Jr. (1977-1981)

3 sons / 1 daughter**

John William “Jack” Carter
James Earl “Chip” Carter III
Donnell Jeffrey “Jeff” Carter
Amy Carter Wentzel
**40. Ronald Wilson Reagan (1981-1989)

2 sons / 2 daughters**

Maureen Reagan Revell
Michael Reagan
Patricia “Patti Davis” Ann Reagan
Ronald Prescott Reagan
**41. George Herbert Walker Bush (1989-1993)

4 sons / 2 daughters**

George Walker Bush
Pauline Robinson “Robin” Bush
John Ellis “Jeb” Bush
Neil Mallon Bush
Marvin Pierce Bush
Dorothy “Doro” Bush Koch
**42. William Jefferson Clinton (1993-2001)

0 sons / 1 daughter**

Chelsea Victoria Clinton

**43. George W. Bush (2001-

0 sons / 2 daughters**

Barbara Pierce Bush
Jenna Welch Bush

10

I think one of the contestants on American Idol (sorry, but it’s fun to watch the incompetent singers) last year was a direct descendant of John Adams.

11

I was trying so hard not to make any mistakes, but one obvious one I’ve already detected is that I inadvertantly highlighted Patrick Kennedy, who of course died extremely young and thus, is highly unlikely he fathered any children.

There really was an incredible wealth of information about the children of the president at that site. Worth checking out…

For what its worth, I would think the Tyler clan has the best chance for continued survival into the coming centuries with all those children, with William Henry Harrison and possibly Jefferson, also strong contenders for having the most success in being fruitful and multiplying…

12

“Doud” Dwight Eisenhower?

Sure that’s not “David”?

13

Nope, Doud.

Doud was Mamie Eisenhower’s maiden name, and they gave it to both their sons: Doud Eisenhower and John Sheldon David Doud Eisenhower (making up for forgotten relatives with that second one, I guess).

David Eisenhower, after whom Camp David is named, was the President’s grandson, and John’s son.

14

Wasn’t Michael Reagan adopted, or am I thinking of someone else?

15

Tyler’s descendants still live at Sherwood Forest and are a very charming and gracious bunch of folks. Tyler’s youngest daughter, Pearl, died in the 1940s (over 100 years after her father had been President). I know his grandson personally.

There is some variance of opinion, but some think that Washington was sterile from a childhood case of mumps.-

16

Franklin Pierce didn’t have any children of child-bearing age??? I thought Barbara Bush was a descendant of his.

17

Well, there’s no hard documentation on what Pierce was up to during that year he disappeared from the Maine State Militia.

18

Michael Reagen is adopted.

It’s sad that Robert Kennedy was assasscinated before he could get into this thread.

19

Can anyone compile a list of living descendants of presidents who have the same family name as the president (in other words, direct male-line descendants)?

20

Silly me, I should have googled first. Barbara Bush is descended from Pierce’s fourth cousin, not from that President himself.