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List of children of presidents of the United States

Index of U.S. presidents' children From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

List of children of presidents of the United States
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The following people are children of U.S. presidents, including biological children, confirmed and alleged extramarital children, adopted or abducted children, stepchildren, and legal wards. Status of paternity investigation/confirmation is included with entries for alleged extramarital children. All full names (including full married names) are given. Currently there are 33 confirmed, known living presidential children, of whom the oldest is Lynda Bird Johnson Robb and the youngest is Barron Trump. Two presidential children, John Quincy Adams and George W. Bush, have become president in their own right. John Scott Harrison is the only person to be both a child of a U.S. president and a parent of another U.S. president, being a son of William Henry Harrison and the father of Benjamin Harrison. Five presidents fathered no (known, biological) children: George Washington, James Madison, Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk, and James Buchanan. Wives of two of these presidents, Martha Washington and Dolley Madison, had children from previous marriages; Rachel Jackson had no biological children from either of her marriages.[1] At least six presidents have had alleged or confirmed extramarital children.[2] Several presidents, including Thomas Jefferson, John Tyler, William Henry Harrison, and Andrew Johnson, have alleged or confirmed extramarital children with enslaved women or girls who could not legally consent to or reject sexual intercourse with their enslavers because they had no legal personhood and no recourse of any kind.[3][4] During the Creek War, Andrew Jackson sent three Indigenous or mixed-race babies to the Hermitage.[5] These children have been variously described as adopted or as spoils of war.[6]

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Theodore Roosevelt and Edith Carow Roosevelt with their children. Children from left to right: Quentin Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt Jr., Archibald Roosevelt, Alice Longworth, Kermit Roosevelt, and Ethel Roosevelt Derby

Presidential children have been studied individually and as a class. As individuals they are more often notable in their own right than most individuals: They disproportionately circulate among political and social leaders and the wealthier classes, and they are more likely to be scrutinized as part of celebrity culture. Additionally, as individuals they frequently have significant influence on other family members. For instance, a child may have had a significant influence on the child's parent: acting as a sounding board, or having behavioral issues that affected the parent's beliefs or performance. A number of presidential sons and wards have served their fathers as Secretary to the President of the United States.[7] Due to a combination of nepotism, generational wealth, and the spoils system, children of presidents have often received benefit from being born into an American political family, either by dint of government appointments or other advantage in running for office.[8]

As a class, the children of presidents have also occasioned significant study. Study has generally followed two paths: The issue of what access and inclusion within the circles of power does to individuals' lives, aspirations, and outcomes;[9] and the issue of their influence on society and politics.[10]

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18th century

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George and Martha Washington

No biological children together. Martha Washington had four children with Daniel Parke Custis. The two oldest (who died before her marriage to George Washington) are:
  1. Daniel Parke Custis (November 19, 1751 – February 19, 1754)
  2. Frances Parke Custis (April 12, 1753 – April 1, 1757)
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Alleged illegitimate children of George Washington

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John and Abigail Adams

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19th century

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Thomas and Martha Jefferson

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Martha Jefferson also had one son with her first husband Bathurst Skelton, who died before her marriage to Jefferson: John Skelton (November 7, 1767 – June 10, 1771)

Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings (enslaved concubine)

Children with Sally Hemings; see Jefferson DNA data
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Thomas Woodson, the father of Lewis Woodson and Sarah Jane Woodson, was also claimed to be a child of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings. However, DNA testing of the male Jefferson line and the male Woodson line showed no link.

James and Dolley Madison

No children together, but raised the older of Dolley's two sons from her first marriage to John Todd.

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James and Elizabeth Monroe

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John Quincy and Louisa Adams

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Andrew and Rachel Jackson

No biological children together, informally "adopted" four.[25] Andrew and Rachel also served as guardians to at least eight other children, and there were a total of 37 individuals who could be considered wards of Andrew Jackson. According to researcher Rachel Meredith, "Andrew Jr. was the only ward that he and Rachel considered to be a child of theirs."[26] Andrew Jackson Jr. is the only person listed as a descendant of Andrew and Rachel in family trees included in volume one of The Papers of Andrew Jackson and in Robert V. Remini's biographies.[27][28]
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Martin and Hannah Van Buren

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William Henry and Anna Harrison

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William Henry Harrison and Dilsia (enslaved concubine)

Paternity unconfirmed as of 2024
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John and Letitia Tyler

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John Tyler and multiple unidentified enslaved concubines

Paternity unconfirmed as of 2024. Abolitionist Joshua Leavitt reported the information about John Tyler and Charles Tyler. The claim that Tyler had fathered multiple children with slaves was largely ignored by 19th-century historians. In addition to the Dunjees, the Brown family of Charles City County claims descent from Tyler by an enslaved concubine. Biographer Edward P. Crapol states that Tyler's white descendants are skeptical of claims by the Browns. However, per Crapol, in light of the resolution of the Hemings–Jefferson controversy in favor of Hemings descendants, "claims that John Tyler fathered children by his slaves must be taken seriously and examined thoroughly."[40]
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John and Julia Tyler

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James and Sarah Polk

The Polks remain the only presidential couple to never have children (biologically, adopted, or from previous marriage).
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Zachary and Margaret Taylor

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Millard and Abigail Fillmore

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Fillmore's second wife was Caroline Fillmore but they had no children.

Franklin and Jane Pierce

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James Buchanan

Buchanan never married or had children; he served as legal guardian of two nieces.
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Abraham and Mary Lincoln

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Andrew and Eliza Johnson

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Andrew and Dolly Johnson (enslaved concubine)

Andrew Johnson was most likely the father of Liz, Florence, and William Andrew by Dolly Johnson; paternity not confirmed as of 2024.
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Ulysses and Julia Grant

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Rutherford and Lucy Hayes

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James and Lucretia Garfield

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Chester and Ellen Arthur

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Grover Cleveland and Maria Halpin

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Grover and Frances Cleveland

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Benjamin and Caroline Harrison

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Benjamin and Mary Harrison

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William and Ida McKinley

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20th century

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Theodore and Alice Roosevelt

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Theodore and Edith Roosevelt

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William and Helen Taft

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Woodrow and Ellen Wilson

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Wilson's second wife Edith Wilson, with her first husband Norman Galt, had one son, who died in infancy before her marriage to Wilson.

Warren G. and Florence Harding

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Warren G. Harding and Nan Britton

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Calvin and Grace Coolidge

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Herbert and Lou Hoover

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Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt

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Harry and Bess Truman

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Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower

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John and Jacqueline Kennedy

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Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson

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Richard and Pat Nixon

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Gerald and Betty Ford

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Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter

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Ronald Reagan and Jane Wyman

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Ronald and Nancy Reagan

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George H. W. and Barbara Bush

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Bill and Hillary Clinton

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21st century

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George W. and Laura Bush

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Barack and Michelle Obama

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Donald and Ivana Trump

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Donald Trump and Marla Maples

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Donald and Melania Trump

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Joe and Neilia Hunter Biden

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Joe and Jill Biden

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Living presidential children

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As of August 2025, 33 presidential children are living. In order of their ages, they are:   Current first child

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The most recent presidential child to die was Beau Biden, the eldest son of Joe Biden, who died on May 30, 2015, at the age of 46, before his father became president. The most recent presidential child to die who lived during their father's presidency was John Eisenhower, the only surviving son of Dwight D. Eisenhower, who died on December 21, 2013, at the age of 91. He was also the father-in-law of Julie Nixon Eisenhower, another presidential child.

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See also

Notes

  1. James Monroe wrote that his only son died on September 28, 1800. The date of September 28, 1801 that is said to appear on the James Spence Monroe gravestone in the St. John's Episcopal Church (Richmond, Virginia) churchyard is not contemporaneous to the child's death, the location of the actual grave remains unknown.[21]
  2. He had a mistress, Eliza Dolph, who had a child, but it is unclear who the baby's father was.
  3. John Donelson IV was a nephew of Rachel Donelson Jackson, son of John Donelson and Mary Purnell.[30]
  4. Frances Parke Lewis was the step great-granddaughter of George Washington[31]
  5. Clarissa Pike was the daughter of Zebulon Pike, who discovered Pike's Peak
  6. William Henry Harrison Taylor was Anna Tuthill Harrison's cousin
  7. Some sources spell this name as Octavia Pannill Taylor.[44]
  8. Octavia's illness was described by her father as "bilious fever."[45]
  9. Margaret's illness was described by her father as "bilious fever."[45]
  10. Though Andrew Johnson's son Robert was listed on William Andrew Johnson's death certificate as being William Andrew's father, many historians theorize that Andrew Johnson was the actual father of William Andrew Johnson.[52][53]
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References

Further reading

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