Can you imagine growing up in the White House in the modern era? Your father is president of the United States, the most powerful person on Earth. Your mother is First Lady. You have Secret Service protection everywhere you go. Cameras record your every public word and action.
We know some of these children by their first names: Barron, Malia, Jenna, Chelsea, Amy. Presidents’ children weren’t always so closely watched, of course.
Our presidents have had 198 children in total, either biological, adopted, illegitimate, guardians, or allegedly with slaves. Some of those children also rose to great power; some were heroes; some died at very early ages. Only two presidents had no children: James Polk and the bachelor James Buchanan.
John Tyler, 10th president from 1841-1845, holds the record, fathering 16 children. Eight were with first wife, Letitia, and seven with second wife, Julia. Tyler was also alleged to have had one child with a slave. One of his grandsons, Harrison Ruffin Tyler, is still living, owing to Tyler’s marriage to a youthful Julia and his reproductive capacity at age 70.
Thomas Jefferson fathered 14 children, six with his only wife Martha, who died in 1782 when Jefferson was 39. He also fathered eight other children, allegedly with his slave Sally Hemings. William Henry Harrison had 11 children, 10 with his wife Anna Symmes Harrison and one allegedly with a slave, born in 1809.
Why did these early presidents have so many kids? Infant and child mortality was a key factor. Back then, death from typhoid, scarlet fever, diphtheria or accidents was common. Twenty-six presidential children died before the age of 5.
For those who survived childhood, a few turned out quite well in terms of making a national impact.
Two became presidents themselves: John Quincy Adams, son of John Adams, became president in 1825. George W. Bush, son of George H.W. Bush, was inaugurated in 2001. A grandson also became president when Benjamin Harrison, grandson of William Henry Harrison, was elected in 1889.
There were cabinet secretaries: Robert Lincoln was Secretary of War under Garfield, and James Garfield Jr. was Secretary of the Interior under Theodore Roosevelt.
Theodore Roosevelt Jr., won the Medal of Honor for his bravery on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day.
There have been ambassadors (John Eisenhower to Belgium, Robert Lincoln to Great Britain, and Caroline Kennedy to Japan), a governor (Jeb Bush in Florida), and a big city mayor (Charlie Taft in Cincinnati).
Historic lore also tells us a presidential child was the namesake for a popular candy bar. Grover Cleveland’s daughter Ruth, born in 1891 between his two non-consecutive presidencies, was wildly popular, leading the chocolate maker Curtiss Candy to name their candy bar Baby Ruth. However, that didn’t happen until 1921 long after both Grover and Ruth had passed away, thus leading some to believe Curtiss did so to avoid entanglements with baseball player Babe Ruth. Yet, the presidential connection persists.
A few children of presidents have died while their fathers were in office or were president-elect. Such tragedies became national stories and deeply affected their families. Willie Lincoln died of typhoid fever at age 11 in 1862 at the White House, bringing grief to Abraham and Mary Lincoln as they also managed the Civil War.
At age 11, Benjamin Pierce died tragically in a train wreck riding from Massachusetts to Washington, D.C. with his parents just a few days before Franklin Pierce’s inauguration. Franklin and Jane Pierce unfortunately were eyewitnesses to his gruesome demise. That event, plus losing their two other children earlier to disease, led Jane to become a recluse in the White House and Franklin to drink heavily.
It’s fair to say being a child of the president is a mixed blessing. While some have leaned into their legacy, most have remained relatively anonymous. That said, commencing in 2018 there is an annual meeting of the Society of Presidential Descendants where they can swap stories and share insights on their unique life experiences.
Interested in learning more about the presidents? Visit the Carolyn & James Millar Presidential Gallery on the upper level of the Booth Western Art Museum. The gallery features original letters and photographs of every U.S. president. Learn more at www.boothmuseum.org.
