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List of children of presidents of the United States

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 32 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. At least six presidents have had alleged or confirmed extramarital children. 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. During the Creek War, Andrew Jackson sent three Indigenous or mixed-race babies to the Hermitage. These children have been variously described as adopted or as spoils of war.

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. 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.

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; and the issue of their influence on society and politics.

18th century

George and Martha Washington

No biological children together. Martha Washington had four children with Daniel Parke Custis.

Alleged illegitimate children of George Washington

John and Abigail Adams

19th century

Thomas and Martha Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings (enslaved concubine)

Children with Sally Hemings; see Jefferson DNA data.

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.

James and Elizabeth Monroe

John Quincy and Louisa Adams

Andrew and Rachel Jackson

No biological children together, informally "adopted" four. 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." 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.

Martin and Hannah Van Buren

William Henry and Anna Harrison

William Henry Harrison and Dilsia (enslaved concubine)

Paternity unconfirmed as of 2024.

John and Letitia Tyler

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."

John and Julia Tyler

James and Sarah Polk

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

Zachary and Margaret Taylor

Millard and Abigail Fillmore

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

Franklin and Jane Pierce

James Buchanan

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

Abraham and Mary Lincoln

Andrew and Eliza Johnson

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.

Ulysses and Julia Grant

Rutherford and Lucy Hayes

James and Lucretia Garfield

Chester and Ellen Arthur

Grover Cleveland and Maria Halpin

Grover and Frances Cleveland

Benjamin and Caroline Harrison

Benjamin and Mary Harrison

William and Ida McKinley

20th century

Theodore and Alice Roosevelt

Theodore and Edith Roosevelt

William and Helen Taft

Woodrow and Ellen Wilson

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

Warren G. Harding and Nan Britton

Calvin and Grace Coolidge

Herbert and Lou Hoover

Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt

Harry and Bess Truman

Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower

John and Jacqueline Kennedy

Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson

Richard and Pat Nixon

Gerald and Betty Ford

Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter

Ronald Reagan and Jane Wyman

Ronald and Nancy Reagan

George H. W. and Barbara Bush

Bill and Hillary Clinton

21st century

George W. and Laura Bush

Barack and Michelle Obama

Donald and Ivana Trump

Donald Trump and Marla Maples

Donald and Melania Trump

Joe and Neilia Hunter Biden

Joe and Jill Biden

Living presidential children

As of , 32 presidential children are living. In order of their ages, they are: <br/>

The most recent presidential child to die was Michael Reagan, the son of Ronald Reagan, who died on January 4, 2026, at the age of 80.

See also

Notes

References

Sources

Further reading

  • (a children's book)