Ancestral background of presidents of the United States

The ancestral background of presidents of the United States has been relatively consistent throughout American history. With the exception of Martin Van Buren and Dwight D. Eisenhower, every president has ancestors from the British Isles. Van Buren was of Dutch lineage; Eisenhower was of German and Swiss heritage. Barack Obama is the only president to have recent ancestry from outside Western Europe; his paternal family is of the Luo people of East Africa.

Map showing ancestry

The most common ethnic groups in the Thirteen Colonies were those hailing from either Great Britain or from Ulster, in the north of Ireland. Those of other backgrounds (such as Dutch, German or French) would see attempts to assimilate them into the dominant English and predominately Protestant culture.[1]

Some nativist political groups within the United States were adamantly opposed to identifying with a foreign nation and would coin those who did as hyphenated Americans. Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson were outspoken opponents of hyphenated Americans, with Wilson once remarking, "Any man who carries a hyphen about with him, carries a dagger that he is ready to plunge into the vitals of this Republic when he gets ready."[2]

Ancestry table

Summary: Dutch – 3 • English – 38 • French – 8 • German – 11 • Irish – 3 • Kenyan (Luo) – 1 • Scottish – 17 • Swiss – 3 • Ulster Scots – 21 • Welsh – 15

Order of presidency	President and parents	Dutch	English	French	German	Irish	Kenyan (Luo)	Scottish	Swiss	Ulster Scots	Welsh	Citations
1	George Washington    Augustine Washington    Mary Ball		Yes	Yes								[3][4]
2	John Adams    John Adams Sr.    Susanna Boylston		Yes								Yes	[5][6]
3	Thomas Jefferson    Peter Jefferson    Jane Randolph		Yes					Yes			Yes	[6][7][8]
4	James Madison    James Madison Sr.    Nelly Conway		Yes								Yes	[7][9]
5	James Monroe    Spence Monroe    Elizabeth Jones		Yes					Yes			Yes	[5][6][7]
6	John Quincy Adams    John Adams    Abigail Smith		Yes								Yes	[5][6]
7	Andrew Jackson    Andrew Jackson    Elizabeth Hutchinson		Yes					Yes		Yes		[8][10][11]
8	Martin Van Buren    Abraham Van Buren    Maria Hoes	Yes										[12][13]
9	William Henry Harrison    Benjamin Harrison V    Elizabeth Bassett		Yes							Yes	Yes	[5][6][14]
10	John Tyler    John Tyler Sr.    Mary Armisted		Yes	Yes								[4][5]
11	James K. Polk    Samuel Polk    Jane Knox							Yes		Yes		[8][10]
12	Zachary Taylor    Richard Taylor    Sarah Dabney Strother		Yes									[15]
13	Millard Fillmore    Nathaniel Fillmore    Phoebe Millard		Yes									[15]
14	Franklin Pierce    Benjamin Pierce    Anna Kendrick		Yes									[15]
15	James Buchanan    James Buchanan Sr.    Elizabeth Speer									Yes		[10]
16	Abraham Lincoln    Thomas Lincoln    Nancy Hanks		Yes							Yes	Yes	[5][6][10]
17	Andrew Johnson    Jacob Johnson    Mary McDonough		Yes					Yes		Yes		[14][15]
18	Ulysses S. Grant    Jesse Root Grant    Hannah Simpson		Yes					Yes		Yes		[5][10][15]
19	Rutherford B. Hayes    Rutherford Hayes, Jr.    Sophia Birchard		Yes					Yes				[16]
20	James A. Garfield    Abram Garfield    Eliza Garfield		Yes	Yes							Yes	[4][6][15]
21	Chester A. Arthur    William Arthur    Malvina Stone		Yes							Yes	Yes	[7][14]
22/24	Grover Cleveland    Richard Falley Cleveland    Ann Neal		Yes		Yes					Yes		[7][10]
23	Benjamin Harrison    John Scott Harrison    Elizabeth Ramsey Irwin		Yes							Yes	Yes	[5][9][10]
25	William McKinley    William McKinley Sr.    Nancy Allison		Yes					Yes		Yes		[5][8][10]
26	Theodore Roosevelt    Theodore Roosevelt Sr.    Martha Bulloch	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes			Yes		Yes	Yes	[4][6][7][13]
27	William Howard Taft    Alphonso Taft    Louise Torrey		Yes									[15]
28	Woodrow Wilson    Joseph Ruggles Wilson    Jessie Janet Woodrow							Yes		Yes		[8][14]
29	Warren G. Harding    George Tryon Harding    Phoebe Elizabeth Dickerson		Yes					Yes			Yes	[7]
30	Calvin Coolidge    John Calvin Coolidge Sr.    Victoria Josephine Moor		Yes								Yes	[5][9]
31	Herbert Hoover    Jesse Hoover    Hulda Randall Minthorn		Yes		Yes				Yes			[17][18]
32	Franklin D. Roosevelt    James Roosevelt I    Sara Ann Delano	Yes	Yes	Yes								[4][5][13]
33	Harry S. Truman    John Anderson Truman    Martha Ellen Young		Yes	Yes	Yes			Yes		Yes		[10][19]
34	Dwight D. Eisenhower    David Jacob Eisenhower    Ida Stover				Yes				Yes			[18][20][21]
35	John F. Kennedy    Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.    Rose Fitzgerald					Yes						[14][22]
36	Lyndon B. Johnson    Samuel Ealy Johnson Jr.    Rebekah Baines		Yes		Yes			Yes		Yes		[23]
37	Richard Nixon    Francis A. Nixon    Hannah Milhous		Yes		Yes					Yes	Yes	[6][14][24]
38	Gerald Ford    Leslie Lynch King Sr.    Dorothy Ayer Gardner		Yes					Yes				[25]
39	Jimmy Carter    James Earl Carter Sr.    Lillian Gordy		Yes							Yes		[7][10]
40	Ronald Reagan    Jack Reagan    Nelle Wilson		Yes			Yes		Yes				[26][27]
41	George H. W. Bush    Prescott Bush    Dorothy Walker		Yes		Yes					Yes		[7][10]
42	Bill Clinton    William Jefferson Blythe Jr.    Virginia Cassidy		Yes							Yes		[7][10]
43	George W. Bush    George H. W. Bush    Barbara Pierce		Yes		Yes					Yes		[7][10]
44	Barack Obama    Barack Obama Sr.    Ann Dunham		Yes	Yes	Yes		Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	[28][29]
45	Donald Trump    Fred Trump    Mary Anne MacLeod				Yes			Yes				[8][30]
46	Joe Biden    Joseph R. Biden Sr.    Catherine Eugenia Finnegan		Yes	Yes		Yes						[31]

See also

• African-American heritage of presidents of the United States
• Most royal candidate theory
• Lists of Americans (lists of people from the United States by various criteria, including ethnic or national origin)

References

1. B. Moniz, Amanada (September 7, 2018). "Culture in the colonial classroom: A failed attempt at assimilation". National Museum of American History. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
2. Siegel, Robert; Silverman, Art (April 7, 2017). "During World War I, U.S. Government Propaganda Erased German Culture". NPR. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
3. Hardy, Rob. "Ancestry". The Digital Encyclopedia of George Washington. Mount Vernon, Virginia: Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
4. Taylor, Maureen A. (June 2001). "The French Connection". Family Tree Magazine. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
5. Fischer, David Hackett (1989). Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America. New York City: Oxford University Press. pp. 834–839. ISBN 978-0-19-506905-1. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
6. Williamson, David (October 27, 2017). "The American Presidents with family links to Wales". walesonline.co.uk. Cardiff, Wales, UK: Media Wales. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
7. Cullen, Niall (February 21, 2020). "A whistlestop tour of every US president's ancestry". findmypast.com. Dundee, Scotland, UK: DC Thomson. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
8. "Your Queries: From Scotland to the White House… Six presidents with Scottish ancestry". sundaypost.com. Glasgow, Scotland, UK: DC Thomson & Co. September 11, 2019. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
9. "The Welsh in America". nawf.wales. Penarth, Wales, UK: North America Wales Foundation. 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
10. Kennedy, Billy. "Ulster-Scots and the United States Presidents" (PDF). Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK: The Ulster-Scots Agency. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
11. Elmer, Martin Jackson (1885). Keeping the Lamp of Remembrance Lighted: A Genealogical Narrative with Pictures and Charts about the Jacksons and Their Allied Families. Hagerstown, Maryland: Hagerstown Bookbinding & Printing Co. p. 9.
12. Silbey, Joel. "Martin Van Buren: Life Before the Presidency". Charlottesville, Virginia: Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
13. Simkin, John (January 2020). "Dutch Immigration". spartacus-educational.com. Spartacus Educational Publishers. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
14. Murphy, Sean. "American Presidents with Irish Ancestors". Bray, Ireland: Centre for Irish Genealogical and Historical Studies. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
15. Vinmont, Rolf Benjamin, ed. (1933). Our Presidents At A Glance. New York City: Grosset & Dunlap. p. 77.
16. "Hayes Family Genealogy". rbhayes.org. Spiegel Grove, Fremont, Ohio: Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
17. Burner, David (1979). Herbert Hoover: The Public Life. New York City: Alfred A. Knopf. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-394-46134-2.
18. Yang, Philip Q. (2000). Ethnic Studies: Issues and Approaches. Albany, New York: SUNY Press. p. 214. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
19. Johnson, Niel; Johnson, Verna Gail (1999). "Rooted In History: The Genealogy of Harry S. Truman". trumanlibrary.gov. Independence, Missouri: Harry S. Truman Library. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
20. Barnett, Lincoln (November 9, 1942). "General "Ike" Eisenhower". Life. Vol. 13 no. 19. New York City: Time Inc. pp. 112–124. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
21. "Eisenhower Ancestry". eisenhowerlibrary.gov. Abilene, Kansas: Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Boyhood Home. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
22. "John F. Kennedy and Ireland". jfklibrary.org. Boston: John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
23. Wheeler, Keith; Lambert, William (August 14, 1964). "The Man Who Is President". Life. Vol. 57 no. 7. New York City: Time Inc. pp. 25–29, 77–80. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
24. Klein, Christopher (August 30, 2018). "10 Things You May Not Know About Richard Nixon". history.com. New York City: A&E Television Networks. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
25. "Gerald R. Ford Genealogical Information". fordlibrarymuseum.gov. Ann Arbor, Michigan: Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library & Museum. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
26. Gormley, Myra V. (February 17, 1986). "Digging Up a Potential Presidential Pedigree: 5 Chief Executives Identified as Most Likely Candidates". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
27. Golway, Terry (2008). Ronald Reagan's America: His Voice, His Dreams, and His Vision of Tomorrow. Naperville, Illinois: Sourcebooks MediaFusion. p. 1. ISBN 978-1402212581.
28. Plante, Bill (July 30, 2012). "Surprising link found in Obama's family tree". cbsnews.com. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
29. Kenneally, Christine (2014). The Invisible History of the Human Race: How DNA and History Shape Our Identities and Our Futures. Melbourne, Victoria: Schwartz. p. 47. ISBN 9780670025558.
30. Schubert, Atika (February 16, 2016). "Donald Trump's German roots: Inside the town that spawned a dynasty". cnn.com. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
31. Witcover, Jules (2010). Joe Biden: A Life of Trial and Redemption. New York City: William Morrow. p. 8. ISBN 978-0061791987.

Further reading

• Roberts, Gary Boyd (2009). Ancestors of American Presidents (2nd ed.). Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society. ISBN 978-0880822206.

External links

• Presidential Family Trees and Famous Kin, famouskin.com