Prolific First Families

Presidents and First Ladies Who Had Many Children

Apr 2, 2009

Several of America's first families are notable due to their large size. A few nineteenth-century presidents and first ladies had many children.

In the nineteenth century, it was not uncommon for America's first families to have large numbers of children. For example, William Henry and Anna Harrison, John Tyler and wives Letitia and Julia, Rutherford and Lucy Hayes, and James and Lucretia Garfield all produced prolific broods. The size of these first families was representative of the values of nineteenth-century America.

Ninth president William Henry Harrison and his wife, Anna, had ten children-- six sons and four daughters: Elizabeth Bassett (1796-1846); John Cleves Symmes (1798-1830); Lucy Singleton (1800-26); William Henry II (1802-38); John Scott (1804-78); Benjamin (1806-40); Mary Symmes (1809-42); Carter Bassett (1811-39); Anna Tuthill (1813-45); James Findlay (1814-17). Only John Scott, the fifth-born child, survived both parents. John Scott Harrison was the father of Benjamin Harrison, the twenty-third president of the United States.

The Tyler Family

Tenth president John Tyler was married twice and fathered fifteen children, more than any other U.S. president. With his first wife, Letitia, Tyler raised eight children-- three sons and five daughters: Mary (1815-48); Robert (1816-77); John, Jr. (1819-96); Letitia (1821-1907); Elizabeth (1823-50); Anne Contesse (1825); Alice (1827-54); Tazewell (1830-74). During her father's administration, daughter Elizabeth, known as "Lizzie," got married in the White House. Oldest son Robert's wife, Priscilla, temporarily served as substitute first lady due to her mother-in-law's poor health.After Letitia died in 1842, Tyler married Julia Gardiner. John and Julia had seven children-- five sons and two daughters: David Gardiner (1846-1927); John Alexander (1848-83); Julia (1849-71); Lachlan (1851-1902); Lyon Gardiner (1853-1935); Robert Fitzwalter (1856-1927); Pearl (1860-1947). Some of President Tyler's children from his first marriage were actually older than Julia and strongly objected to their new stepmother.

The Hayes Family

Nineteenth president Rutherford Hayes and wife Lucy were the parents of eight children-- seven sons and one daughter: Birchard Austin (1853-1926); Webb Cook (1856-1934); Rutherford Platt (1858-1927); Joseph Thompson (1861-63); George Crook (1864-66); Fanny (1867-1950); Scott Russell (1871-1923); Manning Force (1873-74). While three of the Hayes' children died in infancy, the others, especially only daughter Fanny, lived well into adulthood.

The Garfield Family

The family of twentieth president James Garfield and his first lady, Lucretia, was similar to that of Rutherford and Lucy Hayes. The Garfields had seven children-- five sons and two daughters: Eliza (Trot) Arabella (1860-63); Harry Augustus (1863-1942); James Rudolph (1865-1950); Mary (Mollie) (1867-1947); Irvin McDowell (1870-1951); Abram (1872-1958); Edward (Neddie) (1874-76). The size of the Garfield family is remarkable in that James and Lucretia spent very little of their early married together as a result of James' service in the Union Army during the Civil War.

Harris, Bill. The First Ladies Fact Book, p. 145, 157, 163, 277, & 297. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, Inc., 2005.

The copyright of the article Prolific First Families in American History is owned by Ashley Waggoner. Permission to republish Prolific First Families in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.