A Quick Family History of Every US President

Many of the first president’s ancestors are from England. George Washington’s great-grandfather, John Washington, who was born in England, relocated to the Colony of Virginia in 1656 or 1657 after the death of his father.

John Adams’ roots can also be traced back to England. His great-great-grandfather, Henry Adams, emigrated from England and settled in Braintree, Massachusetts, in 1636.

Thomas Jefferson’s Welsh connection has yet to be proved. However, in his 70s, Jefferson wrote: “The tradition in my father’s family is that their ancestors came to this country from Wales, from the region of Snowden, highest mountain in Great Britain.” Jefferson’s mother’s family had roots in England and Scotland.

James Madison’s great-great-grandfather, Captain Isaac Madison, was born in London. He moved to Virginia where he bought some land and started a plantation. He was the first of several Madison family generations of powerful landowners.

James Monroe was the first American president with definite family roots tracing back to Scotland. There is a direct link between Monroe and 16th century Scottish clan chief, Robert Munro of Foulis, according to a DNA research project. His great-great-grandfather, Andrew Monroe, left Scotland and moved to Virginia in 1650.

As the son of John Adams, the second president of the United States, John Quincy Adams has the same English heritage.

Andrew Jackson’s parents emigrated from Ireland a few years before the future president was born.

As his last name may suggest, Martin Van Buren was the first American president with no direct British or Irish heritage. Both of his parents were of Dutch descent.

William Henry Harrison, the first U.S. president to die in office, just a month into his term, has English roots. His family moved from England to Virginia in the 1630s. His great-grandfather Archibald Irwin may have been born in Ireland.

John Tyler was a descendant of Henry Tyler, who was born in Shropshire, England, and eventually moved to York County, Virginia.

James K. Polk’s great-great-grandfather, Robert Pollock or Polk, emigrated from County Donegal in the Irish province of Ulster in the 17th century.

Zachary Taylor also had English ancestry. He was descended from one of the Mayflower leaders, William Brewster. The Mayflower was a merchant ship that transported English families, also known as Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620.

Millard Fillmore was the great-grandson of John Fillmore, an emigrant from Ipswich, England and a legendary mariner who spent a few months as a prisoner on a pirate ship.

Franklin Pierce was a descendant of Thomas Pierce, who emigrated from Norwich, England, to Charlestown, Massachusetts, in 1633 or 1634.

James Buchanan’s parents were descended from Ulster-Scots. His father, James Buchanan Sr., was a Scotch-Irish farmer from the County of Donegal, who moved to Philadelphia in 1783.

Abraham Lincoln’s family is believed to be of English descent with Puritan or Quaker roots. The president was related to Samuel Lincoln who emigrated from Norfolk, England to New England in 1637.

Andrew Johnson, the first U.S. president to be impeached, had Irish heritage. His grandfather left Mounthill, Northern Ireland, around 1750 and settled in North Carolina. His mother’s maiden name was McDonough, which suggests Celtic roots.

Born Hiram Ulysses Grant, the 18th president of the United States had Irish roots. Grant’s great-great-great-grandfather, Thomas Simpson, was born about 1683 somewhere in Ulster. Grant’s mother, Hannah Simpson, had roots in Dergenagh, Northern Ireland. The U.S. Grant Ancestral Homestead, where the president’s great-grandfather John Simpson was born, is still in Dungannon.

Rutherford B. Hayes spent much time researching and learning about his ancestors, leaving a large library of genealogy and local history books. In a diary entry from 1870, he wrote that he had always thought of himself as Scotch. He also added that, on his father’s side, he had 30 ancestors from England and two from Scotland. No one from his mother’s side was Scottish, according to Hayes.

James Garfield, the second president to be assassinated, was related to Edward Garfield, who left Warwickshire, England around 1630 and immigrated to New England. Garfield was also descended from John Billingham, a Mayflower passenger.

Chester Arthur’s family roots include English ancestors. His father, however, was a Scotch-Irish clergyman from Ballymena, or what is now Northern Ireland, who moved to Greenwich, New York, in 1835. There were speculations that he was Canadian.

Grover Cleveland, the only president in American history to serve two non-consecutive terms in office, had two Irish lines of descent. His grandfather, Abner Neal, was born in Ireland in the 18th century. His great-great-grandmother, Ann Lamb, was born in Dublin sometime around 1722. Cleveland also had English ancestors on his father’s side who had emigrated from Cleveland, England in 1635.

Benjamin Harrison, the 23rd president, was William Henry Harrison’s grandson — the only grandson of another American president. They had the same English heritage.

The McKinley family were of Scottish and Irish descent. William McKinley’s great-grandparents were born in Pertshire, Scotland. The former president was also a descendant of David McKinley, who was born in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. David McKinley moved to Otter Creek in Chanceford Township,Pennsylvania in 1742. McKinley’s mother’s family, the Allisons, were among the earliest settlers in Pennsylvania. McKinley was the last serving president who fought in the American Civil War.

Theodore Roosevelt had Irish roots on his mother’s side. His mother, Martha Bulloch, had Ulster-Scots ancestors who emigrated from Larne, Northern Ireland, in the 1700s. The president also had Dutch ancestry. Roosevelt’s grandfather, Cornelius Van Schaick Roosevelt, was the last full-blooded Dutch Roosevelt of his line.

William Howard Taft was a descendant of Richard Robert Taft, who was born in England and died in County Louth, Ireland in 1700. Richard’s son, Robert Taft, moved to Massachusetts in the 1680s.

Woodrow Wilson’s grandfather, James Wilson, was born in Strabane, Northern Ireland. The president’s grandmother, Mary Anne Adams, was also born in Ulster, a region in the northern part of Ireland. Wilson had Scottish roots on his mother’s side. His maternal grandfather was from Paisley, Scotland.

Warren G. Harding’s heritage included Dutch connections. His great-grandfather on his mother’s side was William Van Kirk from the wealthy Van Kirk family.

Calvin Coolidge, the only American president to be born on Independence Day, had roots going back to the earliest settlers in New England. The family was related to John Coolidge, who emigrated from Cambridgeshire, England to Massachusetts around 1636.

Herbert Hoover had German, Swiss, and English ancestry. His parent’s families were Quakers — a Christian group that began in mid-17th-century England. The family lived on a farm near West Branch, Iowa.

Franklin D. Roosevelt was distantly related to the first Roosevelt president, Theodore. The two presidents were fifth cousins and share the same heritage.

The “S” in Harry S. Truman’s name was for both of his grandfathers, Anderson Shipp Truman and Solomon Young. Young was of Scottish and Irish descent. The Truman family history could also be traced back to England with German lineage.

Dwight D. Eisenhower was born to a German-American family. His roots can be traced back to ancestors who immigrated to a Pennsylvania Dutch community in 1741. The family moved to Kansas, then Texas, where Eisenhower was born in 1890, and back to Kansas two years later.

John F. Kennedy, the first Catholic president, was perhaps the most famous president of Irish descent. All of his great-grandparents were Irish immigrants who made new lives in Massachusetts.

Lyndon B. Johnson’s Irish link was not as strong as his predecessor’s. Johnson had a great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, John Jameson, who was born in Galway, Ireland about 1680.

Richard Nixon, the only president to resign from office, had Irish roots. His great-great-great-grandfather was Isaac Brown, who was born in Ireland in 1771. Nixon was also related to James Moore, who was born in County Antrim, Ireland. Some of Nixon’s ancestors left Ulster in the mid-18th century.

Gerald Ford was born Leslie Lynch King, Jr., but his name was changed after his mother remarried. Ford had two sets of great-great-great-great-grandparents who were from Loughgall, Northern Ireland, and Donnahlong, Ireland.

Jimmy Carter, the first U.S. president born in a hospital, descends from English immigrant Thomas Carter, who was born in London, England, and settled in Virginia sometime in the mid-1600s.

Ronald Reagan’s paternal great-grandfather was from County Tipperary, Ireland. He later moved to London, where he married an Irish refugee. Reagan’s grandfather was the first Reagan born in the U.S.

George H.W. Bush is related to Samuel Bush, was the first American-born member of the Bush family. Before then, the Bush’s family roots can be traced back to England. George Bush’s mother was a distant relative of William Gault, who was born in Ulster.

Bill Clinton’s ancestry is English. His heritage may contain Irish elements, though the link has not been definitely proven. Clinton’s potential Irish ancestry is through his mother, Virginia Dell Cassidy, whose ancestors have been traced back to Zachariah Cassidy. Zachariah’s father is thought to have been Irish who emigrated from Ulster.

As the son of George H.W. Bush, the 41st president of the United States, George W. Bush has the same English and Irish heritage.

America’s first Black president, Barack Obama was born in Hawaii. His father was born in Kenya. Obama said in 2008: “I am the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas.” Obama has a great-great-great-grandfather from Moneygall, Offaly County, Ireland.

Donald Trump’s grandparents on his father’s side were German immigrants. His grandfather, Friedrich Trump, came to the U.S. when he was 16. He married a woman who happened to be from his hometown of Kallstadt, Germany. Donald Trump’s mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, was born in Scotland. She immigrated to New York in 1930.