It seems none of us can escape hearing about all things presidential these days. Working along this vein (if one cannot beat them, one must join them, I suppose), I picked up the Main Library's copy of the documentary First Mothers, detailing the lives of some of our presidents' moms, and found it revealing. Here are some intellectual tidbits I learned (although some of these facts came from other sources)...
The Father of Our Country had a mother who didn’t approve of his greatest legacy: leading our fledgling republic to independence. Mary Ball Washington considered herself a lifelong Englishwoman and severely condemned her son’s involvement with the American Revolution, which severed the colonies’ ties to Britain. She continued holding fast to her pro-British sensibilities even after such allegiances were considered treasonous. Mary lived to see George Washington elected the first president of the United States; she died four months after his inauguration in 1789.
Dwight Eisenhower, who achieved fame as a brilliant Army general in World War II before seeking the highest office in the land, had a mother who detested war. Ida Stover Eisenhower was a devoted pacifist who remained dedicated to protesting American involvement in the Second World War even as Ike was fighting in it.
Abigail Smith Adams was the first woman to be both First Lady and First Mother. Her husband, John Adams, was the second president; their son, John Quincy Adams, was the sixth. Barbara Pierce Bush would be the second woman to enjoy the same situation; unlike George W., however, John Quincy's parents did not survive to witness his election.
Maria Hoes Van Buren gave birth to the first president of the land in the United States of America. Her son, Martin, was the eighth president. While the previous seven presidents were born in what would be called the United States, the locales of their nativity were still British colonies. When Martin Van Buren entered the world on December 5, 1782, in Kinderhook, New York, it was a state of the Union and not a foreign territory.
Several presidents lost their mothers in childhood. Nancy Hanks Lincoln, mother of one of the nation’s most admirable Commanders-in-Chief, died when Abraham Lincoln was nine years old in 1818. Lincoln paid homage to his deceased mother with this moving sentiment: “God bless my mother; all I am or ever hope to be I owe to her”.
Calvin Coolidge, our thirtieth president, lost his mother, Victoria Josephine Moor Coolidge, when he was twelve. She passed away on her 39th birthday—March 14, 1885—of causes that were not recorded; the Vermont ground was frozen solid and her burial had to be postponed until several weeks after her death. Coolidge’s successor, Herbert Hoover, was orphaned at an early age when his mother, Hulda Minthorn Hoover, died in his eighth year (his father had died the year before). Although he was very young at her death, Hoover clearly remembered her spirit of political activism: she took him with her to protest in the women’s suffrage movement on several occasions.
Two presidents have their mother’s maiden names as their given names. Our thirteenth president, Millard Fillmore, was named for his mother, who was born Phoebe Millard. Although his given name was Thomas, Woodrow Wilson (President #28) was named for his mother, Jessie Janet Woodrow. He formally abandoned using his original name while a teenager.
I believe only one president had his mother survive him: John Fitzgerald Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963. Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald Kennedy died in 1995 at the advanced age of 104 years. She remains the longest-lived close presidential relative. ADDITION--09/30/08
Thank you, blog reader M. Ward, who generously directed my attention to the website http://upstairsatthewhitehouse.com/, which was created by Doug Wead (see title of his below).
On this wonderfully informative site he divulges that Kennedy was not alone in having his mother survive him: James Polk and James Garfield also had mothers who outlived them.
An unusually large number of presidents (over 50%, in fact) were either the eldest in their families or were eldest sons. James Polk, Jimmy Carter, Lyndon Johnson, John Quincy Adams, Harry Truman, Ulysses S. Grant, and George W. Bush (to name but a few) number among them.
There are also examples of sons low in the birth order taking over the White House:
Grover Cleveland was the 5th of 9 children--
Franklin Pierce was the 6th of 8 children--
...and William McKinley was the 7th of 9.
There were, less frequently, only children as well: Franklin Delano Roosevelt was an only child, as is former president Bill Clinton. His father, William Jefferson Blythe, was killed in a car accident three months before he was born. While never formally adopted by his stepfather, Roger Clinton, he did take the Clinton surname in adolescence--largely to please his mother, Virginia.
Only four presidents have been the babies in their families--Andrew Jackson and Ronald Reagan were two of them. Jackson, incidentally, was the only president born to two immigrants; Andrew and Elizabeth (Hutchison) Jackson were natives of Ireland who landed in North Carolina several years before the future president's birth there. Jackson was the only first-generation American to attain the country's highest office.
And now, here's an Almost-Local First Mother Fun Fact! Ulysses S. Grant’s (a heroic Civil War general but president during one of the most corrupt administrations in our history) mother entered this life very close to the Reading area. Hannah Simpson Grant was born in Horsham Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania on November 23, 1798. How utterly arcane!
If you wish to learn more about presidential mothers, consult these holdings, available at the Main Library:
First Mothers by Bonnie Angelo, 2000
973.099 Ang
First Mothers--DVD (based on the same-titled book),
The Hisory Channel, 2002
New 973.099 Fir
The Raising of a President by Doug Wead, 2005
973.099 Wea
The Father of Our Country had a mother who didn’t approve of his greatest legacy: leading our fledgling republic to independence. Mary Ball Washington considered herself a lifelong Englishwoman and severely condemned her son’s involvement with the American Revolution, which severed the colonies’ ties to Britain. She continued holding fast to her pro-British sensibilities even after such allegiances were considered treasonous. Mary lived to see George Washington elected the first president of the United States; she died four months after his inauguration in 1789.
Dwight Eisenhower, who achieved fame as a brilliant Army general in World War II before seeking the highest office in the land, had a mother who detested war. Ida Stover Eisenhower was a devoted pacifist who remained dedicated to protesting American involvement in the Second World War even as Ike was fighting in it.
Abigail Smith Adams was the first woman to be both First Lady and First Mother. Her husband, John Adams, was the second president; their son, John Quincy Adams, was the sixth. Barbara Pierce Bush would be the second woman to enjoy the same situation; unlike George W., however, John Quincy's parents did not survive to witness his election.
Maria Hoes Van Buren gave birth to the first president of the land in the United States of America. Her son, Martin, was the eighth president. While the previous seven presidents were born in what would be called the United States, the locales of their nativity were still British colonies. When Martin Van Buren entered the world on December 5, 1782, in Kinderhook, New York, it was a state of the Union and not a foreign territory.
Several presidents lost their mothers in childhood. Nancy Hanks Lincoln, mother of one of the nation’s most admirable Commanders-in-Chief, died when Abraham Lincoln was nine years old in 1818. Lincoln paid homage to his deceased mother with this moving sentiment: “God bless my mother; all I am or ever hope to be I owe to her”.
Calvin Coolidge, our thirtieth president, lost his mother, Victoria Josephine Moor Coolidge, when he was twelve. She passed away on her 39th birthday—March 14, 1885—of causes that were not recorded; the Vermont ground was frozen solid and her burial had to be postponed until several weeks after her death. Coolidge’s successor, Herbert Hoover, was orphaned at an early age when his mother, Hulda Minthorn Hoover, died in his eighth year (his father had died the year before). Although he was very young at her death, Hoover clearly remembered her spirit of political activism: she took him with her to protest in the women’s suffrage movement on several occasions.
Two presidents have their mother’s maiden names as their given names. Our thirteenth president, Millard Fillmore, was named for his mother, who was born Phoebe Millard. Although his given name was Thomas, Woodrow Wilson (President #28) was named for his mother, Jessie Janet Woodrow. He formally abandoned using his original name while a teenager.
I believe only one president had his mother survive him: John Fitzgerald Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963. Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald Kennedy died in 1995 at the advanced age of 104 years. She remains the longest-lived close presidential relative. ADDITION--09/30/08
Thank you, blog reader M. Ward, who generously directed my attention to the website http://upstairsatthewhitehouse.com/, which was created by Doug Wead (see title of his below).
On this wonderfully informative site he divulges that Kennedy was not alone in having his mother survive him: James Polk and James Garfield also had mothers who outlived them.
An unusually large number of presidents (over 50%, in fact) were either the eldest in their families or were eldest sons. James Polk, Jimmy Carter, Lyndon Johnson, John Quincy Adams, Harry Truman, Ulysses S. Grant, and George W. Bush (to name but a few) number among them.
There are also examples of sons low in the birth order taking over the White House:
Grover Cleveland was the 5th of 9 children--
Franklin Pierce was the 6th of 8 children--
...and William McKinley was the 7th of 9.
There were, less frequently, only children as well: Franklin Delano Roosevelt was an only child, as is former president Bill Clinton. His father, William Jefferson Blythe, was killed in a car accident three months before he was born. While never formally adopted by his stepfather, Roger Clinton, he did take the Clinton surname in adolescence--largely to please his mother, Virginia.
Only four presidents have been the babies in their families--Andrew Jackson and Ronald Reagan were two of them. Jackson, incidentally, was the only president born to two immigrants; Andrew and Elizabeth (Hutchison) Jackson were natives of Ireland who landed in North Carolina several years before the future president's birth there. Jackson was the only first-generation American to attain the country's highest office.
And now, here's an Almost-Local First Mother Fun Fact! Ulysses S. Grant’s (a heroic Civil War general but president during one of the most corrupt administrations in our history) mother entered this life very close to the Reading area. Hannah Simpson Grant was born in Horsham Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania on November 23, 1798. How utterly arcane!
If you wish to learn more about presidential mothers, consult these holdings, available at the Main Library:
First Mothers by Bonnie Angelo, 2000
973.099 Ang
First Mothers--DVD (based on the same-titled book),
The Hisory Channel, 2002
New 973.099 Fir
The Raising of a President by Doug Wead, 2005
973.099 Wea
