You’ve probably heard the rumor. It’s the one where some kid for a middle school science project claims every single US president except for Martin Van Buren is related to King John of England. It sounds like a conspiracy theory. Honestly, it sounds fake. But when you start digging into the US president family tree, things get weirdly intertwined. We like to think of the presidency as this ultimate meritocracy where anyone can grow up to be leader of the free world. In reality? The American executive branch has some serious "family business" vibes.
It’s not just the Adams family or the Bushes. It’s the distant cousins, the shared colonial ancestors, and the strange genealogical web that connects a peanut farmer from Georgia to a rough-riding New Yorker.
The Dynasties You Already Know
Let’s get the obvious ones out of the way. You have the Adamses: John and John Quincy. They were the original blueprint. Then you have the Harrisons. William Henry Harrison died after a month in office, but his grandson Benjamin Harrison managed to reclaim the seat decades later. It’s kinda fascinating how the Harrison name carried that much political weight across generations.
Then there’s the Roosevelt connection. Teddy and FDR. They weren’t father and son; they were fifth cousins. That sounds distant, right? Well, Eleanor Roosevelt was Teddy’s niece, meaning she married her own fifth cousin once removed. Back then, within the high-society circles of New York, that was basically just how social calendars worked.
The Bushes—George H.W. and George W.—represent the modern version of this. It’s rare. It’s two father-son duos in over two centuries. But the US president family tree is actually much denser if you look at the "hidden" cousins.
The King John Connection: Fact or Fiction?
Back to that middle schooler, BridgeAnne d’Avignon. She spent years tracing lineages and concluded that 42 of the first 43 presidents shared a common ancestor in King John of England. King John is the guy famous for signing the Magna Carta and being the villain in every Robin Hood movie.
Is it true? Sorta.
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Genealogists like those at the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) note that if you go back far enough—say, 20 or 25 generations—almost anyone with Western European heritage is likely related to royalty. There’s a concept in genealogy called "pedigree collapse." Basically, the further back you go, the fewer ancestors you have than what the math suggests because people kept marrying their cousins.
But even with that caveat, American presidents are disproportionately related to one another.
Presidential Cousins You Didn't Expect
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was reportedly related to 11 other presidents by blood and 12 by marriage. He was a cousin to five of them: Theodore Roosevelt, John Adams, James Madison, Martin Van Buren, and William Howard Taft. It’s like a secret club.
Take Barack Obama and George W. Bush. On the surface, they couldn't be more different. Politically, they’re opposites. But they are 10th cousins. They share a common ancestor named Samuel Hinkley of Cape Cod, who died in the 1600s. Obama is also a distant cousin to Dick Cheney. When that news broke, Obama joked about it, but it highlights a real trend: the pool of people who ended up in the American elite often traces back to the same early colonial settlers.
Why Does the US President Family Tree Look Like This?
It’s about "Social Capital."
Early American politics wasn't just about ideas; it was about land and lineage. The "Virginia Dynasty"—Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe—all came from the same planter class. They weren't all blood relatives, but they lived in the same neighborhoods, attended the same parties, and shared the same social DNA.
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When you look at the US president family tree, you're looking at a map of power. The New England elite (Adams, Lodge, Kennedy) and the Southern aristocracy (Taylor, Harrison, Tyler) were the primary feeders for the presidency for 150 years.
The Outliers: Breaking the Pattern
Not everyone is part of the club.
- Andrew Jackson: He was the son of Irish immigrants, born in a log cabin. He was the first real "outsider."
- Abraham Lincoln: While some genealogists have tried to link him to English gentry, his immediate background was genuinely impoverished.
- Bill Clinton: Born William Jefferson Blythe III, he was a kid from Arkansas with no significant ancestral ties to the presidency.
- Richard Nixon: His Quaker roots and West Coast upbringing put him outside the traditional East Coast power structures.
The Genetics of Power
There’s no "presidency gene." Obviously. But there is something to be said for "political socialization." If you grow up in a house where your dad is the President (like George W. Bush) or your grandfather was a Senator (like Mitt Romney, though he didn't win), you learn the language of power before you can vote.
You learn how to fundraise. You learn how to handle the press. You see the job as something achievable rather than a distant dream. That’s why the US president family tree keeps looping back on itself. It’s not a secret cabal; it’s just that the infrastructure of winning an election is often passed down through family ties and proximity.
Surprising Distant Links
Did you know Tom Hanks is a distant cousin of Abraham Lincoln? Or that Brad Pitt and Barack Obama share an ancestor? While those are fun trivia facts, the presidential links are more significant because they cluster.
Consider the 2004 election between George W. Bush and John Kerry. They were both members of Skull and Bones at Yale, sure. But they were also 16th cousins. Even when we think we’re choosing between two totally different paths, the candidates often share a remarkably similar genealogical background.
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Gary Boyd Roberts, an expert at the NEHGS and author of Ancestors of American Presidents, has spent decades proving these links. His work shows that most presidents with colonial New England ancestry are related to each other. If your family has been in America since 1630, and you’re in the top 1% of the socio-economic ladder, the odds of you NOT being a distant cousin to a president are actually pretty slim.
The Genealogy of the Modern Era
As America becomes more diverse, the US president family tree is finally starting to sprout new branches.
Donald Trump’s family tree is a relatively recent addition to the American landscape. His mother was Scottish, and his paternal grandparents were German immigrants. There’s no deep colonial link to the Adamses or the Harrisons there.
Similarly, Joe Biden’s ancestry is heavily Irish-Catholic, centered around the 19th-century immigration waves rather than the Mayflower. We are seeing a shift away from the "Old Guard" lineage that dominated the 18th and 19th centuries.
How to Find Your Own Presidential Connection
Want to see if you’re on the US president family tree? Most people are closer than they think.
- Start with the Greats: Trace your family back to the mid-1800s. Most "presidential" lines in the US pass through colonial Virginia or Massachusetts.
- Look for "Gateway Ancestors": These are individuals of noble or gentry descent who migrated to the American colonies. If you find one, you’re almost certainly related to at least one president.
- Check the "Big Three" Regions: If your ancestors were in the Virginia Tidewater, the Massachusetts Bay Colony, or the Connecticut River Valley before 1700, your chances skyrocket.
- Use Specialized Databases: Don't just rely on a standard search. Look at the New England Historic Genealogical Society’s presidential databases. They have the most rigorous peer-reviewed lineages.
What This Really Tells Us
The US president family tree isn't just a list of names. It’s a record of how American power was concentrated for centuries. While the "all related to King John" thing is mostly a quirk of math and deep time, the fact that so many presidents share 17th-century colonial ancestors is a testament to the enduring influence of the early American elite.
We’re moving toward a more "open" tree, but the roots remain deep. Whether it's the 10th-cousin link between Obama and Bush or the direct line of the Adams family, the presidency has often been a smaller world than the history books suggest.
Actionable Insights for Family History Buffs
- Audit Your Surname: If you have a surname like Harrison, Tyler, Taylor, or Cleveland, don't assume you're related. Most presidential surnames are common English names. Focus on the maternal lines—that's where the "stealth" connections usually hide.
- Verify with Primary Sources: If a family legend says you're related to Lincoln, find the marriage certificate or the census record. Proximity to power often created "aspirational" genealogy in the 1900s where families claimed links that didn't exist.
- Focus on the 1600s: If you can bridge the gap between your family and a settler in the 1600s, use a site like FamousKin.com to cross-reference that settler with known presidential ancestors.
- Explore Local Archives: Presidential relatives didn't all stay in D.C. They moved to Ohio, Indiana, and the West. Check local historical societies in "feeder" states for the most accurate, unindexed records.