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Famous Descendants of
Mayflower Passengers

There are millions of Mayflower descendants living today, but very few descendants actually know it. Eight U.S. presidents are known to be descended from Mayflower passengers, and a number of other famous people including astronauts, poets, politicians, actors and actresses, directors, inventors and others are descendants as well. Below are a list of the most famous individuals I know about that have Mayflower ancestries. Their blood lineage back to the Mayflower passenger is included (in red). Many of these lineages were originally published by Gary Boyd Roberts of the New England Historic and Genealogical Society, who regularly publishes new discoveries and article on his Notable Kin website.

The Presidents

Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams. Descendants of John Alden, and William, Alice, and Priscilla Mullins.
John Quincy Adams → John Adams → John Adams → Hannah Bass → Ruth Alden → JOHN ALDEN

President Zachary Taylor. Descendant of Isaac Allerton, and William and Mary Brewster.
Zachary Taylor → Richard Taylor → Elizabeth Lee → Sarah Allerton → Isaac Allerton → Fear Brewster → WILLIAM BREWSTER

Civil War Union General, and President Ulysses S. Grant. Descendant of Richard Warren.
Ulysses S. Grant → Jesse Grant → Noah Grant → Susanna Delano → Jonathan Delano → Mercy Warren → Nathaniel Warren → RICHARD WARREN

President James A. Garfield. Descendant of John Billington and his son Francis Billington.
James A. Garfield → Eliza Ballou → Mehitable Ingalls → Sybil Carpenter → Jotham Carpenter → Desire Martin → Mercy Billington → FRANCIS BILLINGTON → JOHN BILLINGTON

President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Descendant of Richard Warren; Isaac and Mary Allerton and their daughter Mary; Degory Priest; Francis Cooke and his son John Cooke; John Howland, Elizabeth Tilley and her parents John and Joan Tilley.
Franklin D. Roosevelt → Sara Delano → Warren Delano → Warren Delano → Ephraim Delano → Thomas Delano → Mercy Warren → Nathaniel Warren → RICHARD WARREN
Franklin D. Roosevelt → Sara Delano → Warren Delano → Warren Delano → Elizabeth Cushman → James Cushman → Eleazer Cushman → MARY ALLERTON → ISAAC ALLERTON
Franklin D. Roosevelt → Sara Delano → Warren Delano → Warren Delano → Elizabeth Cushman → James Cushman → Elizabeth Coombs → John Coombs → Sarah Priest → DEGORY PRIEST
Franklin D. Roosevelt → Sara Delano → Warren Delano → Deborah Church → Deborah Perry → Samuel Perry → Ebenezer Perry → Esther Taber → Esther Cooke → JOHN COOKE → FRANCIS COOKE
Franklin D. Roosevelt → James Roosevelt → Mary Aspinwall → Susan Howland → Joseph Howland → Nathanial Howland Jr. → Nathanial Howland Sr. → Joseph Howland → JOHN HOWLAND

Presidents George H. W. Bush, and George W. Bush. Descendants of John Howland, Elizabeth Tilley, and her parents John and Joan Tilley; and Francis Cooke. George W. Bush, through mother First Lady Barbara Bush, is also descended from Henry Samson.
George W. Bush → George H. W. Bush → Prescott Bush → Flora Sheldon → Mary Butler → Courtland Butler → Samuel Butler → Sarah Herrick → Silence Kingsley → Samuel Kingsley → Mary Washburn → Elizabeth Mitchell → Jane Cooke → FRANCIS COOKE
George W. Bush → George H. W. Bush → Prescott Bush → Flora Sheldon → Mary Butler → Elizabeth Pierce → Betsy Wheeler → Sarah Horton → Joanna Wood → Jabez Wood → Hannah Nelson → Hope Huckins → Hope Chipman → Hope Howland → JOHN HOWLAND
George W. Bush → Barbara Pierce → Marvin Pierce → Scott Pierce → Jonas Pierce → Chloe Holbrook → John Holbrook → John Holbrook → Zilpha Thayer → Mary Samson → Stephen Samson → HENRY SAMSON

Other Famous Descendants of Mayflower Passengers

Alan B. Shepard, Jr. First American in space, fifth man to walk on the moon (remembered for his lunar golf shot.)
Alan B. Shepard, Jr. → Alan B. Shepard → Frederick Shepard → Rosina Johnson → Abner Johnson → Anna Delano → Silvanus Delano → Jonathan Delano → Mercy Warren → Nathaniel Warren → RICHARD WARREN

Marilyn Monroe. Actress and model.
Marilyn Monroe (a.k.a. Norma Jean Baker) → Charles Stanley Gifford → Frederick Gifford → Charles Gifford → Lydia Tompkins → Uriah Tompkins → Micah Tompkins → Sarah Coe → Sarah Pabodie → Elizabeth Alden → JOHN ALDEN

Orson Welles. Actor and director. Famous for the "War of the Worlds" radio broadcast, and for acting and directing "Citizen Kane."
Orson Welles → Richard Welles → Mary Head → Orson Head → Jonathan Head → Ruth Little → Fobes Little → Constant Fobes → Martha Pabodie → Elizabeth Alden → JOHN ALDEN

Noah Webster. Of Webster's Dictionary fame.
Noah Webster → Mercy Steel → Eliphalet Steel → Mercy Bradford → William Bradford → WILLIAM BRADFORD

Clint Eastwood. Actor.
Clint Eastwood → Margaret Runners → Waldo Runners → Sophia Bartholomew → Cordelia Kellogg → Edward Kellogg → Ephraim Kellogg → Ruth Hosmer → Susanna Steele → Thomas Steele → Mary Bradford → William Bradford → WILLIAM BRADFORD

Alec Baldwin (and brother Stephen). Actor.
Alexander 'Alec' Baldwin → Alexander Baldwin → Alexander Baldwin → Sylvester Baldwin → Roswell Baldwin → Esther Brown → Eunice Palmer → Prudence Holmes → Joshua Holmes → Fear Sturgis → Temperance Gorham → John Gorham → Desire Howland → JOHN HOWLAND

Humphrey Bogart. Actor.
Humphrey Bogart → Maud Humphrey → John Humphrey → Elizabeth Perkins → Dyer Perkins → Bethia Baker → Prudence Jenkins → Lydia Howland → Joseph Howland → JOHN HOWLAND

Dick Van Dyke. Actor.
Dick Van Dyke → Hazel McCord → Charles C. McCord → Susan Child → David Lorenzo Child → Susannah Tinkham → Isaiah Tinkham → Nathan Tinkham → Isaac Tinkham → Ephraim Tinkham → Mary Browne → PETER BROWNE

Dick Van Dyke → Hazel McCord → Charles C. McCord → Susan Child → David Lorenzo Child → Susannah Tinkham → Isaiah Tinkham → Nathan Tinkham → Isaac Tinkham → Esther Wright → Hester Cooke → FRANCIS COOKE

Dick Van Dyke → Hazel McCord → Charles C. McCord → Susan Child → David Lorenzo Child → Susannah Tinkham → Isaiah Tinkham → Sarah Soule → Zachariah Soule → Benjamin Soule → JOHN SOULE → GEORGE SOULE

Dick Van Dyke → Hazel McCord → Charles C. McCord → Susan Child → David Lorenzo Child → Susannah Tinkham → Isaiah Tinkham → Sarah Soule → Zachariah Soule → Sarah Standish → Alexander Standish → MYLES STANDISH

Dick Van Dyke → Hazel McCord → Charles C. McCord → Susan Child → David Lorenzo Child → Susannah Tinkham → Isaiah Tinkham → Sarah Soule → Zachariah Soule → Sarah Standish → Sarah Alden → JOHN ALDEN

Christopher Lloyd. Actor. One of his more notable characters was "Doc" Brown in the Back to the Future trilogy.
Christopher Lloyd → Samuel R. Lloyd → Adele Ferrier Peck → Francis Peck → Sarah Gorham → Isaac Gorham → Isaac Gorham → Isaac Gorham → Jabez Gorham → Desire Howland → JOHN HOWLAND

Richard Gere. Actor.
Richard Gere → Homer Gere → Albert Gere → George Gere → Sarah Tewksbury → Lucina Fuller → Consider Fuller → Archippus Fuller → Seth Fuller → Samuel Fuller → Samuel Fuller → SAMUEL FULLER
Richard Gere → Homer Gere → Albert Gere → George Gere → Sarah Tewksbury → Lucina Fuller → Consider Fuller → Archippus Fuller → Seth Fuller → Mercy Eaton → SAMUEL EATON → FRANCIS EATON
Richard Gere → Homer Gere → Albert Gere → George Gere → Sarah Tewksbury → Lucina Fuller → Consider Fuller → Archippus Fuller → Sarah Wright → Adam Wright → Hester Cooke → FRANCIS COOKE
Richard Gere → Homer Gere → Albert Gere → George Gere → Sarah Tewksbury → Lucina Fuller → Consider Fuller → Archippus Fuller → Sarah Wright → Sarah Soule → JOHN SOULE → GEORGE SOULE
Richard Gere → Homer Gere → Albert Gere → George Gere → Sarah Tewksbury → Lucina Fuller → Elkanah Elms → Sarah Bennett → Ruth Coombs → Francis Coombs → Sarah Priest → DEGORY PRIEST
Richard Gere → Homer Gere → Albert Gere → George Gere → Sarah Tewksbury → Lucina Fuller → Consider Fuller → Maria Ryder → Mary Sylvester → Hannah Bartlett → Joseph Bartlett → Mary Warren → RICHARD WARREN

Christopher Reeve. Actor (Superman).
Christopher Reeve → Barbara Lamb → Horace Lamb → Burt Lamb → Charles Lamb → Ebenezer Lamb → Jerusha Ripley → Ebenezer Ripley → Joshua Ripley → Hannah Bradford → William Bradford → WILLIAM BRADFORD

Sarah Palin. 2008 Republican Vice-Presidential Candidate, Governor of Alaska.
Sarah Palin → Charles Heath → Nellie Brandt → May Ruddock → Thomas Ruddock → Rhoda Damon → Rhoda Thayer → Micah Thayer → Elizabeth Samson → Stephen Samson → HENRY SAMSON

Sarah Palin → Sarah Sheeran → Helen Gower → James Gower → Arthur Gower → Abigail Hawes → Isaiah Hawes → Ebenezer Hawes → Ebenezer Hawes → Ebenezer Hawes → Desire Gorham → Desire Howland → JOHN HOWLAND

Sarah Palin → Sarah Sheeran → Helen Gower → James Gower → Arthur Gower → Cornelius Gower → Susan Norton → Lydia Claghorn → Susannah Gibbs → Abigail Smith → Abigail Skiffe → Lydia Snow → Abigail Warren → RICHARD WARREN

Sarah Palin → Sarah Sheeran → Helen Gower → Cora Strong → Augusta Godfrey → James Godfrey → Benjamin Godfrey → Knowles Godfrey → Knowles Godfrey → George Godfrey → Deborah Cooke → Deborah Hopkins → GILES HOPKINS → STEPHEN HOPKINS

Sarah Palin → Sarah Sheeran → Helen Gower → Cora Strong → Augusta Godfrey → James Godfrey → Benjamin Godfrey → Knowles Godfrey → Knowles Godfrey → Mercy Knowles → Richard Knowles → Mercy Freeman → Mercy Prence → Patience Brewster → WILLIAM BREWSTER

George Eastman. Inventor in the photography field. One of the founders of Eastman-Kodak.
George Eastman → Maria Kilbourn → Mary Ballard → Alice Fuller → Mary Edgerton → Alice Ripley → Hannah Bradford → William Bradford → WILLIAM BRADFORD

George McClellan. Commander of Union forces, Civil War.
George McClellan → George McClellan → James McClellan → Rachel Abbe → Mary Ripley → Joshua Ripley → Hannah Bradford → William Bradford → WILLIAM BRADFORD

Bing Crosby. Singer, most remembered for his rendition of White Christmas.
Bing Crosby → Harry Crosby → Nathaniel Crosby → Nathaniel Crosby → Ruby Foster → Chillingworth Foster → Chillingworth Foster → Mercy Freeman → John Freeman → Mercy Prence → Patience Brewster → WILLIAM BREWSTER

Dan Quayle. Vice President under George H. W. Bush.
Dan Quayle → James Quayle → Marie Cline → Delia Burras → Oscar Burras → Sally Standish → Peleg Standish → Zachariah Standish → Zachariah Standish → Ebenezer Standish → Alexander Standish → MYLES STANDISH

Dan Quayle → James Quayle → Marie Cline → Delia Burras → Oscar Burras → Sally Standish → Peleg Standish → Zachariah Standish → Zachariah Standish → Ebenezer Standish → Sarah Alden → JOHN ALDEN

Charles Curtis. Vice President under Herbert Hoover.
Charles Curtis → Orren A. Curtis → William Curtis → Thomas Curtis → Thomas Curtis → Jacob Curtis → Jacob Curtis → Mary Tinkham → Hezekiah Tinkham → Mary Browne → PETER BROWNE

Hugh Hefner. Publisher, founder of Playboy.
Hugh Hefner → Glenn Hefner → Lois Householder → Lurena Woodward → Masury Woodward → Asa Woodward → Mary Bradford → James Bradford → Thomas Bradford → William Bradford → WILLIAM BRADFORD

Deborah Sampson. Fought in several battles during the Revolutionary War, disguised as a man.
Deborah Sampson → Deborah Bradford → Elisha Bradford → Joseph Bradford → William Bradford → WILLIAM BRADFORD
Deborah Sampson → Jonathan Sampson → Jonathan Sampson → Lydia Standish →Alexander Standish → MYLES STANDISH

Anna Mary Robertson (i.e. "Grandma Moses"). Folk artist.
Anna Mary Robertson → Russell Robertson → Sarah King → Hezekiah King → John King → Sarah Reed → Esther Tomson → Mary Cooke → John Cooke → FRANCIS COOKE
Anna Mary Robertson → Russell Robertson → Sarah King → Hezekiah King → John King → Sarah Reed → Esther Tomson → Mary Cooke → Sarah Warren → RICHARD WARREN

Joseph Smith. Mormon founder and leader.
Joseph Smith → Lucy Mack → Lydia Gates → Lydia Fuller → Hannah Crocker → Hannah Howland → Joseph Howland → JOHN HOWLAND

Ralph Waldo Emerson. Famous poet.
Ralph Waldo Emerson → Ruth Haskins → Hannah Upham → Hannah Waite → Lydia Sargent → Lydia Chipman → Hope Howland → ELIZABETH TILLEY (an entirely female line, meaning Ralph Waldo Emerson carried the mitochondrial DNA of Mayflower passenger Elizabeth Tilley).

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Famous poet.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow → Zilpha Wadsworth → Peleg Wadsworth → Mercy Wiswall → Priscilla Pabodie → Elizabeth Alden → JOHN ALDEN

William Cullen Bryant. Famous poet.
William Cullen Bryant → Sarah Snell → Ebenezer Snell → Zachariah Snell → Anna Alden → Jonathan Alden → JOHN ALDEN

Cokie Roberts. Political analyst for ABC News and NPR.
Cokie Roberts → Marie "Lindy" Claiborne → Martha Morrison → Eustasia Harriss → Thomas Harriss → Julia Packwood → Sarah Hinman → Katherine Green → Mary Pickett → John Pickett → Adam Pickett → Ruth Brewster → Jonathan Brewster → WILLIAM BREWSTER

Dr. Benjamin Spock. Pediatrician and author of the influential childcare book, Baby and Child Care (1946).

Benjamin Spock → Louise Stoughton → Ada Hooper →Adeline Ripley → Sarah Denny → Lucretia Sargent → Phineas Sargent → Jonathan Sargent → Jonathan Sargent → Lydia Chipman → Hope Howland → JOHN HOWLAND

President Richard Nixon, President Gerald Ford, and Winston Churchill are all descended from brothers of Mayflower passenger John Howland.

Famous Descendants of Mayflower Passengers

Famous Descendants of
Mayflower Passengers