This American President Had 15 Children, The Most Of Any So Far

When anyone is elected to a high ranking government position, even at state or city level, their whole family enters the spotlight. We are often curious about the families of public leaders and many factor the candidate's family values into decisions to vote for or against them. When it comes to the president of the United States, Americans tend to get to know the children of the president. Jenna Bush Hager, daughter of President George W. Bush, is now a host of the "Today Show." Chelsea Clinton, daughter of President Bill Clinton, has her own show on Apple TV+ along with her mother, Hillary Clinton.

The family unit has undergone changes in patterns over the past 200 years. Couples tend to have fewer children in the 21st century than in centuries past. With 46 presidents to its history, the United States has seen chief executives with families big and small, small being President James Buchanan – who had no children — and one who had more than a dozen.

In April of 1841, President William Henry Harrison died of pneumonia just 32 days after his inauguration. He was the first president to die while in office. This meant that Vice President John Tyler became the first vice president to take over for a president who had died. His critics called him "His Accidency." Tyler was a supporter of states' rights as opposed to federal decision making. If this sounds like a mindset headed toward a civil war, then you would be correct. Years after his term ended in 1845, Tyler joined the Confederate House of Representatives when southern states began seceding from the United States in 1861 (per White House).

Outside of his political career, Tyler had eight children (seven survived) with his first wife, Letitia Tyler, before she died in 1841. He married Julia Gardiner in 1844 despite their 30-year age difference. Together they had seven children, making for a grand total of 15 children for President John Tyler.

Some of these children went on to become doctors, lawyers, and even Civil War soldiers. Others unfortunately died in their 20s or 30s. Given the fact that Julia Tyler was 30 years younger than John Tyler, it is clear that John Tyler must have been quite old when some of these children were born. His first child, Mary, was born in 1815. His last child, Pearl, was born in 1860, just two years before Tyler died at age 72 (per Your Dictionary).

Tyler was 63 when his son Lyon was born in 1853. According to 10News, Lyon went on to have a child with a younger wife when he was in his 70s, just like his father, the former president. Lyon's son Harrison was born in 1928. As of November 2021, Harrison was still alive, at 93 years old. It is hard to believe that a man born in 1790 could still have a living grandson in the 21st century.