For this week's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun Randy Seaver of GeneaMusings suggested we determine how many presidents have held office during our lifetimes and the lifetimes of our grandparents. Randy generously provided the link to PresidentsUSA, the source for my lists.
I have lived while 13 men have been president (which makes me feel old -- until I realized that one of my ancestors lived through 23 presidencies!).
#33 Harry S. Truman
#34 Dwight D. Eisenhower
#35 John F. Kennedy
#36 Lyndon B. Johnson
#37 Richard M. Nixon
#38 Gerald R. Ford
#39 James E. Carter
#40 Ronald Reagan
#41 George H. W. Bush
#42 William J. Clinton
#43 George W. Bush
#44 Barack H. Obama
#45 Donald J. Trump
Lee Doyle (1913-1987), my father, lived during the leadership of 14 presidents.
#27 William H. Taft
#28 Woodrow W. Wilson
#29 Warren G. Harding
#30 Calvin Coolidge
#31 Herbert Hoover
#32 Franklin D. Roosevelt
#33 Harry Truman
#34 Dwight D. Eisenhower
#35 John F. Kennedy
#36 Lyndon B. Johnson
#37 Richard M. Nixon
#38 Gerald R. Ford
#39 James E. Carter
#40 Ronald Reagan
Audrey Meinzen Doyle (1915-1997), my mother, had one less president at the beginning of her life than my father but two more at the end of her life, so 15.
#28 Woodrow W. Wilson
#29 Warren G. Harding
#30 Calvin Coolidge
#31 Herbert Hoover
#32 Franklin D. Roosevelt
#33 Harry Truman
#34 Dwight D. Eisenhower
#35 John F. Kennedy
#36 Lyndon B. Johnson
#37 Richard M. Nixon
#38 Gerald R. Ford
#39 James E. Carter
#40 Ronald Reagan
#41 George H. W. Bush
#42 William J. Clinton
William Carl Robert Meinzen (1892-1979), my maternal grandfather, lived during 17 presidencies.
#23 Benjamin Harrison
#24 Grover Cleveland
#25 William McKinley
#26 Theodore Roosevelt
#27 William H. Taft
#28 Woodrow W. Wilson
#29 Warren G. Harding
#30 Calvin Coolidge
#31 Herbert Hoover
#32 Franklin D. Roosevelt
#33 Harry Truman
#34 Dwight D. Eisenhower
#35 John F. Kennedy
#36 Lyndon B. Johnson
#37 Richard M. Nixon
#38 Gerald R. Ford
#39 James E. Carter
Henry Carl Meinzen (1837-1925), my maternal great-grandfather, though not an American citizen until 1870, was alive during 22 presidencies. He became a citizen during the presidency of Ulysses S. Grant.
#7 Andrew Jackson
#8 Martin Van Buren
#9 William Henry Harrison
#10 John Tyler
#11 James K. Polk
#12 Zachary Taylor
#13 Millard Fillmore
#14 Franklin Pierce
#15 James Buchanan
#16 Abraham Lincoln
#17 Andrew Jackson
#18 Ulysses S. Grant
#19 Rutherford B. Hayes
#20 James A Garfield
#21 Chester Arthur
#22 Grover Cleveland
#23 Benjamin Harrison
#24 Grover Cleveland
#25 William McKinley
#26 Theodore Roosevelt
#27 William Howard Taft
#28 Woodrow Wilson
Dixon Bartley (1806-1900), my father's maternal great-grandfather, lived during the presidencies of 23 men.
#3 Thomas Jefferson
#4 James Madison
#5 James Monroe
#6 John Quincy Adams
#7 Andrew Jackson
#8 Martin Van Buren
#9 William Henry Harrison
#10 John Tyler
#11 James K. Polk
#12 Zachary Taylor
#13 Millard Fillmore
#14 Franklin Pierce
#15 James Buchanan
#16 Abraham Lincoln
#17 Andrew Jackson
#18 Ulysses S. Grant
#19 Rutherford B. Hayes
#20 James A Garfield
#21 Chester Arthur
#22 Grover Cleveland
#23 Benjamin Harrison
#24 Grover Cleveland
#25 William McKinley
Augustine Bickerstaff (1759-1857), my maternal grandmother's great-great-grandfather (or my 4th great-grandfather), lived during 14 presidents.
#1 George Washington
#2 John Adams
#3 Thomas Jefferson
#4 James Madison
#5 James Monroe
#6 John Quincy Adams
#7 Andrew Jackson
#8 Martin Van Buren
#9 William Henry Harrison
#10 John Tyler
#11 James K. Polk
#12 Zachary Taylor
#13 Millard Fillmore
#14 Franklin Pierce
No matter which lines I follow and how I calculate it, besides myself, I need six more generations to have lived during the presidency from the beginning of the United States until our current president. The only woman on these lists is my mother, primarily because my female ancestors seemed to live shorter lives than the men. (And I was searching for longevity to increase the number of presidents during their lifetimes.)
While compiling these lists for my ancestors I began to wonder to which men and parties they gave their allegiance, which proposed ideas that they believed were right and true. Though the issues would have been very different from those in our time I wonder how my sympathies would have aligned (or not) with theirs in their lifetimes, and how theirs might align with mine now.
--Nancy.
Copyright ©2017 Nancy Messier. All Rights Reserved.
.