U.S. Presidents Who Were Related to Each Other

Updated February 15, 2021 | Logan Chamberlain

American Dynasties

Technically speaking, in the United States one cannot inherit political office from their parents. But that doesn't mean there aren't dynastic families, who repeatedly win office through wealth, connections, and aptitude. Some of the most famous political families in the U.S. today include the Kennedys, the Bushes, and the Cuomos. 

Here are the families that have pulled off repeat elections to the highest office in the land.

George W. Bush (the 43rd president) is the son of George Bush (the 41st president).

John Quincy Adams (the 6th president) was the son of John Adams (the 2nd president).

Benjamin Harrison (the 23rd president) was the grandson of William Henry Harrison (the 9th president).

James Madison (the 4th president) and Zachary Taylor (the 12th president) were second cousins.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (the 32nd president) was a fifth cousin of Theodore Roosevelt (the 26th president). Genealogists have determined that FDR was distantly related to a total of 11 U.S. presidents, 5 by blood and 6 by marriage: Theodore Roosevelt, John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Ulysses Grant, William Henry Harrison, Benjamin Harrison, James Madison, William Taft, Zachary Taylor, Martin Van Buren, and George Washington.