{"id":5276,"date":"2013-11-13T16:33:40","date_gmt":"2013-11-13T16:33:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=5276"},"modified":"2022-08-05T10:44:19","modified_gmt":"2022-08-05T14:44:19","slug":"first-lady-edith-wilson-her-ancestor-pocahontas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/first-lady-edith-wilson-her-ancestor-pocahontas.html","title":{"rendered":"First Lady Edith Wilson & Her Ancestor Pocahontas"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/em><\/strong>: In this article\u2014in celebration of November being Native American Heritage Month\u2014Gena Philibert-Ortega searches old newspapers to find stories about U.S. First Lady Edith Wilson and her connection to her famous Native American ancestor, Pocahontas. Gena is a genealogist and author of the book \u201cFrom the Family Kitchen.<\/span>\u201d
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

When we think of great Native American leaders throughout U.S. history, names like Cochise, Geronimo, Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull come to mind. But what about Native American women? Most Americans know the names of only two Native American women: Pocahontas and Sacagawea. Pocahontas, whose mythology was immortalized in a song sung by Peggy Lee and a Disney movie, might be the most familiar Native American woman because she left a sizable number of descendants through her son Thomas Rolfe.<\/p>\n

Who can claim that they are apart of the Pocahontas lineage? At least one First Lady, numerous politicians, and even Confederate General Robert E. Lee, to name just a few. It was estimated in the 1980s that Pocahontas\u2019 descendants probably numbered around 250,000. According to genealogist Gary B. Roberts, those who claim this lineage are through the Bolling family line, which are the only known descendants traced beyond the early 18th century.*<\/p>\n

Mrs. Woodrow Wilson\u2019s Native American Ancestry<\/strong><\/p>\n

One American whose Pocahontas lineage was well reported was Edith Bolling Galt Wilson, the second wife of U.S. President Woodrow Wilson. From the time she became engaged to the president, her family history was a frequent topic in the newspapers.<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
Photo: Edith Bolling Galt Wilson. Credit: Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This 1915 newspaper article provides some information about Edith\u2019s family history. It reports that ever since the engagement was announced \u201cthere has been a live inquiry for the correct data.\u201d The article provides that data by tracing Edith\u2019s direct line to Pocahontas and proclaims Edith Bolling Galt the ninth in descent from Pocahontas. [Note: the article erroneously states that Pocahontas married Thomas Rolfe; her husband\u2019s name was John Rolfe, and their son\u2019s name was Thomas.]<\/p>\n

\"Fiancee<\/a>
Idaho Statesman (Boise, Idaho), 14 November 1915, page 5<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In writings about Boiling family history, emphasis was placed that someone with \u201cIndian blood\u201d would now reside in the White House. This announcement about Edith\u2019s lineage was also the catalyst for impromptu history lessons found in newspapers across the country. The short life of Pocahontas has been retold often, and\u2014as with any well-told story\u2014inaccuracies creep in. This old newspaper article provides readers with information and images reportedly of Pocahontas.<\/p>\n

\"Unhappy<\/a>
Richmond Times Dispatch (Richmond, Virginia), 24 October 1915, page 43<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The widow Edith Bolling Galt married President Woodrow Wilson in December 1915. Undoubtedly, any presidential wedding results in gifts from a diverse range of well-wishers. The Wilson wedding was no different.<\/p>\n

According to this 1916 newspaper article, one item that Woodrow Wilson’s wife\u00a0received was a Pocahontas statuette presented by the Pocahontas Memorial Association. The article points out that Edith Galt\u00a0Wilson was related to Pocahontas through her paternal line.<\/p>\n

\"Indian<\/a>
Broad Ax (Chicago, Illinois), 8 January 1916, page 3<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The news article included this picture of the Pocahontas statuette.<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a><\/p>\n

The statuette was not the only Pocahontas-related gift that Edith received while in the White House. Other gifts related to her Native American ancestry included dolls and a portrait of her ancestress presented by the heritage membership organization Colonial Dames.<\/p>\n

\"Pocahontas'<\/a>
Oregonian (Portland, Oregon), 3 March 1919, page 14<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When Edith Wilson visited England in 1918, this Duluth newspaper article heralded the visit of a descendant of Pocahontas\u2014pointing out it was a little over 300 years since her ancestor made a similar trip. The newspaper article claims: \u201cOnly one other American woman [Pocahontas] ever has been received in England with the social and official courtesies which will be lavished upon Mrs. Woodrow Wilson.\u201d The news article goes on to trace Edith\u2019s roots to Pocahontas and even to her early Bolling\u00a0family tree.<\/p>\n

\"To<\/a>
Duluth News-Tribune (Duluth, Minnesota), 3 December 1918, page 12<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Pocahontas Research Resources<\/strong><\/p>\n

Are you a descendant of Pocahontas? You may be interested in the book Pocahontas\u2019 Descendants: A Revision, Enlargement, and Extension of the List as Set Out by Wyndham Robertson in His Book Pocahontas and Her Descendants<\/em><\/a> (1887), by Stuart E. Brown, Jr., Lorraine F. Myers, and Eileen M. Chappel (the Pocahontas Foundation, 1985).<\/p>\n

Gary B. Roberts\u2019 article Notable Kin: Some Descendants and Kinsmen of Descendants of Pocahontas: An Excursion into Southern Genealogy<\/em><\/span> on the American Ancestors<\/span> website has additional sources you may be interested in.<\/p>\n

Whether or not you have Native American ancestry, dig into GenealogyBank\u2019s historical newspaper archives<\/a> to find out more about your ancestors, discovering the stories that help fill in the details on your family tree.<\/p>\n

————————-<\/p>\n

*Notable Kin: Some Descendants and Kinsmen of Descendants of Pocahontas: An Excursion into Southern Genealogy<\/em> by Gary B. Roberts. American Ancestors. 1986. http:\/\/www.americanancestors.org\/an-excursion-into-southern-genealogy\/<\/span> accessed 11 November 2013.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Edith Galt Wilson was a presidential wife with Native American ancestry: she was a descendant of Pocahontas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":85951,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12557],"tags":[5707,5708,5672,12,5703,9459,4459],"class_list":["post-5276","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-genealogy-stories","tag-edith-bolling-galt-wilson","tag-edith-wilson","tag-first-ladies","tag-genealogy","tag-pocahontas","tag-thomas-rolfe","tag-woodrow-wilson"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/illustration-1113-2013-featured-graphic-pocahontas.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5276","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5276"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5276\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85953,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5276\/revisions\/85953"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}