When you think of the people currently serving in public office, at least nationally, “youthful” is not exactly what comes to mind. The average age of our current senators is 64; representatives clock in at a slightly more spry 57. And at 80, our current president is the oldest ever. So it’s fun when Washington welcomes a new baby to the mix—an event that’s as rare as it is exciting.
This weekend, Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance welcomed their fourth child, a son named Alec Neel Vance. And it made us think: How many “White House babies” have we seen in our nation’s history? And how many of these babies were actually born in the White House? I’m telling you right now it’s fewer than you think.
Any guesses? Our nation is now 250 years old, yet we can practically count the number of West Wing babies on our two hands and feet (give or take a few digits). Read on to discover just how many times our nation has literally welcomed new life into the White House.
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How many babies have been born to sitting presidents or vice presidents?
Officially, there have been six babies born to presidents and vice presidents while they were serving in office—three to presidents and three to vice presidents.
- Esther Cleveland (1893): Grover Cleveland, our nation’s 22nd and 24th president, had two children born while in office. The first was Esther, who was also the only child of a sitting president to be born in the White House. (More on that below.)
- Marion Cleveland (1895): The second of Cleveland’s five children, Marion was not born at the White House but at the president’s vacation home in Buzzard’s Bay, Massachusetts, during Cleveland’s second term.
- Patrick Bouvier Kennedy (1963): A sad chapter in the Camelot myth, Baby Patrick was born premature with hyaline membrane disease, now called neonatal respiratory distress syndrome, and lived just two days.
- William Calhoun (1829): The 10th child of John Calhoun, vice president under John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson, William Calhoun was born during his father’s second term and died relatively young, at 29.
- Schuyler Colfax III (1870): Colfax II was vice president under Ulysses S. Grant, and Colfax III followed in his footsteps, career-wise, becoming the youngest mayor of South Bend, Indiana, at the age of 28—a record that still stands.
- Alec Neel Vance (2026): The fourth child of JD and Usha Vance, Alec was born on July 19 at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
It’s important to stop here and mention children who have historically been left off of these official lists. Sally Hemings, an enslaved woman living at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s estate, gave birth to at least six children fathered by the former president.
Four of these children survived infancy: Beverly, Harriet, Madison and Eston Hemings. Beverly was born during Jefferson’s first vice-presidential term in 1798, while Harriet, Madison and Eston were born while Jefferson was president, between 1801 and 1808.
Why are White House babies so rare?
The most obvious answer is that presidents and vice presidents tend to be older and more established by the time they make it to the West Wing. Most already have children, which has also become a kind of de facto requirement for national public office these days. Only five presidents had no children—George Washington, James Madison, Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk and James Buchanan—and they all served more than 150 years ago.
Two presidents went on to have children after leaving office, perhaps most notably our 10th president, John Tyler, who had 15 children, some very late in life. Tyler’s last grandchild, Harrison, died in 2025—an incredible 235 years after the president was born in 1790. The other is making his second appearance here: Grover Cleveland. He had two sons, Richard and Francis, who were born after Cleveland’s presidency.
Were any babies actually born in the White House?
Yes, and the list of roughly 18 babies who physically entered the world at the White House is much longer than those born while their parent was actually in office. Here are the highlights, grouped by presidency and birth years.
- Jefferson (1802–1808): Eight children were born in the White House during Jefferson’s presidency, including one grandchild. Seven children were born to enslaved people who worked as cooks and blacksmiths.
- Adams (1828): Mary Louise Adams, the grandchild of sixth president John Quincy Adams and great-granddaughter of second president John Adams, was born in the White House in 1828.
- Jackson (1829–1835): Andrew Jackson’s wife died right before he took office, so his niece Emily Donelson and daughter-in-law Sarah Yorke Jackson served as acting first ladies. Donelson had two children in the White House, while Yorke Jackson had one.
- Van Buren (1840): Another widower president, Martin van Buren also tasked his daughter-in-law Anjelica with being the acting first lady. She gave birth to a daughter, Rebecca, who lived just a few months.
- Polk (1846–1847): James K. Polk, the nation’s 11th president, never had children, but his nephew and private secretary Knox Walker did. Sally Walker was born in the White House in 1846 and Joseph Walker in 1847.
- Grant (1876): Ulysses S. Grant’s granddaughter Julia was born in the White House on June 7, 1876.
- Cleveland (1893): Known as the “White House Baby” in the press at the time, Esther Cleveland (pictured above) remains the only child of a president to be physically born in the White House.
- Wilson (1915): Woodrow Wilson’s daughter, Jessie Wilson Sayers, had a baby in the White House in 1915. Named Francis, he became a reverend and was the former dean of the Washington National Cathedral. He died in 2008 at the age of 93.
Sources:
- Associated Press: “JD and Usha Vance welcome a baby boy, the first child born to a sitting VP in more than 150 years”
- Library of Congress: “Grover Cleveland Timeline”
- Clemson University: “John C. Calhoun”
- Monticello: “Slavery at Monticello”
- White House Historical Association: “First Children”
- People: “The Real Stories of Every Child Who Has Been Born in the White House”
- Pediatrics: “The 39-Hour Life of Patrick Bouvier Kennedy and the Rise of Modern Neonatology”
- Ballotopedia: “Ages of members of the 119th Congress (2025-2026)”
The post How Many White House Babies Have There Been? See If You Can Guess Correctly (Hint: It’s Not a Lot!) appeared first on Reader's Digest.
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