Biden in 2017, photo by palinchak/Bigstock.com
Birth Name: Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr.
Place of Birth: Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Date of Birth: November 20, 1942
Ethnicity: Irish (62.5%), as well as English, German, and distant Dutch, French, Scottish, and Welsh
Joe Biden is an American politician and attorney. He is the President of the United States, having been inaugurated on January 20, 2021. He was elected to the position in 2020, as a member of the Democratic Party. He has also served as the 47th Vice President of the United States, from January 20, 2009 to January 20, 2017. He was elected to the position in 2008 and 2012. He was previously a U.S. Senator from Delaware, from January 3, 1973 to January 15, 2009. In 2020, he won the most votes ever cast for U.S. President. He is the first member of the Silent Generation to serve as president; on his first day as President of the United States, he was older than any previous President on his last day in office.
He is a candidate for the Democratic Party’s re-nomination for President of the United States in 2024.
He was also a candidate for the Democratic Party’s 1988 and 2008 presidential nominations.
President Biden is the son of Catherine Eugenia “Jean” (Finnegan) and Joseph Robinette Biden. He was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and, when he was ten, moved with his family to Claymont, and then Wilmington, both in Delaware. His father was a used car salesman who had at one point been wealthy. The family lived with Joe’s maternal grandparents for several years.
President Biden is of approximately five eighths Irish descent (62.5% Irish). His father was of English, Irish (at least one quarter), German, and distant Dutch, French, Scottish, and Welsh, descent, with his German roots from, for example, his Bomberger, Launderslager, and Shoemaker lines. He had ancestry in Maryland going back to the mid 1600s. President Biden’s mother’s ancestry was entirely Irish.
President Biden is married to Jill Biden, an educator. He was previously married to Neilia Hunter, until her death. He has had three children with Neilia, Beau Biden, who served as Attorney General of Delaware, from January 2, 2007 to January 6, 2015, and who died in 2015; attorney, businessperson, and lobbyist Hunter Biden; and Naomi, who died in 1972, in a car accident, along with his wife. He has a daughter with Jill, social worker, activist, and philanthropist Ashley Biden.
President Biden is the second Catholic elected President of the United States, after John F. Kennedy in 1960. He is one of four Roman Catholics to have been nominated for President by a major political party, along with Al Smith, in 1928, Kennedy, in 1960, and John Kerry, in 2004, and is the first person who is both Irish-American and Catholic to have been so nominated since Kennedy. All were/are Democrats.
He was also the first Catholic, Vice President of the United States.
He was Time Magazine’s Person of the Year for 2020 (sharing the award with running mate Kamala Harris).
President Biden’s patrilineal line can be traced to William Biden, who was born, c. 1787, in Sussex, England, the son of James Biden and Ann Silverlock; and to his wife Mary Elkins.
President Biden’s paternal grandfather was Joseph Harry Biden (the son of George T. Biden and Mary Emily Liddell). President Biden’s grandfather Joseph was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and was an oil businessperson. George was the son of Joseph J. Biden and Lydia Ann Randel/Randle. Mary Emily was the daughter of Robert Theodore Liddell, whose father was English, born in Lowick, Lancashire, and of Susan E. Bomberger.
President Biden’s paternal grandmother was Mary Elizabeth Robinette (the daughter of George Hamilton Robinette and Mary A. Hanafee/Hanafy). President Biden’s grandmother Mary Elizabeth was born in Baltimore, Maryland. George was the son of Moses J. Robinette and Jane Eliza/Elizabeth Pumphrey. President Biden’s Robinette lines traces to Allen Robinett/Robinette, who was born, c. 1632, in St. Michael, Queenhithe, London. The name has also been spelled Robanet. President Biden’s great-grandmother Mary A. was born in West Virginia, the daughter of John Hanafy/Hanafee, who was Irish, and of Mary Ward, who was born in London, to Irish parents, from Galway, Gaillimh, Ireland.
President Biden’s maternal grandfather was Ambrose Joseph Finnegan (the son of James Finnegan and Catherine Roche). Ambrose was born in Olyphant, Lackawanna, Pennsylvania. James was born in Cooley, County Louth, Ireland, the son of Owen Finnegan and Jane/Jean Boyle/Bail. Catherine was born in New York, or in Ireland, to Irish parents, Thomas Roche and Bridget Fox.
President Biden’s maternal grandmother was Geraldine Catharine/Catherine Blewitt (the daughter of Edward Francis Blewitt and Mary Ellen Stanton). Geraldine was born in Scranton, Lackawanna, Pennsylvania. Edward, who was a Member of the Pennsylvania State Senate from the 22nd District, from 1907 to 1909, was born in New Orleans, Orleans, Louisiana, to Irish parents, from Rappagh, co. Mayo, Patrick F. Blewitt and Catharine/Catherine “Kate” Scanlon. President Biden’s great-grandmother Mary Ellen was born in Pennsylvania, to Irish parents, James Stanton and Mary Arthurs, who was from County Mayo.
official photo of Joe Biden, 2013, White House (V011013DL-0556), David Lienemann, Library of Congress
President Biden is a distant cousin of Irish rugby union players Rob Kearney and Dave Kearney, through his Finnegan ancestors. He is also a fourth cousin, once removed, of vice admiral, aviator, and politician James Stockdale. President Biden’s paternal great-great-great-great-grandparents, George Robinette/Robinett and Sarah/Sally Ann Dozier/Dazier, were also James’s maternal great-great-great-grandparents.
Sources: Family history of President Joe Biden (focusing on his mother’s side), by Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak – http://irishamerica.com
Information about President Biden’s ancestry – https://ancestornetwork.ie
https://www.con-telegraph.ie
https://www.findmypast.co.uk
https://www.telegraph.co.uk
Genealogies of President Biden – http://www.wargs.com
https://www.geni.com
https://famouskin.com
https://www.wikitree.com
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