Two Pocahontas Descendants Became First Ladies: Pocahontas 1595-1617, & Edith Bolling Wilson 1872–1961

Strong Women and Role Models for Young Girls.
It is not uncommon for young girls to claim to be descendants of Pocahontas. I didn’t know much about my ancestors or my connections to them when I was a child, but now I do and I am very grateful for learning more. For this reason, I write about my family’s heritage–to pass along knowledge to future generations.
Pocahontas was a Virginia Indian famous for her association with Jamestown, Virginia, during the colonial period.
After marrying John Rolfe, a tobacco farmer, Pocahontas gave birth to Thomas Rolfe in 1615. The marriage was the first recorded interracial marriage in American history. As soon as she gave birth to Thomas, John and Pocahontas moved to England where she became a celebrity.

It was Thomas, Pocahontas’ only child, who began the lineage of Pocahontas descendants, including the First Families of Virginia, First Ladies Edith Wilson and Nancy Reagan, and astronomer Percival Lowell.

Edith grew up in a large, poor southern family and was the seventh child of eleven children born to William Holcombe Bolling and Sarah “Sally” Spiers White. Could that explain her determination to become a strong woman and even a secret president (as she cared for her ailing husband, President Woodrow Wilson)?

The following genealogy is an excerpt from Edith Bolling Wilson’s My Memoirs, published by the Bobbs-Merrill Company in 1935. Used copies may be obtained from the Edith Bolling Wilson Foundation by emailing them at info@edithbollingwilson.org.

The Genealogical Path from Pocahontas to Edith Bolling Wilson
Edith Bolling Wilson and I through many generations, share the same direct descendants of the famous Powhatan American Indian, Pocahontas, as shown below:
Pocahontas and John Rolfe – son, Thomas Rolfe
Thomas Rolfe and Jane Roythress – daughter, Jane Rolfe
Jane Rolfe and Robert Bolling – son, John Bolling
John Bolling and Mary Kennon – son, John Bolling, Jr.
John Bolling Jr. and Elizabeth Blair – son, John Bolling III
John Bolling III and Mary Jefferson – son, Archibald Bolling
(Mary Jefferson was the sister of Thomas Jefferson)
Archibald Bolling and Catherine Payne – son, Archibald Bolling Jr.
Archibald Bolling Jr. and Anne Wiggington – son, William Holcombe Bolling
William Holcombe Bolling and Sallie Spiers White – daughter, Edith Bolling
The genealogical link to Martha Washington (includes Robert E. Lee)
Martha Dandridge’s (Washington) first husband – Daniel Parke Custis
Martha Dandridge and Daniel Parke Custis – son, John Parke Custis
John Parke Custis and Eleanor Calvert – son, George Washington Parke Custis
George Washington Parke Custis and Mary Lee Fitzhugh – daughter, Mary Anna Randolph Custis
Mary Anna Randolph Custis and Robert E. Lee – son, William H. Fitzhugh Lee
William H. Fitzhugh Lee married Mary Tabb Bolling, a descendant of Colonel Robert Bolling and Ann Stith, Robert Bolling’s second wife

I encourage you to visit the museum:
Edith Bolling Wilson Museum
145 East Main Street Wytheville, VA 24382
Hours: Tuesday – Saturday 10:00 A.M. – 4:00 P.M.