Which Mayflower pilgrims are ancestors of presidents other than the Bushes and Roosevelts?
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Executive summary
A clear set of Mayflower pilgrims — notably John Alden and Priscilla Mullins (including their connection via William Mullins), William Brewster, John Billington, and Richard Warren — are documented ancestors of U.S. presidents outside the Bush and Roosevelt dynasties, specifically John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Zachary Taylor, James A. Garfield and Ulysses S. Grant (sources vary in genealogical detail) [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]. The published genealogies and compiled descendant lists agree on these links, though the record-keeping and emphasis differ between family-society lists and popular summaries, and some presidents with “Pilgrim roots” (e.g., later non‑Mayflower Pilgrims) are sometimes conflated with direct Mayflower descent [6] [5].
1. John Alden and Priscilla Mullins — the Adams line
Genealogical sources consistently identify John Alden and Priscilla Mullins (and the related passenger William Mullins) as direct ancestors of President John Adams and his son John Quincy Adams; FamilySearch and multiple Mayflower descendant lists state that the Adamses descend from the Alden/Mullins line [1] [7] [8]. These links are longstanding in New England genealogies and are repeatedly cited by Mayflower societies and family-history outlets as canonical examples of presidential descent from a specific Mayflower family [1] [8].
2. William Brewster and the Taylor presidency
Sources trace President Zachary Taylor’s Mayflower ancestry to William Brewster through intermediate colonial generations; Findmypast and related descendant compilations list Brewster among Taylor’s Pilgrim progenitors, making Brewster a named Mayflower ancestor of Taylor [2] [3]. This example illustrates how several early New England leaders — Brewster included — became common "founding-stock" ancestors for later prominent American families [3].
3. John Billington and James A. Garfield
Multiple ancestor lists link President James A. Garfield to the Billington family, identifying John Billington as a Mayflower ancestor; compilation sites and popular pieces note Garfield’s descent from the Billingtons, who were early, controversial settlers in Plymouth Colony [2] [9]. The Billington example is also invoked in histories as a reminder that not all Mayflower passengers were elite figures — some, like Billington, were notorious and yet left many descendants [9].
4. Richard Warren and Ulysses S. Grant
Published overviews and Mayflower descendant rosters report that Ulysses S. Grant descends from Richard Warren, another Mayflower passenger, and treat Warren as one of the pilgrims who seeded later presidential lineage [4] [5]. This connection appears in both concise summary pieces and compiled famous‑descendant lists, though the depth of genealogical citation varies by source [4] [5].
5. Howland, Cooke, Allerton and the excluded Roosevelt/Bush examples (context and caveats)
John Howland, Francis Cooke and Isaac Allerton are widely cited as ancestors of presidents that include the Bush and Roosevelt families, and many sources emphasize Howland’s especially prolific descendant tree — a fact that explains why Bushes and Roosevelts are often headline examples of Mayflower presidential descent even though they are to be excluded here [10] [11]. Care is required: family-society lists, popular articles and commercial genealogy sites sometimes conflate “Pilgrim roots” (broader New England settler descent) with direct Mayflower passenger descent, and not every claim in popular summaries is accompanied by primary documented pedigree in the sources provided [6] [12].
6. What the sources do and do not prove
The provided reporting and descendant lists converge on a short roster of Mayflower pilgrims who are ancestors of presidents other than the Bushes and Roosevelts — principally John Alden/Priscilla Mullins (Adams family), William Brewster (Zachary Taylor), John Billington (James A. Garfield), and Richard Warren (Ulysses S. Grant) — but these summaries rely on secondary compiled genealogies rather than presenting primary parish or colony records in full [1] [2] [4] [5]. Where source material clarifies further, it is cited above; where it does not, readers should understand that lineage claims are drawn from established descendant compilations maintained by Mayflower societies and family-history outlets rather than from reproductions of original 17th‑century documents in the materials provided [12] [6].