[NancyAshe]

Which U.S. presidents were adopted? Fostered? Adopted a child? President's Day brings to mind the adoption, foster care, and kinship care connections in the lives of many U.S. presidents. Exploring their lives can be enjoyable for adults, and it's also a great family learning activity.

Andrew Jackson - 7th President
Connection: Adoption, kinship care, unofficial foster care
Jackson and his wife, Rachel, adopted his wife's nephew (Andrew, Jr.) in 1809, and raised three other nephews and an orphaned boy whose parents had been killed in a war directed by Jackson.

Herbert Hoover - 31st President
Connection: Kinship care
Hoover's father died when he was six and his mother when he was nine. He, his brother, and sister were separated and raised by uncles. Hoover was sent from Iowa to live with an uncle in Oregon.

Gerald R. Ford - 38th President
Connection: Stepparent adoption
Born Leslie Lynch King, Jr., his parents were divorced when he was two. After his mother remarried, he was adopted by his stepfather, although his name was not legally changed until 1935. Ford did not know that his stepfather was not his biological father until 1930, when his father walked up to him without warning and introduced himself.

Ronald W. Reagan - 40th President
Connection: Adoption
Reagan and his first wife, actress Jane Wyman, adopted a son, Michael. In an interview, Michael mentioned that his father supported his search for his birth family. Reagan's second wife, Nancy, was adopted as a child by her stepfather.

George H. W. Bush - 41st President
Connection: Adoption
Two of Bush's grandchildren were adopted. His son and daughter-in-law, Marvin and Margaret, have adopted a boy and girl. (Of course, this connection also extends to George W., and sister-in-law Margaret participated in the ceremonies announcing the Adopt US Kids Web site.)

William J. Clinton - 42nd President
Connection: Stepparent adoption
Born William Jefferson Blythe, IV, Clinton's father was killed in a car accident shortly before he was born. His mother remarried in 1950, and he was adopted by his stepfather.

Want more? Check out the Rulers, Nobles, Chiefs, Presidents, Prime Ministers category of Famous Adoptees & Fosterees.