Nathaniel Fillmore

Nathaniel Fillmore
Born Nathaniel Fillmore, Jr.
(1771-04-19)April 19, 1771
Bennington, Vermont
Died March 28, 1863(1863-03-28) (aged 91)
Aurora, New York
Occupation Farmer
Spouse(s) Phoebe Millard
(m. 1796; her death 1831)
Eunice Love
(m. 1834; his death 1863)
Children Millard Fillmore, 8 others

Nathaniel Fillmore, Jr. (April 19, 1771 – March 28, 1863) was an American farmer, and the father of Millard Fillmore, the 13th President of the United States.

Biography

Nathaniel Fillmore, Jr. was born on April 19, 1771 in Bennington, Bennington County, Vermont, to Nathaniel Fillmore, Sr., and Hepzibah Wood.

Career

After his marriage, Fillmore began farming in the stony ground in Vermont. Shortly thereafter, Nathaniel and his brother were approached by land agents offering tracts in New York state. They quickly grabbed the opportunity and moved to New York, land sight-unseen.[1]

According to presidential biographers, "The Fillmore brothers moved their two families to their new homeland nestled deep within a timber-laden forest. Location was not their greatest problem. Nor was the dense clay they unearthed once the land was cleared. Their greatest setback came with the realization that faulty surveying coupled with corrupt local government officials had left them with virtually nothing. Duped, tired, and poor, Nathaniel eventually relented, becoming a tenant farmer, working the soil for landlords and taking their charity to survive."[1]

Historians have credited his wife, Phoebe, for convincing her husband to secure a clerk’s position for Millard in the office of their landlord, Judge Woods.[1]

Personal life

In 1796, the 25 year-old Fillmore married sixteen year-old Phoebe Millard, daughter of a prominent physician, in Bennington. Together, they had nine children:

After Phoebe died in 1831, he remarried to Eunice Love in 1834. He died in 1863.

Distinction

He was the first of only four fathers (the other three being Dr. George Tryon Harding, Sr., Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr., and George H. W. Bush) to live through the entire presidency of a son.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Biographies". presidentsparents.com. Presidents' Parents. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  2. ↑ http://www.presidentsparents.com/parents-at-the-inaugurations.html

See also


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