In this article, you will know the lives of Ulysses Grant’s children.
Frederick Dent Grant
On May 30, 1850, Frederick was born during his father, Ulysses Grant, serving in the United States Army. Frederick was born in St. Louis, Missouri; however, their family moved as his father was assigned to Michigan and New York. Frederick spent most of his childhood with his paternal grandparents.
When Ulysses Grant resigned from the military, the family moved back to St. Louis, then to Galena, Illinois. Frederick was still a student when the American Civil War began. He was in a public school in 1861, where his father was promoted as a colonel after he organized a volunteer regiment. As the eldest son, he accompanied his father as the unit was sent to Northern Missouri, but he was sent home immediately when they arrived.
Frederick risked his life to be with his father. During the Siege of Vicksburg, he was shot in the leg by a Confederate sniper. He endured a painful infection that could have amputated his leg, but the doctors could prevent it and save his leg. Because Frederick was still recovering from his injury, he contracted typhoid fever while in the Union camp. Miraculously, he made a full recovery.
He also attended the military academy in West Point. He was allegedly involved in a controversy and endured intense discrimination and violence towards the first African American cadet, James Webster Smith. Frederick was accused of participating in harassing Smith.
In 1874, Frederick married Ida Marie Honoroé, daughter of a wealthy real estate tycoon in Chicago. They had two children, Julia Dent Grant, who later married a Russian general and diplomat. Ulysses S. Grant III, who also served in the military like his father and grandfather.
After graduating, he spent his adult life serving in the military and later took a leave of absence to join his father on a trip around 1877. A year later, he returned to fill in the Bannock War and fought against Victorio in New Mexico.
Like his father, Frederick turned his back in the military service and prioritized his family. He focused on assisting his father to prepare the memoir while running a business in New York.
He attempted to enter politics in 1887 when he was nominated for the Republican ticket for Secretary of State of New York; however, he was defeated by Democratic incumbent Frederick Cook.
President Benjamin Harrison appointed him as the Minister to Austria and Hungary in 1889 and retained the position until 1893. A year later, he served as a police commissioner in New York and held it until 1898. He served alongside Theodore Roosevelt.
In his later career, he went back to the military and was commissioned as a colonel during the Spanish-American War. Soon, he was sent to the Philippines in 1899 to serve during the Philippine-American war. In 1901, he was commissioned as a brigadier general and remained in the Philippines until 1902.
Frederick died on April 12, 1912, due to cancer in New York City and was buried in West Point Cemetery.
His descendants through his daughter, Julia, were Prince Michael Mikhailovich Cantacuzène, Princess Bertha Mikhailovna, and Princess ZenaidaMikhailovna. On the other hand, Frederick was the grandfather of his son Ulysses III’s children Edith Clara, Clara Frances, and Julia Grant.
Ulysses Grant Jr.
Ulysses Grant Jr. grew with the household nickname was “Buck.” He was born on July 22, 1852, and was the second child of Ulysses S. Grant. Buck was born in Ohio and an alumnus of Phillips Exeter University, Harvard University, and Columbia Law School.
He married Fannie Josephine Chaffee in 1880 and had five children: Miriam, Chaffee, Julia, Fannie, and Ulysses IV.
Buck served as his father’s secretary during his presidency and worked as Assistant United States Attorney in New York City. He earned his fortune as a private lawyer; however, his firm went bankrupt in 1884. He was also imprisoned and served for over six years because of fraud.
When Buck was back on his feet again, he ventured in Real Estate and became associated with business personalities.
Ulysses Grant Jr. died at the age of 77 on the Ridge Route near Lost Angeles and was buried at Greenwood Cemetery in San Diego, California.
Ellen Wrenshall Grant
Ellen Wrenshall Grant or Nellie was born on July 4, 1855. She was the only daughter of Ulysses S. Grant. Nellie experienced the hardship of their family at a young age and was raised in a modest log cabin built by her father.
Eventually, because of her father’s endeavor, they lived a comfortable lifestyle, and at the age of 13, the Grants moved to the White House when her father became the president. She was sent to Miss Porter’s School, considered an elite boarding school in Connecticut, where she learned social graces. As she turned 16, his father was much concerned will all the young suitors eying on his only daughter.
When they traveled to England, she met Algernon Sartoris. He immediately proposed to Nellie; however, Ulysses is not comfortable with him because he does not have a stable job to support Nellie.
Nellie, who was only 18, and Algernon, who was 23 years old, were had an extravagant wedding at the White House in 1874. There are claims that Ulysses Grant sobbed for losing his only daughter to a man who does not deserve her.
Nellie and Algernon had four children: Grant Grenville Edward, Algernon Edward, Vivien May, and Rosemary Alice. Like her father’s suspicion, Algernon had a drinking problem and also a womanizer. Because of it, Nellie was granted a divorce, received vast sums of annual income, and the custody of their children. When Algernon died at the age of 42, Nellie was free to marry again. She married Frank Hatch Jones in 1912.
On August 30, 1922, Nellie died at the age of 67.
Jesse Root Grant
Jesse was named after his paternal grandfather and was born on February 6, 1858, near St. Louis, Missouri. Jesse studied Engineering at Cornell University and Columbia Law School. He earned his fortune by practicing law and engagement in several mining ventures. Jesse was also a stockholder. He even managed his brother’s hotel in San Diego, and in 1908, he was nominated as a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Jesse married Elizabeth Chapman, the daughter of one of the founders of California Academy of Sciences, in 1880. They were blessed with two children: Chapman and Nellie. His marriage with Elizabeth did not end well as he pressed charges against her for desertion. After they were divorced, he then married Lilian Burns Wilkins.
Jesse was the last surviving child of Ulysses S. Grant until he passed away in 1934 in Los Altos, California.
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