David Jacob Eisenhower

The Eisenhower family has German and Pennsylvania Dutch origins, with ancestors who migrated to America in the 18th century. The family name was originally Eisenhauer, meaning "iron hewer" or "miner" in German. The family settled in York, Pennsylvania, in 1741 before moving to Kansas in the 1880s. The surname was later anglicized to Eisenhower.

Dwight D. Eisenhower's lineage includes German ancestors, notably Hans Nikolaus Eisenhauer from Karlsbrunn, who migrated to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1741. His great-grandson, Jacob Eisenhower, was a Kansas farmer. Jacob's son, David Jacob Eisenhower (1863–1942), was Dwight's father. David was an engineer with college education, despite his family's traditional farming background. He owned a general store in Hope, Kansas, which later failed, leading the family into poverty. The family lived briefly in Texas from 1889 to 1892 before returning to Kansas, with only $24 as savings.

David Jacob Eisenhower married Ida Elizabeth (Stover) Eisenhower, originally from Virginia, on September 23, 1885, in Lecompton, Kansas. Ida was of German Protestant descent. Together, they had seven sons, with one dying in infancy. Their sons included Arthur Bradford Eisenhower (1886–1958), Edgar Newton Eisenhower (1889–1971), Dwight David Eisenhower (1890–1969), Roy Jacob Eisenhower (1892–1942), Paul Dawson Eisenhower (1894–1895), Earl Dewey Eisenhower (1898–1968), and Milton Stover Eisenhower (1899–1985). Milton became an educator, serving as president of Kansas State University, Pennsylvania State University, and Johns Hopkins University.

Dwight D. Eisenhower married Mamie Doud in 1927. Mamie was born in Boone, Iowa, in 1896, to John Sheldon Doud, a meatpacking executive, and Elivera Mathilda Carlson, of Swedish descent. Mamie grew up in Iowa, Colorado Springs, and Denver, Colorado.

The couple had three children:

1. **Doud Eisenhower (Doud Dwight Eisenhower)** (1917–1921): Their first son, named after his mother’s maiden name, was born in San Antonio, Texas. He died of scarlet fever at age three. His death was a profound personal tragedy for Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower.

2. **John Eisenhower (John Sheldon Doud Eisenhower)** (1922–2013): Born in Denver, Colorado, he served in the U.S. Army, retiring as a brigadier general in 1963. He was a military historian, author, and served as U.S. Ambassador to Belgium from 1969 to 1971. He married Barbara Jean Thompson in 1947, with whom he had four children, including David Eisenhower. John Eisenhower married Joanne Thompson in 1988.

3. **Ruth Eakin Eisenhower**: Born in 1938, she was their daughter.

Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower’s grandson, David Eisenhower (born 1948), is an author and public speaker. He married Julie Nixon, daughter of President Richard Nixon, in 1968.

Other family members include Milton Stover Eisenhower, who was notable in American higher education, and Earl Dewey Eisenhower, who served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1965 to 1967. Edgar Newton Eisenhower, another brother, was a lawyer known for conservative views.

Extended family members include grandchildren, with David Eisenhower and his wife Julie Nixon being among the most publicly recognized.