 1919 - 2005 (86 years) Submit Photo / Document
Has 57 ancestors but no descendants in this family tree.
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| Name |
Elizabeth Ann Britton |
| Birth |
22 Oct 1919 |
Asbury Park, Monmouth, New Jersey, United States  |
| Gender |
Female |
| FamilySearch ID |
LKKF-NVR |
| Death |
17 Nov 2005 |
Welches, Clackamas, Oregon, United States |
| Person ID |
I93150 |
mytree |
| Last Modified |
25 Feb 2024 |
| Father |
President Warren Gamaliel Harding, b. 2 Nov 1865, Blooming Grove, Morrow, Ohio, United States d. 2 Aug 1923, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States (Age 57 years) |
| Mother |
Nanna Popham "Nan" Britton, b. 9 Nov 1896, Marion, Marion, Ohio, United States d. 21 Mar 1991, Sandy, Clackamas, Oregon, United States (Age 94 years) |
| Family ID |
F30449 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Family |
Henry Edward Blaesing, b. 1 Dec 1907, Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States d. 20 May 1995, Welches, Clackamas, Oregon, United States (Age 87 years) |
| Marriage |
18 Sep 1938 |
Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States |
| Family ID |
F30455 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Last Modified |
21 Nov 2024 |
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| Notes |
- She was the illegitimate daughter of Warren G. Harding, the 29th Preside n t of the United States, and his mistress, Nan Britton. Harding and Brit to n, who each lived in Marion, Ohio, began their affair when he was a U. S . senator and it continued until his sudden death during his presidency .
She made her claim public with the publication of her book, The Presiden t 's Daughter (Elizabeth Ann Guild, 1927), could never produce primary so ur ce evidence to prove that Harding acknowledged his paternity of the ch ild . Elizabeth Ann used Harding's surname as a Child and young adult; he r bi rth certificate, however, due to a doctor's error, was written in th e nam e of Emma Eloise Britton. Her mother also used Christian as her chi ld's s urname at one point.
Initially given to her aunt and uncle, Elizabeth and Scott Willits of Il l inois, to be raised, young Elizabeth Ann was taken back by Britton onc e B ritton's book was published. Born in Asbury Park, New Jersey, Elizabe th A nn graduated from Sullivan High School in the Rogers Park neighborho od o f Chicago, Illinois; later she married Henry Edward Blaesing on Sept embe r 18, 1938, in Chicago. At the time Nan Britton began a series of ne wspap er interviews discussing "Ann Harding" and her marriage, but refusi ng t o provide the name of her husband.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Ann, her husband, and her sons live d o n Alderdale Street in Downey, California. In the mid-1960s the famil y mov ed to Glendale, California. In 1964, the matter of Harding’s allege d pate rnity of Elizabeth Ann was again brought to the forefront when a s eries o f lawsuits in Ohio involving the ownership of love letters writte n by Har ding to his late mistress Carrie Phillips were taking place. I n an Associ ated Press wire service article distributed in mid-July of th at year, Eli zabeth Ann Blaesing confirmed publicly that in 1934 her moth er had told h er that Warren G. Harding was her biological father. "It' s not somethin g that you bring up in casual conversation," she stated i n the story.
When contacted by Harding scholar Dr. Robert H. Ferrell, author of The S t range Deaths of President Harding and later by John Dean, author of Wa r r e n Harding, The American President Series, Blaesing refused intervie ws o n the topic.
Blaesing died in Oregon on November 17, 2005. The family did not mak e a p ublic announcement about the death; however, her son Thomas Blaesin g di d confirm the event during an interview, according to the May 31, 2 0 06 , edition of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. According to Blaesing's son , hi s mother was not interested in seeking DNA evidence confirming pater nity . Testing on Blaesing's sons or grandchildren would still have resol ved t he mystery. Some scholars, most notably bioethicist Jacob Appel, ar gued t hat the Blaesings had a "moral and civic responsibility" to provid e thei r DN A for comparative purposes.
In 2015, the New York Times reported that genetic testing by AncestryDN A , a division of Ancestry.com, confirmed Harding was Blaesing's biologic a l father.
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Submit Photo / Document
Has 57 ancestors but no descendants in this family tree.
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