Do any of the founding fathers have direct descendants living today?

Answer 1

Franklin's daughter, Sarah Franklin Bache, had seven children, most of whom had children. Franklin also had an illegitimate son, William, who had an illegitimate son who had an illegitimate son, after which the male line ended. If you watch the TV show HEROES, the actor who plays Claire's father, Noah Bennet, is a direct descendant of Ben Franklin. His name is Jack Coleman and he's a descendant of Franklin's grandson Benjamin Franklin Bache.

Reese Witherspoon is a descendant of Rev. Jonathan Witherspoon, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, while Goldie Hawn & Kate Hudson are descendants of Edward Rutherford, another signer and the youngest member of the Continental Congress [and who gets a great song in the musical 1776]).

Thomas Jefferson has more than 5,000 descendants alive through his wife. Though only 2 of his legitimate children survived to adulthood (and one of them died in childhood with her second child), his daughter Martha had 13 children and a legion of descendants. This is not counting the descendants of Jefferson's slave (and half-sister in law) Sally Hemings, who are also probably his descendants and would be even more numerous than his legitimate descendants (and many of whom probably do not know they are descendants because at least one daughter and one son passed for white and did not tell their families their true ancestry).

John Adams has at least hundreds of descendants. Some were quite distinguished (his son J.Quincy Adams, grandson Charles Francis, and great-grandson Henry Adams were all quite well known), though none of his current descendants are particularly famous. Adams was a direct descendant of Priscilla Alden and Miles "speak for yourself" Standish of the Mayflower.

Robert E. Lee married Mary Custis, the only (legitimate) surviving child of George Washington Parke Custis, the step-grandson and adopted son of George Washington. All descendants of Robert E. Lee are therefore descendants of Martha Washington (by her first husband) as well. (G.W.P. Custis had a sister who also has descendants, so the reverse is not true [i.e. not all descendants of Martha W. are descendants of Lee]).

Patrick Henry had 16 children and Paul Revere had 15 (both men were married twice- one of Henry's wives was insane and kept chained in their basement- that's true), so their descendants are probably extremely numerous as well. James Madison has no biological descendants but his stepson does.

In short, there's no shortage of descendants of the Founding Fathers, though some of them (like Washington and Madison) had no biological children. Abraham Lincoln (not a founding father but the only American to equal them in name recognition and veneration) had four sons, two grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren, but his line ended when his great-grandchildren died without issue.