Elizabeth Ann Blaesing

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Elizabeth Ann Blaesing
Roger C. Sullivan High School
Spouse
Henry Edward Blaesing
(m. 1938; died 1995)
Children3
Parents
RelativesScott Willits (uncle-in-law)

Elizabeth Ann Britton Harding Blaesing (née Britton Harding; October 22, 1919 – November 17, 2005) was the daughter of Warren G. Harding, the 29th president of the United States, and his mistress, Nan Britton. Harding and Britton, who both lived in Marion, Ohio, began their affair when he was a U.S. senator and it continued until his sudden death during his presidency in 1923.[1][2]

Biography

Elizabeth Ann, after her birth in

Sullivan High School in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois; later she married Henry Edward Blaesing on September 18, 1938, in Chicago. At the time Nan Britton began a series of newspaper interviews discussing "Ann Harding" and her marriage, but refusing to provide the name of her husband.[citation needed
]

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Ann, her husband, and her sons lived on Alderdale Street in

Carrie Phillips were taking place. In an Associated Press wire service article distributed in mid-July of that year, Elizabeth Ann Blaesing confirmed publicly that in 1934 her mother had told her that Warren G. Harding was her biological father. "It's not something that you bring up in casual conversation," she stated in the story.[citation needed
]

When contacted by Harding scholar Robert H. Ferrell, author of The Strange Deaths of President Harding and later by John Dean, author of Warren Harding, The American President Series, Blaesing refused interviews on the topic.[citation needed]

Blaesing died in Oregon on November 17, 2005. The family did not make a public announcement about the death; however, her son Thomas Blaesing did confirm the event during an interview, according to the May 31, 2006, edition of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. According to Blaesing's son, his mother was not interested in seeking DNA evidence confirming paternity. Some scholars argued that the Blaesings had a "moral and civic responsibility" to provide their DNA for comparative purposes.[4]

Links to Warren Harding

The President's Daughter (Elizabeth Ann Guild, 1927),[citation needed] could never produce primary source evidence to prove that Harding acknowledged his paternity of the child. Elizabeth Ann used Harding's surname as a child and young adult; her birth certificate, however, due to a doctor's error, was written in the name of Emma Eloise Britton. Her mother also used Christian as her child's surname at one point.[citation needed
]

DNA confirmation

In 2015, The New York Times reported that genetic testing by AncestryDNA, a division of Ancestry.com, confirmed that Harding was Blaesing's biological father.[5] Specifically, Dr. Peter Harding, the grandnephew of President Harding, and James Blaesing, son of Elizabeth Ann Blaesing, submitted DNA samples, which confirmed a relationship of second cousins, thus proving beyond a reasonable doubt that Elizabeth was the daughter of Harding.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b Baker, Peter (August 12, 2015). "DNA Is Said to Solve a Mystery of Warren Harding's Love Life". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 21, 2019. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
  2. ^ "DNA proves President Harding fathered child out of wedlock". Fox News. AP. August 14, 2015. Archived from the original on August 14, 2015. Retrieved August 14, 2015.
  3. ^ Steve, Robb (Aug 16, 2015). "President Harding's lovechild lived in Athens". The Athens Messenger. Retrieved Jan 20, 2016.
  4. ^ Appel, Jacob M. History's DNA. Chicago Tribune. August 21, 2008.
  5. ^ Phelps, Jordyn. "Ex-President Warren Harding's Love Child Confirmed Through DNA Testing". ABC News. Retrieved 2023-08-04.

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