Figure 1.--This is areare photograph of a presidential family overseas. President McKinnley after the Spanish American War (1898) appointed Taft Governor of the Philippines. Here the family is in Manila. Only the two younger children are in this portrait. The little girl is his daughter Helen and the boy behind her is Taft's son Charles Phelps. Taft's wife Helen is at the right. The woman at the left is the children's German governess. The two men are aides.

The Tafts had three children: two boys and a girl. The children went with their parents to the Philippines. They were quite young at the time. It was a real lark for them. They all had successful lives. Robert attended Harvard and Yale He became the Republican leader in the U.S. Senate after World War II and was referred to as Mr. Republican. He served as both Speaker in the House and majority leader in the Senate. He became a luminary in the Republican Party. Helen acted as the White House hostess for her ailing mother despote the fact that she was still a teenager. She married Yale profesor FrederickJohnson Manning. They had two daughters. Helen herself had a career in both educatuin and oublic life. She taught history abnd served as the acting oresident of Bryn Mawr, one of America's most prestigious woman's college. She was a strident spokesman for women's sufferage and women's rights. Charlie had a career as a lawyer, atlrkete, soldier, author, politican, and civic reformer. He was elected Cincinati Mayor, leading the reform movement. He was deeply religious and help found the World Council of Churches. He became the youngestvpresident of the International YMCA (1935).

Robert Alphonso (1889-1953)

Robert attended Harvard and Yale He became the Republican leader in the U.S. Senate after World War II and was referred to as Mr. Republican. He served as both Speaker in the House and majority leader in the Senate. . He became a luminary in the Republican Party. He conceentrated on financial afairs. He was the force behind the controversial Taft Hartly Tariff Act, succeeding in passing the bill over President Truman's veto (1947). Ironically, this success was part of the reason Governor Dewey who did obtain the nomination, lost the election to Truman. Many regard him as the founder of the modern conservative movement in America. He tried three times for the Republican nomination. He was a contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 1952, but could not compete with General Eisenhower. Interestingly, despite the problems between his father and General Arthur MacArthur in the Philippines, Robert and Douglas MacArthur became close friends. It is rumored that Taft would have chosen MacArthur as his running mate. He married Martha Wheaton Bowers and they had four children.

Helen Herron (1891-1987)

Helen acted as the White House hostess for her ailing mother despote the fact that she was still a teenager. She married Yale profesor FrederickJohnson Manning. They had two daughters. Helen herself had a career in both educatuin and oublic life. She taught history abnd served as the acting oresident of Bryn Mawr, one of America's most prestigious woman's college. She was a strident spokesman for women's sufferage and women's rights.

Charles Phelps II (1897-1883)

Charlie had a career as a lawyer, atlrkete, soldier, author, politican, and civic reformer. He was elected Cincinati Mayor, leading the reform movement. He was deeply religious and help found the World Council of Churches. He became the youngestvpresident of the International YMCA (1935).

Children's Clothes

We have few images of the Taft boys. One image of Charlie at about 11 or 12 shows him wearing a knicker suit. Other images show a small boy in a sailor suit, but this may be one of the grandchildren.

Sources

Anthony, Carl Sferrazza. Nellie Taft: The Unconventional First Lady of the Ragtime Era (2005).

Wead, Doug. All the President's Children: Triumph and Tragedy in the Lives of America's First Familirs (Atria: New York, 2003), 456p.