• Pink flowers blossom in the garden of a white two-room cottage.

    Herbert Hoover

    National Historic Site Iowa

Hoover Genealogy

Black and white studio photo three seated children, a girl of about seven, a boy of about eight, and another boy of about ten.

Mary, Herbert (in the middle), and Theodore Hoover

Herbert Hoover NHS collection

The Eli Hoover and Theodore Minthorn families were among the early West Branch settlers. The Hoovers came from Miami County, Ohio, and the Minthorns from Canada. On March 12, 1870, Jesse Hoover, son of Eli and Mary Davis Hoover, married Hulda Minthorn, daughter of Theodore and Mary Wasley Minthorn. Jesse and Hulda Hoover had three children. Theodore was born in 1871, Herbert in 1874, and Mary in 1876.

Below is a brief genealogy of Herbert Hoover's family, starting with his parents. You may also download a brochure of the abridged Hoover Genealogy (PDF file).

  • Jesse Clark Hoover (1846-1880), married 1870 to Hulda Randall Minthorn (1848-1884).
    • Theodore Jesse Hoover (1871-1955), married 1899 to Mildred Crew Brooke (1872-1940).
      • Midred Brooke Hoover (1901-1983), married to Cornelius Willis. 3 children.
      • Hulda Brooke Hoover (1906-2006), married to Charles Alexander McLean. 3 sons.
      • Louise Brooke Hoover (1908-1985), married to Ernest Dunbar, Harold Fouts, Kenneth Stevenson, William Hauselt. 2 daughters.
    • Herbert Clark Hoover (1874-1964), married 1898 to Lou Henry (1874-1944).
      • Herbert Charles Hoover (1903-1969), married to Margaret Ava Watson.
        • Margaret Ann Hoover (born 1926). 5 children.
        • Herbert "Pete" Hoover III (born 1927). 3 children.
        • Joan Ledlie Hoover (born 1930). 3 children.
      • Allan Henry Hoover (1907-1993), married to Margaret Coberly.
        • Allan Hoover (born 1938). 3 children.
        • Andrew Hoover (born 1940). 3 children.
        • Lou Henry Hoover (born 1943).
    • Mary Blanche Hoover (1876-1953), married 1899 to Cornelius Van Ness Leavitt (1874-1962).
      • Van Ness Hoover Leavitt (1907-1992), married to Dorothy Juanita Berry, Patricia Agnes Rheinschild. 2 sons.

Source: McLean, Hulda Hoover. The Genealogy of the Herbert Hoover Family. The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library Association, 1967 (out of print).

  • Birthplace Cottage Furnishings Birthplace Cottage Furnishings

    The birthplace furnishings are a combination of reproductions and period pieces. Read More

Did You Know?

Rows of wooden pupils' desks.

The West Branch Schoolhouse was built in 1853 making it the oldest building at Herbert Hoover National Historic Site. The town's Quakers also used the one-room building as their first meetinghouse. More...