All in the Family

Have there been multi-generational foreign affairs families in U.S. history?

• John Adams was the first U.S. Minister to the United Kingdom. He was appointed February 24, 1785, presented his credentials to King George III on June 1, 1785, and served until February 20, 1788. His son John Quincy Adams was the first U.S. Minister to the United Kingdom after the War of 1812. He was appointed February 28, 1815, and served until May 14, 1817. Grandson Charles Francis Adams served from 1861 to 1868. Much of his work involved keeping Britain neutral during the Civil War and negotiating postwar agreements with Britain to settle U.S. claims for damages against that country.
• A family of English Quaker merchants named Fox were U.S. Consuls at Falmouth, England. Robert Were Fox served from 1794 to 1812, and again from 1815 to his death in 1818. Robert Were Fox , Jr. served from 1819 to 1854 (their middle name is sometimes spelled "Weare" or "Ware"). Somehow the Consulate passed out of the family between 1854 and 1863. Two more generations of Foxes then served. Alfred Fox was appointed in 1863, and Howard Fox served from 1874 until the post was closed in December 1905.
• Three generations of the Sprague family served as Consuls in Gibraltar. Horatio Sprague was appointed in 1832 and served until his death in 1848. His son Horatio J. Sprague served from 1848 until his death in 1901. Grandson Richard L. Sprague served from 1901 until his death in 1934.

Have any children of Secretaries of State served in the State Department at the same time as their fathers?

Three sons of Secretaries of State held high positions in the Department while their fathers served.

• Daniel Webster's eldest son, Daniel Fletcher Webster, served as Chief Clerk of the Department of State from March 6, 1841 to April 23, 1843. The Chief Clerk was at this time the second-ranking officer in the Department.
• Frederick W. Seward, son of William H. Seward, served as Assistant Secretary of State (then the second-ranking officer) from March 6, 1861 to March 4, 1869.
• Walker Blaine, son of James G. Blaine, served as Third Assistant Secretary of State from July 1, 1881 to June 30, 1882.

Have any married couples served simultaneously as Ambassadors?

Four married couples have served simultaneously as Ambassadors.

• Ellsworth Bunker (Ambassador at Large, 1966-67; Ambassador to Vietnam, 1967-1973 ) and Carol Laise (Nepal 1966-1973)
• Carleton S. Coon, Jr., (Nepal 1981-84) and Jane Abell Coon (Bangladesh 1981-84)
• William R. Brownfield (Chile 2002-2004; Venezuela 2004- ) and Kristie Kenney (Ecuador 2002- )
• Charles Ries (Greece 2004- ) and Marcie Ries (Albania 2004- )

Who are some distinguished writers who have held diplomatic, consular, or senior State Department posts?

• Washington Irving, Minister to Spain, 1842-46.
• Nathaniel Hawthorne, Consul at Liverpool, 1853-57.
• Bret Harte, Consul at Crefeld, 1878-1880, and at Glasgow, 1880-1885.
• James Russell Lowell, Minister to Spain, 1877-80; to Great Britain, 1880-85.
• James Fenimore Cooper, Consul at Lyon, 1826.
• Lewis (Lew) Wallace, Minister to Turkey, 1881-85.
• John Howard Payne, Consul at Tunis, 1842-45 and 1851-52.
• John Lathrop Motley, Minister to Austria, 1861-67; to Great Britain 1869-70.
• William Dean Howells, Consul at Venice, 1861-65.
• Archibald MacLeish, Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, 1944-45.