Mathew Brady (c. 1855-1858). Wikimedia Commons.
12. The first president born in an independent America, Martin Van Buren abandoned his children after the death of his wife in 1819, leaving them to be raised by his more compassionate relatives
Martin Van Buren, alternatively spelled Maarten Van Buren, served as the 8th President of the United States from 1837 to 1841. The first president to have been born in an independent America, being born on December 5, 1782, in Kinderhook, New York, Van Buren was one of the founders of the Democratic Party, serving also as Governor of New York, Secretary of State, Vice President, and would in later life become one of the leading proponents of abolitionism. Marrying Hannah Hoes, his childhood sweetheart and the daughter of his first cousin, on February 21, 1807, the couple begat five children, of which four lived to adulthood.
Sadly, just twelve years later, on February 5, 1819, Hannah died of tuberculosis. Never remarrying, Van Buren became the second resident of the White House to expand the office of First Lady to a person not his wife, following the example of his widowed predecessor Andrew Jackson. Mourning the loss of his beloved and lacking her personal charm with young children, Van Buren honored her memory poorly by abandoning his children. Leaving them to be raised with relatives, Van Buren would in later life express regret for his callous actions and attempt to form meaningful relationships with his adult children.