Mike Pence

official U.S. Congress photo of Mike Pence, c. 2010

Birth Name: Michael Richard Pence

Place of Birth: Columbus, Indiana, U.S.

Date of Birth: June 7, 1959

Ethnicity:
*81.25% Irish
*10.94% Colonial American, including English
*7.81% German [including Alsatian German, Swiss-German]

Mike Pence is an American politician, attorney, and radio and television show host. A Republican, he was Vice President of the United States, from January 20, 2017 to January 20, 2021. He was elected to the position in 2016. He has also been a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana, from January 3, 2001 to January 3, 2013, Governor of Indiana, from January 14, 2013 to January 9, 2017, and Chairman of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, from February 26, 2020 to January 20, 2021. He chaired the National Space Council.

He was the Republican Party’s nominee for re-election as Vice President of the United States in 2020. He was also a candidate for the Republican Party’s nomination for President of the United States in 2024.

Vice President Pence is the son of Ann Jane (Cawley) and Edward Joseph Pence, Jr., who ran a group of gas stations, and had served in the Korean War. His brother is businessperson and Republican politician Greg Pence, who has been a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana, since January 3, 2019, from the same district that Mike represented. Vice President Pence’s father’s ancestry was 5/8ths Irish and 5/32 German, including Alsatian German and Swiss-German; the remainder of his father’s more distant roots includes English. Vice President Pence’s mother is of entirely Irish descent, the daughter and granddaughter of immigrants.

Vice President Pence is married to educator, teacher, and painter Karen Pence, with whom he has three children, including writer Charlotte Pence Bond. Raised as Catholic, they converted to Evangelical Christianity together by 1995.

Vice President Pence’s patrilineal line traces to Michael Bentz, who was born, c. 1705, in Lower Bavaria, Germany, and whose family surname was changed from Bentz to Pence.

Vice President Pence’s paternal grandfather was Edward Joseph Pence, Sr. (the son of Henry Harold “Harry” Pence and Mary Ellen Riley). Edward was born in Illinois, and worked in the Chicago stockyards. Harry was born in Illinois, the son of Samuel Pence and Frances “Fannie” Payne; Samuel was of at least one quarter German descent through his patrilineal line, including Alsatian German and Swiss-German, while the rest of his ancestry included English. Vice President Pence’s great-grandmother Mary Ellen was born in Illinois, the daughter of John Riley/Reilly, who was Irish, and of Margaret Flannery, who was born in New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana, of Irish descent.

Vice President Pence’s paternal grandmother was Geraldine Kathleen Kuhn (the daughter of Philip/Phillip Blaze Kuhn and Mary Ann/Anna Larkin). Geraldine was born in Illinois. Philip was born in Indiana, to a German father, William Kuhn, and an Irish mother, Margaret McGwen. Mary Ann was born in Indiana, to Irish parents, Peter Larkin and Margaret Wall.

Vice President Pence’s maternal grandfather was Richard Michael Cawley (the son of Richard Cawley and Ellen Marron/Marren). Vice President Pence’s grandfather Richard was an Irish emigrant, who was born in Doocastle, County Mayo.

Vice President Pence’s maternal grandmother was Mary Elizabeth Maloney (the daughter of James Michael Maloney and Mary Ann/Anne Downs/Downes/Daines). Vice President Pence’s grandmother Mary Elizabeth was born in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, to Irish parents, from Doonbeg, County Clare. James was the son of Michael Moloney and Anne Carney. Mary Anne was the daughter of John Downs/Downes and Eliza.

Sources: Article about Vice President Pence’s ancestry, by Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak – https://medium.com

Genealogies of Vice President Pence – https://www.geni.com
http://famouskin.com
https://www.wikitree.com

Vice President Pence’s father on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Obituary of Vice President Pence’s father – https://www.newspapers.com

Vice President Pence’s paternal grandfather, Edward Joseph Pence, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Vice President Pence’s paternal grandmother, Geraldine Kathleen Kuhn, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Information about Vice President Pence’s mother’s Irish family – http://clareherald.com

Obituary of Vice President Pence’s maternal grandfather, Richard Michael Cawley – https://www.newspapers.com

Vice President Pence’s maternal grandmother, Mary Elizabeth Maloney, on the 1910 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org