Jill Biden

Biden in 2016, photo by kathclick/Bigstock.com

Birth Name: Jill Tracy Jacobs

Place of Birth: Hammonton, New Jersey, U.S.

Date of Birth: June 3, 1951

Ethnicity:
*father – Italian/Sicilian, German
*mother – English, some Scottish and Irish, distant Dutch, French Huguenot, and German

Jill Biden is an American educator and author. She is the First Lady of the United States, as the wife of attorney and politician Joe Biden, who has served as President of the United States, since January 20, 2021. Joe was also previously the 47th Vice President of the United States, and Jill was thus the Second Lady of the United States, from 2009 to 2017. She is a professor of English, and is usually described as the first wife of a U.S. president to hold a paying job while in office. She has also founded the Biden Breast Health Initiative; and co-founded the Book Buddies program, the charity Biden Foundation, and the government organization Joining Forces, which supports relatives and caregivers of U.S. veterans. Jill has published children’s books. On her first day as First Lady of the United States, she was older than any previous first lady on the last day of her tenure.

Jill was born in Hammonton, New Jersey, the daughter of Bonny Jean (Godfrey) and Donald Carl Jacobs, a bank teller and WWII veteran. She was raised in Hatboro, Pennsylvania; Mahwah, New Jersey, and then Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. Her father was CEO of the Mahwah Savings and Loan Association, and then president and CEO of InterCounty Savings and Loan.

Jill and Joe have a daughter together, social worker, activist, and philanthropist Ashley Biden. Jill was a teacher of high school English and reading for over a decade; an instructor of adolescents at a psychiatric hospital; and, for fifteen years, a community college English and writing instructor.

She was confirmed as a Presbyterian at the age of sixteen. Being of one quarter Italian/Sicilian descent, Jill is the first person of significant Italian ancestry to be married to a person who is either a President or Vice President of the United States.

Jill has stated:

My grandpop was Dominic Giacoppa, but they changed it to Jacobs. So I grew up eating one Italian meal on Sunday, with the wedding soup and the braciole and homemade pasta.

Jill’s paternal grandfather was Domenic/Domenico/Dominic/Dominick J. Giacoppa/Giacoppo/Giocoppo/Jacobs (the son of Gaetano “Guy” Giacoppa/Giocoppo/Jacobs and Concetta “Jennie” Scaltrito/Squatrito). Domenic was born in Hammonton, Atlantic, New Jersey, to parents from Messina, Sicily. Gaetano was born in Castanea delle Furie, the son of Sebastiano Giacoppo and Francesca Celi. Concetta was born in Gesso, the daughter of Francesco Scaltrito and Maria Bruno.

Jill’s paternal grandmother was Mable/Mabel Sarah Blazer (the daughter of William G. Blazer and Louise/Louisa Paulina Roller). Mable was born in New Jersey, and all of her grandparents were German. William was the son of Jacob Blazer and Christiana Grebe. Louise was the daughter of Jacob Roller and Sarah Spesce.

Jill’s maternal grandfather was Harold Godfrey (the son of Harold Godfrey and Lizzie/Elizabeth S. Godfrey). Jill’s grandfather Harold was born in Ocean View, Cape May, New Jersey. Jill’s great-grandfather Harold was the son of Jesse Somers Godfrey and Emily Cameron Van Gilder/Vangilder. Elizabeth was the daughter of Reuben Somer Godfrey and LaDora/Dora T. Layton. Jill’s great-great-grandmother Emily had partial Dutch and French Huguenot ancestry. She was descended from Daniel Perrin, a French man from Normandy, who was one of the first permanent European inhabitants of Staten Island, New York.

Jill’s maternal grandmother was Mabel Frances Boardman (the daughter of Archibald Boardman and Josephine Milley). Mabel was born in New Jersey. Archibald was the son of Edward Boardman and Agnes Currie/Curry, who was Scottish. Josephine was born in Shamong, Burlington, New Jersey, the daughter of James Milley, whose parents were Irish, and of Mary J. Poole.

Sources: Genealogies of Jill Biden – https://www.geni.com
http://gw.geneanet.org
https://famouskin.com

Genealogy of Jill’s maternal great-grandfather, Harold Godfrey (focusing on his own mother’s side) – http://www.findagrave.com

Jill’s more distant ancestors – http://www.wikitree.com
http://www.wikitree.com

Wikipedia article about Jill’s ancestor Daniel Perrin – https://en.wikipedia.org