Basic Information
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Name | Mary Elizabeth Robinette Biden |
| Birth | 18 November 1894 |
| Death | 23 April 1943 |
| Parents | George Hamilton Robinette (b. 1844 – d. 1914), Mary Ann Hanafee Robinette (b. 27 August 1862 – d. 1930) |
| Spouse | Joseph Harry Biden (b. 14 June 1893 – d. 26 September 1941) |
| Marriage | 1914 |
| Children | Joseph Robinette Biden (b. 13 November 1915), Mary A. Biden (c. 1917), Frank H. Biden (c. 1918) |
| Notability | Paternal grandmother of Joseph R. Biden Jr., placed in genealogical records and family histories |
Biography and Early Life
On November 18, 1894, Mary Elizabeth Robinette Biden was born into a mid-Atlantic family near the end of the 19th century. Her mother, Mary Ann Hanafee, was born in 1862, and her father, George Hamilton Robinette, in 1844. Mary Elizabeth grew up during a period of change, when cars and electricity started to coexist with horse-drawn carts. Her everyday life was molded by family life and household responsibilities, and local registers and census data firmly position her in that domestic realm.
Around the age of 20, she wed Joseph Harry Biden in 1914, and on November 13, 1915, the couple welcomed their first child, Joseph Robinette Biden. It was through that boy that Mary Elizabeth would be most widely remembered in subsequent generations. Her life followed a pattern that many women in her generation could relate to: childbirth, marriage, motherhood, and links to the community. She experienced two world wars and the Great Depression, which started in 1929. She passed away on April 23, 1943, at the age of 48.
Family and Personal Relationships
Family was the center of Mary Elizabeth Robinette Biden’s life. The branch of the family tree she represents unfurls into multiple generations. The table below sketches key relatives and their basic identities.
| Name | Relationship | Birth – Death (if known) | Short introduction |
|---|---|---|---|
| George Hamilton Robinette | Father | 1844 – 1914 | Patriarch of the Robinette household and father of Mary Elizabeth. |
| Mary Ann Hanafee Robinette | Mother | 27 Aug 1862 – 1930 | Matriarch who raised Mary Elizabeth in the late 19th century. |
| Joseph Harry Biden | Husband | 14 Jun 1893 – 26 Sep 1941 | Worked in the oil business; married Mary Elizabeth in 1914. |
| Joseph Robinette Biden Sr. | Son | 13 Nov 1915 – ? | Father of Joseph R. Biden Jr., and the line that connects Mary Elizabeth to national history. |
| Mary A. Biden | Daughter | c. 1917 | Documented as a child in family census records. |
| Frank H. Biden | Son | c. 1918 | Documented in early 20th century household records. |
| Joseph R. Biden Jr. | Grandson | 20 Nov 1942 – present | Later became a prominent public figure, making the family history a subject of wider interest. |
| Valerie Biden Owens | Granddaughter | 1945 – present | Political strategist and longtime family political adviser. |
| James B. Biden | Grandson | c. 1949 – present | Member of the next generation of the Biden family. |
| Francis W. Biden | Grandson | c. 1953 – present | Member of the Biden sibling group. |
Family relationships ripple outward. Grandchildren and great grandchildren have taken roles in law, politics, business, and civic life. Yet the core remains domestic: meals, chores, and the small rituals that bind generations. Mary Elizabeth is a node in a larger web, one that connects 19th century Maryland to 21st century national life.
Career and Financial Snapshot
Public records and genealogical registers do not attribute a formal public career to Mary Elizabeth Robinette Biden. Like many women of her time, her recorded identity is centered on family ties and household roles. There is no contemporaneous evidence of an independent business or public office. Her husband’s occupation in the oil industry is noted in period documents, pointing to a modestly stable household economy.
Financially, the family’s profile in records suggests middle class stability rather than wealth. No estate filings or business holdings attributed to Mary Elizabeth appear in public archives. The family navigated the economic turbulence of the 1930s, and subsequent generations experienced their own financial ebbs and flows.
Recent Mentions and Cultural Context
Even though Mary Elizabeth died in 1943, her name can be found in family histories and genealogy compilations that come up anytime biographers look up the ancestry of well-known offspring. Her primary function is that of an ancestor figure, a silent pillar whose life contributes to the understanding of the familial continuity that gave rise to significant subsequent figures. Mary Elizabeth is portrayed in biographies of that larger family as a generational anchor, a conduit from the small-town and rural past into the present inhabited by tales at the national level.
Cemetery records and family trees both weave her into the public consciousness. When academics and journalists turn the pages of a political family’s history, she works like an old ledger entry that suddenly attracts attention.
Extended Timeline
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1844 | Birth of George Hamilton Robinette, Mary Elizabeth’s father. |
| 1862 | Birth of Mary Ann Hanafee, Mary Elizabeth’s mother, on 27 August. |
| 1894 | Birth of Mary Elizabeth Robinette on 18 November. |
| 1914 | Marriage to Joseph Harry Biden. |
| 1915 | Birth of son Joseph Robinette Biden on 13 November. |
| c. 1917 | Birth of daughter Mary A. Biden. |
| c. 1918 | Birth of son Frank H. Biden. |
| 1941 | Death of husband Joseph H. Biden on 26 September. |
| 1943 | Death of Mary Elizabeth on 23 April. |
| 1942 – 1953 | Births of grandchildren in the Biden family, including Joseph R. Biden Jr. in 1942. |
The timeline reads like the steady pulse of a family over five decades. Dates stand as markers, but the life between them is where the texture lives.
FAQ
Who was Mary Elizabeth Robinette Biden?
Mary Elizabeth Robinette Biden was born on 18 November 1894 and is recorded in family histories as the wife of Joseph Harry Biden and the paternal grandmother of Joseph R. Biden Jr.
When did she marry and who was her spouse?
She married Joseph Harry Biden in 1914; he was born on 14 June 1893 and died on 26 September 1941.
Who were her children?
Her recorded children include Joseph Robinette Biden born 13 November 1915, Mary A. Biden born about 1917, and Frank H. Biden born about 1918.
What is her connection to President Joseph R. Biden Jr?
She is the paternal grandmother of Joseph R. Biden Jr, through her son Joseph Robinette Biden Sr.
Did she have a public career?
No public records indicate a separate public career; historical records emphasize her family role and household life.
When did Mary Elizabeth die?
She died on 23 April 1943 at age 48.
Where did her family come from originally?
Her family was rooted in the mid Atlantic region; her parents were George Hamilton Robinette and Mary Ann Hanafee.
Are there notable descendants?
Yes, descendants include political and public figures such as Joseph R. Biden Jr and Valerie Biden Owens.
