PIERCE NAYS

Earlier I mentioned President Franklin Pierce as an ancestor to Ryan Pierce, a character on 'The West Wing'. Here's what a 'West Wing' web site had to say about that idea:

Could Ryan Pierce be descended from Franklin Pierce as Donna says in "The Dogs of War"? Leigh Cox emailed us on this:

"In the episode last night (October 1, 2003), they introduced a new character, an intern in Josh¹s office. His name is Ryan Pierce, and he noted on the program that he was the great-great grandson of Franklin Pierce. This could not be true! President Franklin Pierce and his wife Jane Appleton Pierce had three sons, all of whom passed away in childhood. Therefore, Franklin Pierce had no grandchildren and could not be the great-great grandfather of this character on The West Wing."

Of course, Leigh Cox forgets that 'The West Wing' isn't reality; it's TV. And it's not even in the main Toobworld, but in its own dimension shared with 'Mr. Sterling', 'Smallville', and perhaps the remake of 'Battlestar Galactica'.

In that world, it's quite possible for the sons of Franklin Pierce to have survived to adulthood and fathered children of their own.....

BCnU!