She was reportedly descended from the John C. Calhoun family, and both sides of her family were a mixture of African-American, Native American, and European American descent and belonged to the upper stratum of middle-class, well-educated people.
Era descendente da familia de John C. Calhoun, e ambas as pólas da súa familia tiñan mestura de afroamericanos, indíxenas estadounidenses e estadounidenses de orixe europea e pertencían á parte superior da clase media, ben educada.