Jessie eloped in 1897 with Warren Beckwith, a classmate and football star at Iowa Wesleyan College.

Beckwith's mother died in 1948 and in later life, he gave his profession as "gentleman farmer of independent means", his inheritance having included a working farm in Middlesex County, Virginia.

[1][6] Beckwith married three times, first to Hazel Frances Holland (formerly Wilson; 1899–1966), in March 1927, second to Annemarie Hoffman (born c. 1940), in November 1967, and third to Margaret Elizabeth Hogan (formerly Fristoe; 1921–2009), in 1979.

Beckwith never publicly acknowledged paternity for any child, making him the last confirmed descendant of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States.

[10][11][12] Since 1995, Timothy has worked as an assistant state's attorney in West Palm Beach, Florida and maintained a relatively low profile, though articles speculating about his paternity and possible relationship to Abraham Lincoln continue to be published.