When Elizabeth Ann Blaesing died in November in northwest Oregon, buried with her was DNA evidence that could confirm or reject the assertion - made prominent in a federal courtroom in Toledo - that she was the illegitimate daughter of President Warren G. Harding.

And those related to the late president - the last of eight presidents from Ohio - are content to let things lie.

"I might [support a DNA test] if it would put everything in absolute certainty, but as we know ... there are too many loopholes, legal and otherwise," said Dr. Warren Harding III, a Cincinnati orthopedic surgeon who is the grand-nephew of President Harding. "I just decided I'm going to leave that behind." "I just know enough about it that I realize what is, is."

Family members of the late Ms. Blaesing could not be reached for comment.

The scandalous allegations that President Harding, who was married, had an affair with Ms. Blaesing's mother, Nan Britton, while he was representing Ohio as a U.S. senator were huge media fodder at the time.

Toledo was at the heart of the action when Ms. Britton filed a libel suit in federal court here alleging a Marion, Ohio, hotel owner had damaged her reputation by advertising a book which charged her as being a "sex pervert" and "common woman."

The book, The Answer to The President's Daughter, came as a response to a book Ms. Britton had herself authored, entitled The President's Daughter, in which she detailed the private life of President Harding.

The book, in which Ms. Britton frequently referred to Elizabeth Ann as the "love daughter of myself and President Harding," quickly created a furor in the Marion community, where Ms. Britton and President Harding grew up, and where he owned the local newspaper, The Marion Star.

During the Toledo trial, Judge John M. Killits barred minors from the court, saying he had heard school girls had been attending and was disturbed, as "much of the interest is prurient and very much demoralizing ... such persons can get nothing but impressions destructive to good character." The order later included young Elizabeth Ann, who was 12 at the time. Ms. Britton lost the suit in 1931.

And to this day, the whole affair and accompanying media attention remain frustrating to the former president's family members, who are convinced any relationship between President Harding and Ms. Blaesing was pure fabrication, Dr. Harding said.

But allegations that then-Senator Harding may have been a philandering ladies' man were not even close to the biggest scandal to emerge from his presidential administration.

His administration was held responsible for the Teapot Dome Scandal, where control of naval oil reserves at Teapot Dome, Wyo., were leased, without bidding, to an oil operator who "loaned" a large sum of money to the U.S. secretary of the interior.

Dr. Harding lamented his great-uncle's legacy, saying his ideas on immigration - how he railed against the loss of the "melting pot" philosophy, and was fearful of the effects of immigrants arriving and staying in closed communities - have relevance to the present day.

"What's always frustrating is that people never get to talk about [President Harding's] ideas," Dr. Harding said. "They always stop on Nan Britton."

Contact Tad Vezner at:

tvezner@theblade.com

or 419-724-6050.

First Published June 1, 2006, 9:22 a.m.