The only thing more important to the Duttons than taking care of the land they have owned for generations is their family. The Yellowstone clan does have a lot of money because they own the biggest ranch in Montana. But John Dutton’s poor old heart doesn’t care if it doesn’t get passed on to his children.
As we go back in time in spinoffs of the cowboy drama set in 1883 and 1923, the family structures start to get more complicated. When you really think about it, the sheer number of Aegons in House of the Dragon isn’t that different from Kevin Costner being John Dutton III.
Even more confusing is the fact that actors like Harrison Ford and Sam Elliott, who seem like they should be at the center of the Dutton family tree, often have no direct ties to Costner’s John Dutton. Elliott wasn’t even a Dutton, for crying out loud.
Tim McGraw, a country singer, was made the official ancestor patriarch by the Duttons. Our whole timeline starts with him. Need help figuring out how the Yellowstone extended universe all fits together? With a little help from our friends at the Paramount Network, we’ve got you taken care of.
James and Margaret are the original father and mother of the Dutton family in Yellowstone. Tim McGraw and Faith Hill played them in 1883. James was a farmer in Tennessee. During the Civil War, he joined the Confederate Army and fought. After the war, he moved his family to the West. Margaret, likewise, was an army nurse.
The caravan was headed for Oregon, but after their daughter, Elsa died, the Duttons had to settle in Montana (Isabel May). Elsa was the main person who told the story in 1883, and she also did a voiceover for the first episode of 1923. John and Spencer were James and Margaret’s two sons.
Also Read: Yellowstone Fans Cry “Foul” About Forgotten Dutton Sibling!
Jacob and Cara Dutton
Jacob and Cara Dutton, who are the main characters in 1923, are played by Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren. No matter what the story is, Jacob came to the family ranch in the 1990s after James and Margaret both died. Jacob and Cara don’t have any kids of their own, but Jacob is supposed to be the brother of James, who is played by Tim McGraw.
He is also the Commissioner of the Livestock Association, which is a job that the Duttons have held for as long as anyone can remember. They now take care of John, James and Margaret’s son, and Jack, John’s son.
Claire Dutton
Claire, played by Dawn Olivieri, is the sister of James and Jacob. In 1883, she went West with James’s caravan. After her daughter, Mary Abel, was killed outside of Fort Worth, Texas, she decided to stay and later killed herself. Claire also lost her husband and all of her children, which was very sad. In the fifth season of Yellowstone, Olivieri was replaced by Sarah Atwood from the show Market Equities.
John Dutton
Although James and Margaret Dutton’s eldest son John (James Badge Dale) appears to be the head ranch manager so far, we haven’t seen much of John and Emma Dutton in 1923. John was just a little boy in 1883, but he started a line of Johns that will lead all the way to old Costner.
Also Read: Yellowstone Creator Recalls Uncomfortable 1883 Meeting That Ended Season 2 Chances!
Spencer Dutton
Spencer is John and Elsa’s brother in 1923. He is played by Brandon Sklenar, and he is currently hunting lions abroad. Spencer must have been born after James and Margaret moved to Montana because he wasn’t there as a baby in 1883. He left at some point to fight in World War I. After that, he went to Africa.
Jack Dutton
John and Emma Dutton’s first child is Jack, who is played by Darren Mann. In 1923, he works on the Yellowstone ranch with his father and his uncle Jacob as he gets ready to marry Elizabeth Stratford (Michelle Randolph). Paramount says that’s where the line ends, so Jack and Elizabeth better watch out!
John Dutton II
John Dutton II, who shows up as an old man in Yellowstone flashbacks, is the father of John III (Kevin Costner). He is probably John and Emma’s second son. John II is not anticipated to be featured in 1923, but Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan is working on spinoffs set in the 1940s and 1960s when John Dutton II would have been the patriarch of the family.
Also Read: Is The Yellowstone Prequel 1923 Based On A True Story?
John Dutton III
Finally! John Dutton III is the head of the family in Yellowstone. He is played by Kevin Costner. He will become Governor of Montana, and he has four children: Lee, Beth, Kayce, and Jamie, who were all born to other people. Evelyn, his wife, died in an accident while horseback riding. Now that he is the head of the Dutton ranch, John tries to stop hedge funds and other powerful people from taking the land that has been in his family for generations.
Lee Dutton
Lee, John Dutton III, and Evelyn’s first child was shot and killed during a fight with the nearby Broken Rock Reservation in the first season of Yellowstone.
Rip Wheeler and Beth Dutton
Beth (Kelly Reilly) is the only child of John Dutton III. She is the wife of Rip Wheeler, who is John’s current Yellowstone ranch manager. She is a tough businesswoman. Beth will do anything to protect her family, and she has made Jamie, her adopted brother, a sworn enemy. Even though Rip was married into the family, he was a lost boy that John took in. Beth and Rip have also “adopted” a young worker at the horse stables named Carter.
Also Read: How To Watch Yellowstone Spin-Off 1923 For Free? [Complete Guide]
Jamie Dutton
Jamie (Wes Bentley) is John and Evelyn’s adopted son. He was later kicked out of the family after a series of legal battles and betrayals. The fact that Jamie was adopted was kept from him until he met Garrett Randall, his real father. Randall is said to have killed Jamie’s birth mother when Jamie was very young.
After a twist towards the end of the fourth season, however, Jamie is eventually compelled to kill Randall and partially rejoin the Dutton family. Now, he intends to impeach his adoptive father, John, and assume the position of governor. Jamie also has a secret son, Jamie Jr., who he had with his old campaign manager, Christina.
Kayce and Monica Dutton
Kayce, John’s youngest son, had a hard time getting along with his father at first after John left the family to marry a teacher on the Broken Rock Reservation. They got back together, and now Kayce lives with Monica and their son Tate in their own house. Kayce recently followed in his father’s footsteps in Yellowstone by becoming the new Montana Livestock Commissioner.
Tate Dutton
Tate, the teenage son of Kayce and Monica, is learning what it means to be a real cowboy. Tate is the youngest person in the Dutton family who is set to get the ranch. Even though we don’t know how Yellowstone will end, the fact that the land will go to the Duttons and someone with mixed-race Native American roots may be a good way for the show’s family legacy to end.
