Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone universe is nothing short of a monstrous success. The flagship series took a few years to catch on, but once it did, it sparked a massive inferno that spawned numerous spinoff series, including prequels that dive deep into the Dutton family history, as well as modern day spinoffs that take us further unto the Dutton future.
With the “Rip and Beth” spinoff series, Dutton Ranch, set to premiere on May 15th on Paramount+, and Marshals, a modern day CBS procedural spinoff about Kayce Dutton’s life after Monica passes away, it got me thinking about one of the biggest question mark in the entire series… one that no particular series has answered. How exactly does the Dutton family go from James Dutton in 1883 (played by Tim McGraw), to John Dutton (played, of course, by the great Kevin Costner)? Following the conclusions of 1923, it still remains unclear… so much so that even 1923 cast members confessed that they’re not sure what happens. Will Dutton Ranch answer the question? I’m not so sure… but I doubt it. Marshals most certainly won’t (remember people… it’s not even written by Taylor Sheridan).
But perhaps Taylor Sheridan didn’t want to paint himself into a corner, but after 1923 has failed to shed any light on the Dutton family tree, it left fans utterly confused at how the modern-day Dutton family came to be. In fact, it’s even more perplexing than it was when the series started. Following the conclusion of Yellowstone prequel series 1883, there was one big question regarding how the Dutton family got to Kevin Costner’s character, John Dutton III, from James Dutton (who was played by Tim McGraw) in 1883. Does the line run through James’ son John Dutton, and his son Jack Dutton? Or does the line run through James’ son Spencer? Unfortunately for fans of the Yellowstone, we’re no closer to figuring that out.
Now, this is my own speculation, based on what we’ve been given in the show, but here was my prediction prior to the start of 1923. And while I don’t think this is necessarily important for the show, the suffix “Jr.” is typically used when you’re named after your father, and II is generally used when you’re named after another relative int he family… John Dutton’s (Kevin Costner) father is always referred to as John Dutton II in official show commentary, meaning that his father is certainly not John Dutton… not that we think he is, but just remember that going forward.
My personal belief going into Season 2 was that the line runs through Jack, even though his wife miscarried, and Alexandria was pregnant going into Season 2. And then following Season 2, it may be controversial, but my mind hasn’t changed. My hunch was always that the line went through John and Jack because that added generation in there would make for 7, and we know that John Dutton III (Kevin Costner in Yellowstone) was a “5th generation rancher” and that the land would be returned to the Native Americans after “7 generations.”
7 Generations
In that 1893 flashback from Yellowstone Season 4, we see that James has two sons with him, John Sr. and Spencer (the major characters in 1923)… Generation Two.
They should be in their forties or so by the time 1923 rolls around and will have children of their own (Generation Three), and John Sr. and Spencer might even have young grandchildren (people got married pretty young back then), so that’s Generation Four. Now, here’s where it get’s interesting… John Dutton III (born sometime in the 1950s) of Yellowstone would be Generation Five, which means Kayce, Jamie (adopted), the late Lee Dutton, and Beth Dutton would all be Generation Six, and young Tate would be Generation 7.
And that’s exactly what Tim McGraw himself has confirmed. Tim says he plays the great-great-grandfather of John Dutton in the bonus Blu-ray content:
“I play John Dutton’s great-great-grandfather. Our family is the first to discover Yellowstone and settle it. And in doing that, we are the first to really defend it and fight people off, and try to establish it and then survive. J.D.’s the patriarch of the family. He’s the guy that had the balls, I guess, to set out and take his family across the country and head up to Montana, and sorta settle this unknown land, this untamed land up there, and turn it into something.”
Of course, which generation of Dutton has implications for the show because in the Season Finale of 1883, Elsa Dutton (Isabel May) is on the verge of death and her father, James Dutton (Tim McGraw) needs to find a place to bury her because wherever they bury her body is where the Dutton family is going to settle.
So Spotted Eagle, a Crow elder, recommends a spot called the Paradise Valley. But, there’s a catch… the Duttons can’t have it forever.
“Yes, Paradise. Good name. But you know this: that in seven generations, my people will rise up and take it back from you.”
To which James says:
“In seven generations, you can have it.”
And as we saw in the Yellowstone series finale, they give the land back to the Broken Rock Tribe as a way to avoid the massive property taxes that they can’t afford to pay. So that being said, here are the only 3 possible outcomes for how the line of the Duttons can work:
Possible Outcomes
1. Spencer and Alexandra’s Son, John
As detailed above, this makes sense given the name, but doesn’t quite fulfill the 7 generations prophecy unless John has another son in between… but because he would also have to be John (to be Kevin Costner’s character’s father), wouldn’t that make for 4 John Duttons? Costner would be John Dutton IV. Or are we getting real loose with the term “generation”?
Also, can we admit that a baby born 3 months early in 1923 would have virtually zero chance of surviving, and that Alex could’ve gotten surgery to save her life and it would have had zero effect on the baby’s survival? She endured through so much just to call it quits at the end? Make it make sense…
2. Spencer & The Widow’s Son
We know Spencer had another son with a widow, but we know that he never married her, and that he died at Alex’s grave. All the same implications of the above would be in play, but it remains a possibility. It would certainly fix the “too many Johns” problem, but the timeline would be even more scrunched than it would be with Spencer and Alexandra’s son.
3. Jack and Elizabeth’s Son
As I mentioned above, this was always my hunch, however with Elizabeth moving back to Boston, it really throws a wrench in the “generations of ranchers” narrative. We know John Dutton III’s (Kevin Costner) father was named John (John Sr.) and was a rancher as well. So unless Elizabeth also names her son John (knowing that Jack’s uncle named their son John), and he comes back to Montana relatively quickly, it just doesn’t seem to make much sense. The far-fetched “The Madison theory” actually makes much more sense.
To be honest, I think that Taylor Sheridan left this purposely vague in order to give himself some room to work, or… he just screwed it up. The more you “set in stone” so to speak, the more you have to abide by when writing subsequent spinoffs… then again, has continuity ever mattered to Taylor Sheridan? He certainly seems to take some creative liberties and we know that 1923 was originally named 1932, but it got moved up to fit the timeline. Is Sheridan just really bad at math?
So without further ado… mapping out the entire Dutton family, from 1883, to today:
The Dutton Family
1883:
James Dutton
The original patriarch of the Dutton Family, James (Tim McGraw) was a farmer from Tennessee who took his family out west in search of a new life. The husband of Margaret Dutton and father of Elsa, John and Spencer, he chose to establish the modern day Dutton Ranch where his daughter Elsa passed away.
Margaret Dutton
The original matriarch of the Dutton Family, Margaret (Faith Hill) is married to James Dutton and the mother of Elsa, John and Spencer Dutton.
Elsa Dutton
Elsa (Isabel May) was the eldest child of James and Margaret Dutton. She also serves as the narrator of both 1883 and 1923. She was going to marry a cowboy named Ennis, however, he was killed on the journey West. She vowed to return to a Comanche warrior named Sam once her family reached its destination, however she was killed in an attack on the wagon train. The Dutton Ranch property was established where she died, and she was the first to be buried there.
John Dutton
John Dutton (Audie Rick in 1883, James Badge Dale in 1923) is the son of James and Margaret Dutton, brother to Elsa and Spencer. He was just a young boy during the events of 1883, however in 1923, he works alongside his uncle Jacob on the Dutton Ranch. He is married to Emma Dutton, and they have at least one son, Jack. John is tragically killed (in 1923) during an attack from Banner Creighton and his men.
Claire Dutton
Claire (Dawn Olivieri) is James Dutton’s sister, who joins the journey west with her daughter Mary Abel. A widow, she kills herself once her daughter is killed on the trail.
1923:
Jacob Dutton
Jacob (Harrison Ford) is the brother of James Dutton, who becomes the leader of the family once James passes away. He and his wife, Cara Dutton, work to run the ranch with their nephews, John and Spencer, and John’s son Jack.
Cara Dutton
Cara (Helen Mirren) is the wife of Jacob Dutton. A hard-nosed Irish immigrant, she becomes the matriarch of the Dutton family in 1923, following the passing of Margaret and James.
Emma Dutton
Emma (Marley Shelton) is the wife of John Dutton Sr. and the mother of Jack Dutton. Perhaps even more tragically, she kills herself following the death of her husband John.
Spencer Dutton
Spencer (Brandon Sklenar) is the second son of James and Margaret Dutton. Born after the Duttons settled in Montana (and the death of his sister, Elsa), Spencer is a WWI vet who spends time hunting in Africa before returning back to Montana to help save the ranch. While in Africa, he meets Alexandra, who he marries at sea. She gives birth to a baby, named John after Spencer’s late brother, but she dies shortly after childbirth. Spencer has another child with another woman, but dies at Alexandra’s grave.
Jack Dutton
Jack (Darren Mann) works on the Dutton Ranch alongside his father, John Dutton Sr. and great-uncle, Jacob Dutton. He is engaged to Elizabeth Strafford, the daughter of another notable rancher.
Here’s the one part of the family tree we are still unsure about… the line runs through Jack and Emma, or it runs through Spencer and Alex…. that’s the one missing piece of this puzzle.
My suspicion is that Jack may be the father of John Dutton II or John Dutton Sr. for purposes of our family tree. My initial guess was that John Dutton won’t survive 1923 (and he didn’t), and Jack will name his first born son after his late father… John Dutton. Elizabeth gets pregnant in the first season of 1923, although she sadly miscarries. She gets pregnant again in Season 2, but leaves for Boston.
Because of the “7 Generations” prophecy in 1883, and the fact that it came true in Yellowstone, if the line were to run through Spencer, that would make Tate Dutton the 6th generation of the family. So all that being said, I maintain my hunch that the line runs through Jack.
Elizabeth Strafford-Dutton
Elizabeth (Michelle Randolph) is Jack’s fiancée. The two end up postponing their wedding briefly, but are planning on marrying very soon. She miscarries in Season 1 and gets pregnant in Season 2, but the difficulty of settling in Montana has her leave for Boston in Season 2.
Alexandra Dutton
An extremely wealthy English socialite, she leaves her fiancé, the the son of the Earl of Sussex, in Africa and runs away with Spencer Dutton. The pair are married at sea on their way back to Montana. She gives birth to a baby, named John after Spencer’s late brother, but she declines to treat her frostbitten limbs and dies shortly after childbirth.
Yellowstone
John Dutton III
The modern day leader of the Dutton family and the current Governor of Montana. He is the father of Lee Dutton, Beth Dutton and Kayce Dutton, and the adoptive father of Jamie Dutton.
Evelyn Dutton
Evelyn (Gretchen Mol) is the wife of John Dutton III who passed away in a horseback riding accident when her children were young. She is the mother of Lee, Beth and Kayce Dutton.
Lee Dutton
Lee (Dave Annable) is the oldest son of John and Evelyn Dutton. The heir to the Dutton Ranch, Lee was killed by Robert Long (Monica’s brother) after an argument broke out over stolen cattle.
Beth Dutton
Beth (Kelly Reilly) is the daughter of John Dutton III and wife of Rip Wheeler, her father’s ranch foreman and right-hand man. Unable to have children of her own, her and Rip have taken in teenage Carter.
Rip Wheeler
Rip (Cole Hauser) is the Yellowstone foreman and right-hand man of John Dutton III. He came to the Dutton Ranch as an orphaned teenager after he killed his own father (who killed his mother and brother). Teenage sweethearts, he eventually marries John’s daughter, Beth Dutton.
Kayce Dutton
Kayce (Luke Grimes) is the youngest of the Dutton siblings, and a former Navy SEAL. He’s married to Monica Dutton and the father of Tate Dutton and John Dutton IV (deceased).
Monica Dutton
Monica (Kelsea Asbille) was raised on the Broken Rock Reservation. She is married to Kayce Dutton and the mother of Tate Dutton and John Dutton IV.
Tate Dutton
Tate (Brecken Merrill) is the oldest son of Kayce and Monica Dutton, the eldest of the 7th generation of Duttons.
John Dutton IV
John Dutton IV is the second son of Kayce and Monica Dutton, who tragically only lived a few hours following complications from an early birth and a car accident.
Jamie Dutton
Jamie (Wes Bentley) is the adopted son of John Dutton III and the black sheep of the Dutton family. Dies in series finale.
Christina
Christina is Jamie’s ex assistant and the mother of his child.
James Dutton Jr.
The son of Jamie Dutton and his ex-girlfriend Christina, Jamie finds out he has a son after the birth.
