First Twins
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The Bush family: President George W. Bush, First Lady Laura Bush, former First Lady Barbara Bush, and former President George H. W. Bush sit surrounded by family in the Red Room (White House) on January 6, 2005, together to celebrate the senior couple's 60th wedding anniversary. Also pictured are, from left, Georgia Grace Koch, Margaret Bush, Walker Bush, Marvin Bush, Jenna Bush, Doro Bush, Barbara Pierce Bush, Robert P. Koch, Pierce Bush, Maria Bush, Neil Bush, Ashley Bush, Sam LeBlond, Bobby Koch, Nancy Ellis LeBlond, Jeb Bush, Jr., former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Mandi Bush, George P. Bush, and Columba Bush)

Originating in Orange, New Jersey, the Bush family in the 20th century became an accomplished political family in the United States, including across three generations a U.S. Senator, two Governors, one Vice President and two Presidents. Many other members have been successful bankers and businessmen. George Herbert Walker and Barbara Bush have been married for 63 years, holding the record for the longest married presidential couple. Peter Schweizer, author of a biography of the family, has described the Bushes as "the most successful political dynasty in American history."^[1] The Bush family is of primarily English and German descent, in addition to small amounts of Welsh, Scottish, Irish, French, Italian, Dutch, Moravian, Belgian, Norman, and Swedish descent.^[2][3][4]

Family tree

The following is a selective family tree of notable members of the modern Bush family:

Obadiah Newcomb Bush

Harriet Smith

James Smith Bush

Harriet Fay

Samuel P. Bush

Flora Sheldon

Prescott Sheldon Bush

Dorothy Wear Walker

Robert Sheldon Bush

Mary Eleanor Bush

Margaret Livingston Bush

James Smith Bush

Prescott Sheldon Bush Jr.

George H. W. Bush

Barbara Pierce

Nancy Walker Bush

Jonathan James Bush

William Henry Trotter Bush

George W. Bush

Laura Lane Welch

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John Ellis "Jeb" Bush

Columba Garnica Gallo

Neil Mallon Bush

Sharon Smith

Marvin Pierce Bush

Dorothy Walker Bush

{{{ Pauline Robinson Bush}}}

Barbara Pierce Bush

Jenna Welch Bush

Henry Chase Hager

George Prescott Bush

John Ellis "Jebby" Bush, Jr.

Noelle Lucila Bush

Lauren Bush

Pierce Bush

Ashley Bush

The George Bush family in the early 1960s. In the front row, from left to right, stand Neil Bush, Marvin Bush, and Jeb Bush. In the back row are Dorothy Bush, George W. Bush, Barbara Bush, and George H. W. Bush

• Samuel P. Bush (1863–1948), a close advisor to President Hoover, was president of the Ohio Association of Manufacturers and a major Columbus industrialist.
• Flora Sheldon (1872-1920), the wife of Samuel P. Bush, married June 20, 1894 and mother to Prescott Bush.
  • Prescott Bush (1895–1972), Samuel P. Bush's son, served as a US Senator from Connecticut.
  • Dorothy Walker Bush (1901–1992), the wife of Prescott, was the daughter of George Herbert Walker of the well-connected Walker family of bankers and businessmen
    • Prescott Bush, Jr. (born 1922), Prescott Bush's eldest son, served as chairman of the U.S.-China Chamber of Commerce.
    • George H.W. Bush (born 1924), Prescott Bush Sr.'s second son, was the 41st US President, a Congressman from Houston, and CIA director, and also held other political and diplomatic posts. Before his political career he was in the oil business in Texas.
    • Barbara Pierce Bush (born 1925), the daughter of publisher Marvin Pierce, was First Lady of the US and Second Lady of the US during her husband's terms.
      • George W. Bush (born 1946), George H.W. Bush's eldest son, is the 43rd President of the United States and was the 46th Governor of Texas.
      • Laura Welch Bush (born 1946), the wife of George W., is the First Lady currently and a former teacher.
        • Barbara Pierce Bush and Jenna Welch Bush (born 1981), George W. Bush's twin daughters.
        • Henry Chase Hager (born 1981), wed to Jenna Bush.
      • Pauline Robinson Bush (1949–1953), George H.W. Bush's second child and first daughter, died of leukemia.
      • Jeb Bush (born 1953), George H.W. Bush's second son, was the 43rd Governor of Florida. Married to Columba Bush.
        • George P. Bush (born 1976), son of Jeb Bush, works for Charter Holdings, a real estate investment company. Married to Amanda Williams.
        • Jeb Bush, Jr. (born 1983) is attending University of Texas
        • Noelle Bush (born 1977)
      • Neil Bush (born 1955), third son of George H. W. Bush and brother of President George W. Bush, is a businessman. Currently married to Maria Bush (as of 2004).
        • Lauren Bush (born 1984), model for Tommy Hilfiger, daughter of Neil Bush and Sharon Smith.
        • Pierce Bush (born 1986), son of Neil Bush and Sharon Smith.
        • Ashley Bush (born 1989), daughter of Neil Bush and Sharon Smith.
      • Marvin Bush (born 1956), a venture capitalist, fourth son of George H. W. Bush, and brother of President George W. Bush.
      • Dorothy Bush Koch (born 1959), second daughter of George H. W. Bush and sister of President George W. Bush. Married to Bobby Koch, wine lobbyist.
    • Nancy Walker Bush Ellis (born 1926), Prescott Bush Sr.'s third child, and the only daughter.
      • John Prescott Ellis (born 1953), son of Nancy Bush Ellis, media consultant
    • Jonathan Bush (born 1931), Prescott Bush Sr.'s fourth child, banker
      • Jonathan S. Bush (born 1969), son of Jonathan Bush, insurance executive
      • Billy Bush (born 1971), son of Jonathan Bush, Access Hollywood host
    • William H.T. Bush (born 1938), Prescott Bush Sr.'s fifth child, banker and executive

Ancestors

Barbara Bush, Jeb Bush, George H.W. Bush, Laura Bush, and George W. Bush watch tee ball on the White House lawn.

Patrilineal line

• Richard Bush (c. 1696 – 1732) in Bristol, Plymouth Colony) is believed to be the earliest known patrilineal member of the Bush family in North America.

• Timothy Bush (1728–1815 in Springport, New York) may have been the son of Richard Bush.

• Timothy Bush, Jr. (1761–1850 in Penfield, New York) was the son of Timothy Bush.

• Obadiah Newcomb Bush (January 28, 1797–1851) was the son of blacksmith Timothy Bush, Jr. and Lydia Newcomb, and was born in Penfield, New York on January 28, 1797. He left home during the War of 1812 and married Harriet Smith (1800-1867) (Cambridge, New York, May 12, 1800 - Cincinnati, Ohio, June 21, 1867), the daughter of Dr. Sanford Smith (1760-1815) (Stonington, Connecticut, February 27, 1760 - Scipio, New York, June 15, 1815) and his wife Priscilla Whippo Smith (1763-1838) (Cambridge, New York, c. 1763 - Pottstown, Pennsylvania, August 26, 1838), in Rochester, New York on November 8, 1821. He and his wife had seven children. Through his son Reverend James Smith Bush (1825-1889), he is the great-great-grandfather of former President George Herbert Walker Bush and the great-great-great-grandfather of President George W. Bush. In Rochester, Obadiah was employed as a schoolmaster and was also a well known abolitionist. He served as vice president of the Anti-Slavery Society and was on a committee to nominate candidates for justice of the peace. His brother Henry, a manufacturer of stoves, was also well known for his involvement in abolitionist activities. He was a participant in the Underground Railroad, and even petitioned the New York State Legislature to secede from the Union in a protest against slavery. The Rochester Daily Advertiser accused him of encouraging "anarchy." Eventually Obadiah, Henry and possibly another brother or two went off to find their fortunes in the California Gold Rush of 1849. After two years of toiling in California he began passage home, by ship, to retrieve his family in New York. He died, however, aboard ship and was given a sea burial. According to the book The Faith of George W. Bush: "[He] left his home during the War of 1812, became a schoolmaster, then caught gold fever and left for California during the Gold Rush of 1849. Two years later, he tried to return home to reclaim his family and take them west. He died in the attempt, though, and was buried at sea. leaving his wife and seven children alone in Rochester, New York."

• James Smith Bush (1825–1889), an Episcopal priest in New Jersey, California, and New York, was the son of Obadiah Bush and the father of Samuel Prescott Bush. The first Bush to earn a degree from Yale University, he supported the founding of The Third Society at Yale, now known as Wolf's Head Society.

Other notable relatives

• Måns Andersson (died c. 1677), a Swedish immigrant believed to be among the earliest ancestors of the Bush family in North America.
• Anne Hutchinson (1591–1643), a Massachusetts religious dissident, was an 11th–generation ancestor of Samuel P. Bush through his mother Harriet Fay.^[5] The same family line makes the Bushes distant cousins of Presidents George Washington, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Calvin Coolidge.
• George Bush (1796–1859), a biblical scholar who wrote a book Life of Mohammed, was a cousin of Obadiah Bush.
• Jonathan Fairbanks (born 1595) who first built the Fairbanks House, the oldest house in North America.^[6] He is also an ancestor of William Howard Taft^[7], Vice President Charles W. Fairbanks^[8] and the father and son Governors of Vermont Erastus Fairbanks and Horace Fairbanks^[9].
• Rev. John Lathrop - ancestor of Samuel P. Bush via his mother Harriet Fay. This same line makes the Bushes cousins to President Ulysses S. Grant as well as Benedict Arnold, among many, many others.
• Thomas Hinckley - ancestor of Dorothy Walker, wife of Prescott Bush. Governor of the Plymouth Colony.
• Thomas Mayhew - ancestor of Flora Sheldon and all her descendants. Established the first settlement of Martha's Vineyard.
• Philip Sherman - ancestor of Flora Sheldon, wife of Samuel P. Bush. One of the founders of Rhode Island.
• Charlemagne - President Bush is descended from Charlemagne eight, possibly nine, times. Two of his "gateway" ancestors were Anne Hutchinson and Robert Livingston the Elder.^[10]
• Strongbow - The Bushs are descendants of this Norman, a descendant of Vikings who settled in Normandy, who led the Anglo-Norman conquest of Ireland in the 12th Century. Strongbow was not Celtic, being a French-speaking Norman.^[3]

Connections to other prominent families

George H.W. Bush with son George W. Bush, 2008

Walker family

George Herbert "Bert" Walker (1875–1953) was a wealthy American banker and businessman. His daughter Dorothy married Prescott Bush, making him the grandfather of the 41st President George H. W. Bush and the great-grandfather of the 43rd President George W. Bush.

Fish family

Samuel Prescott Bush married Flora Sheldon, who had a common ancestor with the Fishes (e.g. Hamilton Fish) and the Keans (e.g. Thomas Kean). Their common ancestor was the famed Robert Livingston the Elder.^[11]

See also: Fish and Kean family

Pierce family

First Lady Barbara Bush (née Pierce), the wife of George H.W. Bush (the 41st President of the United States) and the mother of George W. Bush (the 43rd President), is descended from a second cousin of Franklin Pierce (14th President). Through this family they are also connected to the royal House of Lorraine. ^[11]

Other Presidents

Current President George W. Bush is related to other presidents as well as Pierce, to whom he is also related on his father's side via Daniel Brewer. He is also a cousin of Fillmore (via Millards), Lincoln (via Gilmans), Grant (via Lathrops). Hayes (via Smiths, Footes, Parmelees, and Huckinses), Garfield (via Wheelers, Carpenters, Cookes, Warrens, Holbrooks, and Arnolds), Cleveland (via Smiths and Stanleys), Theodore Roosevelt (via Schuylers), Taft (via Holbrooks, Thayers, Haywards, Cookes, Footes, Ravenses, Waterses, and Shermans), Coolidge (via Phillipses, Hortons, Garnseys, Pulsiphers, Ravenses, Richardsons, Moores, Bulkeleys, and Morses), Hoover (via Brookses, Reades, Wheelers, Richardsons, and Shermans), Franklin Roosevelt (via Beekmans, Hutchinsons, Popes, Jenneys, Richardses, Palgraves, Lathrops, and Howlands), Nixon (via Lippincotts, Footes, Traverses, Morses, and Howlands), and Ford (via Vanderburghs, Wheelers, Marvins, Gilmans, and Howlands).^[11]

Kerry family

George W. Bush and his opponent in the 2004 U.S. Presidential election John Kerry share a common ancestor in Edmund Reade (1563-1623) and his wife Elizabeth Cooke. Bush and Kerry are 9th cousins, twice removed.^[12]

Sir Winston Churchill

Current President George W. Bush is related to Winston Churchill three ways: through the Coes of NY, the Sumners of Mass., and the Shermans of RI (linking them to the Baldwin, Hoar & Sherman family).^[11]

The Mayflower Pilgrims

Current President Bush is also descended from Mayflower passengers John Howland, John Tilley, Henry Samson, and probably Francis Cooke. ^[11]

See also

• List of U.S. political families
• Political families of the world

References

Further reading

• American Dynasty: Aristocracy, Fortune, and the Politics of Deceit in the House of Bush (2004), Kevin Phillips. ISBN 0-670-03264-6
• The Bushes: Portrait of a Dynasty, Peter Schweizer
• The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty, Kitty Kelley

External links

• CNN: Victory restores Bush dynasty to Washington
• Guardian The Bush dynasty and the Cuban criminals
• Cincinnati Enquirer: Cheney's health beside the point in Bush dynasty
• St. Petersburg Times(FL): The Bush dynasty parties on
• Bush41 and Bush43 info on possible Native American ancestry
• Bush family genealogy
• Bush Family Tree

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