The Bush Family
The Bush family in the Red Room of the White House (January 2005). Seated left to right: Marvin Bush, Laura Bush, George W. Bush, Barbara Bush, George H. W. Bush, Jeb Bush. Also pictured, from left: Georgia Grace Koch, Margaret Bush, Brian Berzins Walker Bush, Jenna Bush Hager, Doro Bush, Barbara Pierce Bush, Robert P. Koch, Pierce Bush, Maria Bush, Neil Bush, Ashley Bush, Sam LeBlond, Nancy Ellis LeBlond, Mandi Bush, George P. Bush, and Columba Bush.
Ethnicity	Primarily English and German descent
Current region	Texas, United States
Information
Place of origin	United States
Notable members	Samuel Prescott Bush Prescott Bush George H. W. Bush George W. Bush Jeb Bush
Connected families	Sheldon, Walker, Pierce, Welch, Hager,
Estate	Bush compound

The Bush family is a prominent American family. Along with many members who have been successful bankers and businessmen, across generations the family includes two U.S. Senators, one Supreme Court Justice, two Governors and two Presidents (one of the two presidents also served as Vice President). George Herbert Walker Bush and Barbara Pierce Bush have been married for 67 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] According to some online sources,^[2] the Bush family is of primarily English and German descent.

Relations

• James Smith Bush (1825–1889) Father of Samuel P. Bush
  • Samuel P. Bush (1863–1948), Father of Prescott Bush and Son of James Smith Bush
  • 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 Wear 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. (1922–2010), 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, Vice-President of the United States under Ronald Reagan, a Congressman from Houston, and Central Intelligence Agency 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, descendant of 14th US President Franklin 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, was the 43rd President of the United States and was the 46th Governor of Texas.
          

          George H. W. Bush picnics on the lawn of his Kennebunkport home with his family, 1988
        • Laura Welch Bush (born 1946), the wife of George W., was the First Lady and a former teacher.
          • Barbara Pierce Bush and Jenna Bush Hager, née Jenna Welch Bush (born 1981), George W. Bush's twin daughters.
          • Henry Chase Hager (born 1981), wed to Jenna Bush Hager.
            • Margaret Laura "Mila" Hager. (born 2013), daughter of 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 the former Amanda Williams.
          • Noelle Bush (born 1977)
          • Jeb Bush, Jr. (born 1983) is attending the University of Texas.
        • 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). Previously married to Sharon Smith, divorce in April 2003.
          • Lauren Bush-Lauren (born 1984), model for Tommy Hilfiger, daughter of Neil Bush and Sharon Smith.
          • Ashley Bush, daughter of Neil Bush and Sharon Smith
          • Pierce M. Bush son of Neil Bush and Sharon Smith
        • Marvin Bush (born 1956), a venture capitalist, fourth son of George H. W. Bush, and brother of George W. Bush. Married to Margaret Conway (née Molster)
          • They have two children, adopted: a daughter, Marshall, and a son, Walker
        • 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. Children are Sam and Ellie LeBlond, Robert and Gigi Koch.
      • 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, CEO of athenahealth, a healthcare IT company
        • 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, and Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller watch tee ball on the White House lawn.

Patrilineal line

• Richard Bush (c. 1676–1732 in Bristol, Plymouth Colony) is believed to be the earliest known patrilineal member of the Bush family. He lived in North America.

• Timothy Bush (1728–1821 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

• George Bush (1796–1859) was a biblical scholar who wrote the book Life of Mohammed, and a cousin of Obadiah Newcomb Bush.
• Col. Robert Bolling Sr. (1646–1709) was an Early American settler whose son, Robert Bolling Jr., was a Bush family ancestor. Bolling Sr. later had children with Jane Rolfe, the granddaughter of Pocahontas.
• Gov. Thomas Hinckley (1618–1706) was a Plymouth Colony governor, and an ancestor of all members of the George H. W. Bush family (including his siblings).
• Mary Parker (1637–92) was executed by hanging in 1692 for witchcraft in the Salem Witch Trials.^[3][4]

Connections to other prominent families

George W. Bush and George H. W. Bush in Beijing, 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. He is also the namesake of the Walker Cup, a men's amateur golf trophy contested in odd-numbered years between a U.S. team and a combined Great Britain and Ireland side.

Family tree

Sources:^{[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]}

See also

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

Notes

References

• Victory restores Bush dynasty to Washington from CNN
• The Bush dynasty parties on from the St. Petersburg Times

Further reading

• American Dynasty: Aristocracy, Fortune, and the Politics of Deceit in the House of Bush (2004), Kevin Phillips. ISBN 0-670-03264-6 [Amazon-US | Amazon-UK]
• The Bushes: Portrait of a Dynasty, Peter Schweizer