Bush family

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, Charles Walker Bush, Jenna Bush Hager, Doro Bush, Barbara Pierce Bush, Robert P. Koch, Pierce Bush, Maria Bush, Neil Bush, Ashley Bush, Sam LeBlond, Robert Koch, Nancy Ellis LeBlond, John "Jebby" Bush, Amanda Bush, George P. Bush, and Columba Bush.
Ethnicity	English and German[1]
Current region	Texas
Place of origin	New York New England
Estate(s)	Bush compound (Kennebunkport, Maine) Prairie Chapel Ranch (McLennan County, Texas)

The Bush family is an American family that is prominent in the fields of politics, sports, entertainment, and business, founded by Obadiah Bush.

Best known for its involvement in politics, the family has held various national and state offices spanning across four generations, including a U.S. Senator, Prescott Bush, a Governor, Jeb Bush, and two U.S. Presidents—one having also served as Vice President, George H. W. Bush, while the other was also a Governor, George W. Bush. Other family members include a National Football League (NFL) executive, Joe Ellis, and two nationally known TV personalities, Billy Bush and Jenna Bush Hager.

Peter Schweizer, author of a biography of the family, has described the Bushes as "the most successful political dynasty in American history".^[2] According to some online sources,^[1] the Bush family is of primarily English and German descent. The Bush family traces its European origin to the 17th century, with Samuel Bush being their first American-born ancestor, in 1647.

Relations

• James Smith Bush (1825–1889), father of Samuel P. Bush
  • Samuel Prescott Bush (1863–1948), father of Prescott Bush and son of James Smith Bush
  • Flora Sheldon Bush (1870–1920), wife of Samuel P. Bush (married June 20, 1894) and mother to Prescott Bush
    • Prescott Sheldon Bush (1895–1972), Samuel P. Bush's son, served as a U.S. Senator from Connecticut; former chairman of the USGA.
    • Dorothy Wear Walker Bush (1901–1992), wife of Prescott, was a daughter of George Herbert Walker of the well-connected Walker family of bankers and businessmen, served as informal First Mother from 1989, her son's inauguration during the beginning of his presidency until her death in 1992, in her son's final year of the presidency.
      • Prescott Sheldon "Pressy" Bush Jr. (1922–2010), Prescott Bush's eldest son, who served as chairman of the United States-China Chamber of Commerce; married to Elizabeth "Beth" Kauffman (1922–2014) on December 30, 1944^[3][4]
        • Prescott Sheldon Bush III (1945–2009), son of Prescott Bush Jr.; married to Francesca Emerson Farr on June 28, 1970^[5]
        • Kelsey Bush-Nadeau, daughter of Prescott Bush Jr.; married to Philip Gerald Nadeau on May 25, 1974^[6][7]
          • Elizabeth Nadeau, daughter of Kelsey Bush-Nadeau
          • Katherine Nadeau, daughter of Kelsey Bush-Nadeau
          • William F. Nadeau, son of Kelsey Bush-Nadeau, USMC Captain; married to Lydia Jean Strickland
            • Ellie Nadeau, daughter of William F. Nadeau
          • Prescott Nadeau, son of Kelsey Bush-Nadeau
        • James Laurence "Jamie" Bush, son of Prescott Bush Jr.; married to Susan C. "Sue" Bush
          • Sarah Bush Richey, daughter of James L. Bush; married to William "Drake" Richey
            • Draper Dennis Richey (born February 19, 2012)^[8]
            • George Laurence Richey (born May 26, 2014)^[9]
          • Samuel P. Bush, son of James L. Bush
      • George Herbert Walker Bush (born 1924), Prescott Bush Sr.'s second son; 41st President of the United States, Vice President of the United States under Ronald Reagan, a Congressman from Texas, and Central Intelligence Agency director, among other political and diplomatic posts
      • Barbara Pierce Bush (1925–2018), wife of George H. W.; daughter of publisher Marvin Pierce, distant cousin of 14th U.S. President Franklin Pierce, Second Lady and later First Lady of the U.S.
        • George Walker Bush (born 1946), George H. W. Bush's eldest son, 43rd President of the United States and (earlier) 46th Governor of Texas
          

          George H. W. Bush picnics on the lawn of his Kennebunkport home with his family, 1988
        • Laura Lane Welch Bush (born 1946), wife of George W. and First Lady; earlier a teacher
          • Barbara Pierce Bush (born 1981), daughter of George and Laura Bush and twin sister of Jenna, health care activist and chair of Global Health Corps.; married to Craig Louis Coyne
          • Jenna Welch Bush Hager (born 1981), daughter of George and Laura and twin sister of Barbara, NBC News correspondent; married to Henry Chase Hager, son of former Lieutenant Governor of Virginia John H. Hager
            • Margaret Laura "Mila" Hager (born April 13, 2013), daughter of Jenna Bush Hager
            • Poppy Louise Hager (born August 13, 2015), daughter of Jenna Bush Hager
        • Pauline Robinson "Robin" Bush (1949–1953), George H. W. Bush's second child and first daughter; died of leukemia near school-age
        • John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (born 1953), George H. W. Bush's second son,^[10] 43rd Governor of Florida; married to Columba Garnica Gallo
          • George Prescott Bush (born 1976), son of Jeb Bush, 28th commissioner of the Texas General Land Office in 2014; married to Amanda Williams
            • Prescott Walker Bush (born June 3, 2013), son of George P. Bush
            • John William Bush (born April 13, 2015), son of George P. Bush
          • Noelle Lucila Bush (born 1977), daughter of Jeb Bush
          • John Ellis "Jebby" Bush Jr. (born 1983), son of Jeb Bush; married to Sandra Mary Algudady
            • Georgia Helena Walker Bush (born 2011), daughter of Jebby Bush
            • Vivian Alexandra Columba Bush (born 2014), daughter of Jebby Bush
        • Neil Mallon Bush (born 1955), third son of George H. W. Bush and brother of Pres. George W. Bush; businessman; married Sharon Smith, & divorced in April 2003; married to Maria Andrews as of 2004
          • Lauren Pierce Bush Lauren (born 1984), daughter of Neil Bush and Sharon Smith; model for Tommy Hilfiger; married to David Lauren
            • James Richard Lauren (born November 21, 2015), son of Lauren Bush Lauren
            • Max Walker Lauren (born April 19, 2018), son of Lauren Bush Lauren
          • Pierce Mallon Bush (born 1986), son of Neil Bush and Sharon Smith; married to Sarah Beth Melton
          • Ashley Walker Bush (born 1989), daughter of Neil Bush and Sharon Smith
        • Marvin Pierce Bush (born 1956), fourth son of George H. W. Bush, and brother of George W. Bush; venture capitalist; married to Margaret Conway (née Molster); adopted children: daughter Marshall, and son Walker
        • Dorothy Walker Bush Koch (born 1959), second daughter of George H. W. Bush and sister of President George W. Bush; married to, and in 1990 divorced from, William LeBlond; married to Bobby Koch, wine lobbyist
          • Samuel Bush LeBlond (born 1984), son of Dorothy Bush Koch and William LeBlond
          • Nancy Ellis "Ellie" LeBlond (born 1986), daughter of Dorothy Bush Koch and William LeBlond; married to Nick Sosa
          • Robert David Koch (born 1993), son of Dorothy Bush Koch and Bobby Koch
          • Georgia Grace "Gigi" Koch (born 1996), daughter of Dorothy Bush Koch and Bobby Koch
      • Nancy Walker Bush Ellis (born 1926), Prescott Bush Sr.'s third child and only daughter, widow of Alexander Ellis II (1922-1989), an insurance executive
        • Alexander Ellis III (born 1949), son of Nancy Bush Ellis and Alexander Ellis II
        • John Prescott Ellis (born 1953), son of Nancy Bush Ellis and Alexander Ellis II; media consultant
        • Josiah "Joe" Ellis (born 1958), son of Nancy Bush Ellis and Alexander Ellis II; President, Chairman and CEO of the Denver Broncos, two-time Super Bowl champion as a member of the Broncos' front office
      • Jonathan James Bush (born 1931), Prescott Bush Sr.'s fourth child; banker; married to Josephine Bush (née Bradley)
        • Jonathan S. Bush (born 1969), son of Jonathan Bush, CEO of athenahealth
        • William Hall "Billy" Bush (born 1971), son of Jonathan Bush; a former Access Hollywood host; forced out of NBC-news job October 2016 in allegations about Donald Trump
      • William Henry Trotter "Bucky" Bush (1938—2018), 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

• John Bush Sr (1510-1590)
  • John Bush Jr (1535-1595)
    • Reynold Bush (1566-unknown)
      • John Bush III (1593–1670), born in Messing, Essex, England and the last English ancestor
        • Samuel Bush (1647–1733)
          • Richard Bush (c. 1676–1732 in Bristol, Plymouth Colony)
            • 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 was an American prospector and businessman.
                  • James Smith Bush (1825–1889), an attorney and Episcopal priest in New Jersey, California, and New York, was the son of Obadiah Bush and the father of Samuel Prescott Bush,
              • John Bush (1761-unknown)
                • George Bush (1796–1859) was a biblical scholar and Swedenborgian minister who wrote the book Life of Mohammed,

Other notable relatives

• Col. Robert Bolling Sr. (1646–1709) of Kippax Plantation was an Early American settler in the colony of Virginia whose son, Robert Bolling Jr., was a Bush family ancestor. Bolling Sr. later had children with Jane Rolfe, the granddaughter of Pocahontas.
• Edith Wilson (1872–1961), second wife of U.S. President Woodrow Wilson was also descended from Col. Robert Bolling Sr. so therefore was distantly related to the Bush family.
• Wild Bill Hickok (1837–1876) was a second cousin three times removed of Prescott Bush.^[1]
• John Howland (1592/3–1672/3) and Elizabeth Tilley (1607-1687), Mayflower passengers, through their daughter Hope.^[11]
• Gov. Thomas Hinckley (1618–1706) was a Plymouth Colony governor, and a seventh generation great-grandfather of Prescott Sheldon Bush, so therefore a direct ancestor of all of his descendants including his son George H. W. Bush and grandson George W. Bush.^[1]
• Mary Parker (1637–92) was executed by hanging in 1692 for witchcraft in the Salem Witch Trials.^[12][13]
• Through John May and his wife Prudence Bridge (great-great-grandparents of Obadiah Newcomb Bush), the family is related to U.S. Attorney General Charles Bonaparte (1851–1921), U.S. Vice President Charles Gates Dawes (1865–1951), actress Blanche Oelrichs (who was also known by the pseudonym "Michael Strange") (1890–1950), and author Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888).^[1]
• Douglas MacArthur (1880–1964), American five star general and Field Marshal of the Philippine Army who was the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers in the Pacific theater during World War II was distantly related to the Bush family.^[14]

Connections to other prominent families

George W. Bush and George H. W. Bush in Beijing, 2008

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.

Flora Sheldon, wife of Samuel P. Bush, was a distant descendant of the Livingston, Schuyler, and Beekman families, prominent New Netherland merchant and political patrician families.

Awards and honors

President George W. Bush in 2006 during a White House ceremony.
Beside him is the Vince Lombardi Trophy, which is given to the winning team of the Super Bowl.
Bush's cousin Joe Ellis is a two-time Super Bowl winner as an executive with the Denver Broncos.

Political offices held

The Bush family are among four American families (Adams, Harrison, and Roosevelt being the others) to have had multiple members serve as U.S. President.

George P. Bush represents the fourth generation of the Bush family to have held elected office, after becoming Texas Land Commissioner in 2015.

See also

• List of Presidents of the United States
• 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

External links

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