Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Happy 92nd Birthday to our 41st President!

Hello, this is Richard Howie, and I thought I should get spiffied up for the birthday.  George Herbert Walker Bush was born ninety two years ago, on June 12th, 1924 to Prescott Sheldon Bush and Dorothy Walker.   There probably isn't much I can tell you about about our former President, than you don't already know.  He was the second of the five children born to Prescott & Dorothy. His father came from Columbus Ohio and his mother from Walker's Point Maine.  His father moved to New Haven Connecticut to get an education at Yale University.  Prescott and Dorothy got married August 6th, 1921 in Kennebunkport, Maine.  The P.S. Bush family lived on Grove Lane, in Greenwich Connecticut for over twenty years. In 1940, at sixteen years of age we find that young George has left home for Phillips Academy in Andover Massachusetts.  Not sure if this was by choice, or his fathers wishes.  Anyway, you have to love sending your son off to boarding school that advertised Chesterfield cigarettes in the yearbook of that day.  Another image I found interesting in the yearbook of his senior year at the academy was the arial image of the campus which clearly showed a cemetery. When I researched the Phillips Academy Cemetery I discovered the final resting place of
Harriet Elizabeth Beecher Stowe, the American author of the famous anti slavery novel titled Uncle Tom's Cabin.  You may see her virtual memorial and read more of her bio by clicking on the link in her name above.  I find this notable because she had died just forty years before George attended the Academy.  So I would think he might have taken at least one break from the books to gander over to her final resting place.
The years that George spent at the Academy helped prepare him for the journey to The White House.  Browsing through the yearbook it appears that every boy was accepted to an Ivy League school of higher learning.  Harvard, Yale, Princeton.

Phillips Academy Andover Massachusetts 1940
After graduation from the Academy, George H.W. Bush at the age of 18, then went on to join the United States Navy on his birthday June 12, 1942.  Where he served aboard the aircraft carrier the USS San Jacinto cvl 30.
15 July 2010 Pres. GWH Bush aboard the USS San Jacinto
Above is a tribute to President George Bush aboard the aircraft carrier.  In January 1945 he and Barbara got married. He was discharged September 1945.  He and Barbara then moved to Midland Texas to begin their family and oil business.  The rest is history.

Now I am sure you want me to get to the point of how our 41st President of the United States is also our 8th cousin.  We both descend from Nathaniel Richardson (1673 ~ 1729).

Nathaniel Richardson of Woburn, Middlesex, Massachusetts is my 7X Great Grandfather and George's 8X Great Grandfather.  I probably don't share much dna with George H.W.Bush, even if they were to make his dna results public.  We both share this match through our paternal line.  Paternal lines are great for blue bloods, making Kings, and sharing of family crests and surnames, but horrible for passing along dna.  I would share more with Barbara Bush, and their four sons. Well, this isn't a study of mitochondrial dna, so I will end here.
Well this was just a quick journey, to say Happy Birthday to both of the Bush's, George & Barbara Bush. I hope you enjoyed it!



Thursday, June 8, 2017

The Bush's ~ Happy Birthday Barbara!


Hello!
Happy Birthday to my Bush cousins.
This is Richard Howie, coming to you live from Austin Texas, making stories great again in 2017!
I just heard on the news tonight that one of our cousins, Barbara Bush is celebrating her 92nd birthday, and our other cousin, George Herbert Walker Bush will soon too. Though he will be celebrating his 93rd!  As I am sure you remember from a prior post, both Barbara Bush & our former 41st President, George Herbert Walker Bush are our 8th cousins on different family tree branches.  They were both born in the 20's, married in the 40's and now share together their 90's!  Happy Birthday to our cousins, The Bush's!

2017, Barbara & George Bush celebrate their 90's!
Born Barbara Pierce on June 8th, 1925.  The daughter of Marvin Pierce and Pauline Robinson.  Her father Marvin Pierce you probably didn't know, was the president & publisher of Redbook & McCall's Magazine.  Very famous women's magazines.
Here is Barbara Pierce on her wedding day to George, with her mother and father.
Marvin Pierce, Barbara Pierce & Pauline Pierce. C. 1945
Shortly after George Bush and Barbara Pierce~Bush married in 1945, her parents Marvin and Pauline were in a tragic automobile accident. Marvin had got distracted, while driving, as he reached over to grab a cup of coffee. This all happened on the 23rd of September, 1949, at approximately 8AM; he lost control of the vehicle that he and Pauline were riding, and he was the driver.  The car struck a tree, and the coroners pronounced Pauline Pierce dead at 8:12AM.
Barbara's mother was just 53 years of age at the time of her death.
The folks at Wiki have Barbara incorrectly born in Rye, New York.  Actually that location comes from the 1930 U.S. Census.  She was actually born in Flushings!  Yes, our Barbara, our cousin, and former first lady, was born in Flushing, Queens, New York.

8th cousins
Barbara (Pierce) Bush and I, are eight cousins; both descending from Captain Thomas Thayer (1664-1738) of Mendon, Worcester, Massachusetts.  He was our 7th Great Grand-Father.  As you can see from the branch above.  This connection was on my paternal line, through the "Rider" family branch.  On this coming Monday, I hope to also post a BIG Happy Birthday to President George H.W. Bush.  Another connection, yet on a different branch, that joined together.
My love for statistics comes from college.  This is absolutely amazing when looking at it statistically to have two cousins living into their 90's, and joining in marriage for over seventy-two years!  I don't think you will see this too often in many family trees.


Barbara Bush c. 1945
Happy 92'd Cousin Barbara!