Bush Family History
President George W. Bush1
As the eldest son of George H. W. Bush and Barbara Pierce Bush, George Walker Bush was born on July 6, 1946, in New Haven, Connecticut while his father was an undergraduate student at Yale2. By the time George was two, the family had moved to West Texas, where his father started working in the oil industry. When the Bush family first moved to Midland, they bought a house at 405 East Maple3, among a cluster of tiny colorful houses in a development nicknamed Easter Egg Row4. In November of 19515, the Bushes purchased a larger home for their growing family at 1412 W. Ohio Avenue. This home was built in 1939, but by the time the Bush Family occupied the Home, it had two additions bringing the size to 1547 square-feet plus a detached garage.
President George W. Bush has expressed fond memories of his childhood home on W. Ohio where he attended nearby Sam Houston Elementary School and then San Jacinto Junior High. He began high school in Houston, Texas, at Kincaid High School and then followed in the footsteps of his father by completing his high school education at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. President Bush received his bachelor’s degree from Yale University in 1968, then served as a fighter pilot in the Texas Air National Guard. Bush next received a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School in 1975. After receiving his degree Bush moved back to Midland and began a career in the oil industry. In 1977, Bush married Laura Welch, a teacher and librarian and a native of Midland. They have twin daughters, born in 1981, Jenna Welch Bush and Barbara Pierce Bush.
George W. Bush worked on his father’s successful 1988 presidential campaign and then organized the purchase of the Texas Rangers baseball franchise in 1989 with a group of partners. He was the managing general partner of the Texas Rangers until he was elected Governor of Texas on November 8, 1994. He became the first Texas governor to be elected to consecutive four-year terms when he was reelected in 1998.
Following the 1999 Texas legislative session, Governor Bush began his presidential campaign. Following a contested election on November 7, 2000, Bush was declared the winner on December 13, 2000. He resigned from the governorship on December 21, 2000, to prepare for the Presidency. George W. Bush was inaugurated as the 43rd President of the United States on January 20, 2001.
President George H.W. Bush6
George Herbert Walker Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, on June 12, 1924. Following attendance at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, on his 18th birthday Bush enlisted in the Navy to become the youngest fighter pilot at the time he earned his wings. He flew 58 combat missions during World War II and, on one mission, was shot down by Japanese antiaircraft fire, rescued, and then awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
In 1945, Bush married Barbara Pierce. Later that year, he began his college education at Yale University, where he excelled in his coursework and in sports. Following graduation, George and his young family departed the East Coast to set out upon a career in the oil industry of West Texas. He lived in Midland, Texas, from 1950 until 1959, when he moved to Houston.
While living in Houston, Bush’s involvement with public service and politics developed as he served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. Thereafter, he served in a series of high-level appointments: Ambassador to the United Nations, Chairman of the Republican National Committee, Chief of the U. S. Liaison Office in the People’s Republic of China, and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
In 1980, Bush was chosen as Ronald Reagan’s Vice Presidential running mate. In 1988, he was elected the 41st President of the United States, 1989-1993.
First Lady Barbara Pierce Bush7
Barbara Pierce Bush was born on June 8, 1925, in New York City, but grew up in Rye, New York. After attending Ashley Hall in Charleston, South Carolina8, she spent more than a year at Smith College before marrying George H. W. Bush on January 6, 1945, while George was still in the Navy.
After the war and while George was attending Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, Mrs. Bush gave birth to their first child, George Walker Bush in July of 1946. Mrs. Bush became involved in community volunteer work in Midland, an enthusiasm she continued throughout her life. However, Mrs. Bush was able to raise a growing family while balancing her volunteer work. In all the Bush family grew to include George W., Pauline Robinson (1949), John Ellis (1953), Neil Mallon (1955), Marvin Pierce (1956), and Dorothy Walker (1959).
When her husband was away on business and in public service, Mrs. Bush held the family together. Their young daughter Robin’s death from leukemia in 1953 was life altering, and Mrs. Bush has said, “Because of Robin, George and I love every living human more.”9
Barbara Bush actively supported her husband during his campaigns for public office and has been his partner throughout his public career. Mrs. Bush began nationally promoting the cause of literacy while her husband was Vice President, a passion that continues today in her position as Honorary Chairman of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. Mrs. Bush’s civic-minded advocacy of volunteerism and community service and her role as a beloved wife and mother have earned her a special place in America’s heart.
Governor John Ellis (Jeb) Bush10
As the second son born to George H. W. Bush and Barbara Pierce Bush, John Ellis (Jeb) Bush was born on February 11, 1953, in Midland, Texas, and first came home to 1412 W. Ohio Avenue. He graduated with honors from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in Latin American Studies. He married Columba Garnica Gallo from Leon, Guanajato, Mexico in 1974, and they have three children: George Prescott, Noelle Lucila, and John Ellis (Jebby), Jr.11
After initially working in Houston in the Latin American Division of the Texas Commerce Bank, Bush moved to Venezuela as an assistant vice president of the bank. He then served in his father’s national campaigns in 1979 and 1980.
In the early 1980s, the Bush family moved to Florida, where Mr. Bush founded a real estate development business before being appointed state Secretary of Commerce. Bush first ran for governor in 1994, but did not win. He ran again and won the governorship of Florida in 1998. Governor Jeb Bush was reelected for a second term in 2002.12
Pauline Robinson (Robin) Bush
Robin was born on December 20, 1949, while the Bushes were living in Compton, California. After the Bush Family moved to 1412 W. Ohio in 1952, Robin was diagnosed with leukemia and taken to Memorial Hospital at Sloan-Kettering in New York for treatment. Robin died of leukemia on October 11, 1953.13
Neil Mallon Bush
Neil Mallon Bush was born in Midland on January 22, 1955, while the family was living at the W. Ohio Home. He has been active in his father’s political life. He is the parent of three children and has founded a company called Ignite!, a company that develops products to help teach standards-based educational material.14
Marvin P. Bush
Marvin Pierce Bush (born October 22, 1956, Houston, TX) is the youngest son of George H. W. Bush and Barbara Pierce Bush. He is named for his maternal grandfather. He and wife Margaret have two adopted children, a daughter, Marshall, and a son, Walker.
Marvin Bush holds a B.S. from the University of Virginia, where he was a member of St. Elmo Hall.
From 1993 until June 2000, he was on the board of directors of the Sterling, Virginia company Stratesec, which listed among its clients Washington Dulles International Airport, Hewlett-Packard, EDS, United Airlines, Gillette, MCI, the World Trade Center, and other facilities including hospitals, prisons, corporations, utilities, universities. Currently, Marvin Bush is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner at the investment firm Winston Capital Management, located in McLean, Virginia. He has portfolio manager duties at Winston.
Marvin Bush is a former director of HCC Insurance Holdings, and is currently listed as an advisor to the board of directors.
Dorothy Walker Bush Koch
Dorothy, often called “Doro” was born in Houston, TX on August 18, 1959. She is the mother of four and currently living in Bethesda, MD with her husband, Robert P. Koch. Dorothy is the author of “My Father, My President: A Personal Account of the Life of George H.W. Bush”. Doro works organizing events and raising money for charities and non-profit organizations. She also served as a Pioneer fundraiser for George W. Bush during his presidential campaigns.
First Lady Laura Welch Bush
First Lady Laura Welch Bush was born in Midland, Texas, on November 4, 1946. She was the only child of her beloved parents, Harold Welch, a building contractor, and Jenna Welch, a bookkeeper.15 She attended James Bowie Elementary in Midland while George W. Bush attended Sam Houston Elementary. Laura went on to attend San Jacinto Junior High and Midland Lee High School. For her college education, she went to Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in education in 1968. In 1973, she earned her graduate degree, Master of Library Science, from The University of Texas at Austin.
Following graduation from The University of Texas, Laura Welch became a librarian for Dawson Elementary School in Austin, Texas. While on a trip to Midland to visit her parents in the summer of 1977, close friends Joe and Jan O’Neill invited both Laura Welch and George W. Bush to dinner. In November of 1977, George W. Bush and Laura Welch were married. They made their home in Midland. Their twin daughters were born in 1981 and were named Barbara and Jenna after their grandmothers, Barbara Bush and Jenna Welch.16
First Lady Laura Bush has focused her time in public life on her lifelong passions, early childhood education, books, reading, and the arts. The Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries provides grants each year to schools in critical need of library books. She founded the Texas Book Festival and, as First Lady, the National Book Festival to encourage and celebrate the nation’s greatest authors.
- The majority of this information is from the Official White House Web Site, http://www.whitehouse.gov.president.
- Barbara Bush. Barbara Bush, A Memoir (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1994), p. 27.
- McGrath, Jim, Editor, Heartbeat: George Bush in His Own Words, (New York: Scribner), p. 269.
- “Bush A-Z: The Complete Guide to Everything You Ever Cared to Know About George H. W. Bush (re: Easter Egg Row),” compiled by William A. Harris, December 6, 2000; George Bush Presidential Library and Museum.
- Per Midland County Deed Records.
- The majority of this information is from the Official White House Web Site, http://www.whitehouse.gov.presidents.
- A large portion of this information is from the Official White House Web Site, http://www.whitehouse.gov.history/firstladies.
- Barbara Bush. Barbara Bush, A Memoir (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1994), pp. 5, 14, 16.
- This quote is from the Official White House Web Site, http://www.whitehouse.gov.history/firstladies.
- “Bush A-Z: The Complete Guide to Everything You Ever Cared to Know About George H. W. Bush,” compiled by William A. Harris, December 6, 2000; George Bush Presidential Library and Museum.
- http://www.myflorida.com/myflorida/governorsoffice/firstlady/index.html , accessed on July 10, 2003.
- Some of this information is from the Web Site, http://www.myflorida.com/myflorida/government.
- Bush, George, All the Best, George Bush: My Life in Letters and Other Writings (New York: Scribner, 1999) pp. 76-77.
- http://www.mossfoundation.org accessed on July 10, 2003.
- www.whitehousekids.gov , website accessed on July 10, 2003.
- Information on Laura Welch Bush from two sources: 1) http://www.whitehouse.gov/firstlady/flbio.html , White House Web Site, biography of Laura Bush, accessed June 30, 2003 and 2) George W. Bush, George W. Bush: A Charge to Keep, New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1999, p. 79-80.
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