I will leave the reader to guess which of the following dismayed me and of which I was glad to learn!
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Cousin G W |
The first ancestor that I found in common with GW Bush, again accidentally while researching this ancestor, was John Lothrop (b 1584 in Elton, Yorkshire, England) of Barnstable who was my 9th and Bush's 11th great-grandfather. John was a highly influential figure in early New England, in fact he was the founder of the town of Barnstable, MA. However, his fame, or perhaps notoriety, began in England.
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Rev John Lothrop |
Undeterred, John Lothrop accepted a deal that he leave England in exchange for his freedom. He left for Plymouth aboard the Griffin along with a group from his congregation and his children, arriving in Boston on 18 September 1634. He preached for a short time in Scituate, then removed to the wilderness of Cape Cod where the town of Barnstable was founded by Lothrop and his parishioners.
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Lothrop Home, Barnstable, MA |
In addition to John Lothrop, George W and I share several other great-grandparents, including Nathaniel Foote, Austin Bearse and Samuel Hinckley.
Hinckley (b 1589 in Tenterden, Kent, England) happens to be
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Cousin Barack |
The Hinckleys and their four children settled first at Scituate and were followers of Rev. John Lothrop whom we have already discussed. They moved after several years to join Lothrop's parish in Barnstable. Their eldest son Thomas became Plymouth Colony's governor from 1681 to 1692 and was an important asset to the Colony throughout his life.
Famous descendants of Samuel Hinckley and Sarah Soule include Sarah Palin (again), financier John Pierpont Morgan Jr, and John Hinckley Jr, the attempted assassin of Ronald Reagan.
So, Barack Obama is my 9th cousin once removed and George W Bush my 9th cousin twice removed. The two of them are 10th cousins, once removed. We are all one big happy family!
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