CBS News: Bush Family Tree

It was revealed recently that Vice President Dick Cheney and Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama are distant cousins.

This week, thanks to a New York Post story about genealogy, we're getting a glimpse at the rather surprising family tree of President Bush himself, reports CBS News Early Show national correspondent Tracy Smith.

We all know who the president's father is, but what about his cousins?

Thanks to research done by Ancestry.com, we know that Cheney, the man who's only a heartbeat away from the presidency, is actually a blood relation to the president. He's Bush's Mr. ninth cousin once removed.

Cheney's cousin, Obama, is also Mr. Bush's 11th cousin, and the ninth cousin of actor Brad Pitt.

But we're only getting started: Abraham Lincoln was Mr. Bush's seventh cousin, five times removed.

And Mr. Bush shared more than just a ballot with John Kerry in 2004 -- that's right, they're ninth cousins, twice removed.

There's also royalty in the Bush bloodline. Princess Diana was Mr. Bush's 11th cousin, twice removed.

And then there's this bombshell: Marilyn Monroe, known for wishing John F. Kennedy a happy birthday, is Mr. Bush's ninth cousin, three times removed.

He's also related to Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, Native American princess Pocahontas, and Vlad the Impaler.

Trace the family tree far enough, and you get Madonna, Celine Dion and Tom Hanks -- which shows that genealogy can sometimes be like a box of chocolates: You never know who you're gonna get.

www.cbsnews.com...


So what are your theories on the strange fact that so many presidents and people in the limelight happen to be related in some way? Is it just a strange coincidence that so many are related or is there something to it?

reply to post by warrenb


Isn't everyone eventually someone's 6th cousin 5th removed??? I would imagine similar results from anyone.

It is a little bit perplexing that so many "celebs" (lets just group them all for the ease of it OK? :p ) are related.

Not being American I'm not too sure on how the "removed" thing works, but I suppose it could be a matter of going far enough back, the more people you are related to, the bigger chances that someone famous shares a very very distant relative.

Pure guess work on my behalf, but it's an idea, no?

[edit on 21-9-2009 by nicolaas]

If you go deep enough in the family trees, almost all presidents are related.

Not to be an Alarmist or anything...

But there sure was a lot of "9's" and "11's" in that caption above!!!

Yikes... Did I actually say that! *Face Palm*

reply to post by warrenb


But....But....But....

Where's the Kevin Bacon connection?!?

No good fun can be had, without his name popping up too!!

So what are your theories on the strange fact that so many presidents and people in the limelight happen to be related in some way?

It's no coincidence, it's by design. If people do not understand that, they will not understand many of the realities of life.

reply to post by king9072


While that is definitely true in many cases.. not for all. The "political class" runs in the family.. so down through the years, this would have been passed on.

But also, when you go back far enough, everyone is related and its not hard to believe that some wealthy, white people in a country based on immigration like the US are related to each other.

reply to post by nicolaas


I'm an American but I'm not too sure about the cousin thing either. It confuses me so I found a chart at this website that should help clear up the mystery and bring a little focus to the Bush Family Tree.

Have you ever gotten your first cousins twice removed confused with your second cousins once removed? Well, you're not the only one. This chart attempts to explain the relationships that exist between cousins. It may be extended in either direction for as many generations as is necessary.

The parents represent the common ancestors you have with your relative. Count across the top row until you reach your generation. Now count down this column until you reach your relative's generation. This gives you your relationship to your relative. If you have only one common ancestor with your relative (perhaps this ancestor had multiple marriages), then the same chart applies but the relationships are half blood instead of full blood.

Its no coincidence that our past presidents, cabinet members and leaders are inter-related.

Thier is a post here on ATS, i read last year, about this, so those that wanna look into it, google it in on ATS. It was suposed to be truye, that obama is george bush's 33rd cousin, 33 or 34, prettu sure its 33. Its suprising to hear, about dick cheney, since he dosnt seem to resemble bush. but hey, its possible.
Isnt this scary? its like thier keeping the family in office!!!!

Look far enough back, and you'll find most people are distantly related. It's not a conspiracy or anything like that. It's just fact. The human race didn't begin with such a high population, so it's inevitable that a lot, if not most, of the population on Earth are inter-related in some way - be it close or distant.

Hell, I bet if you could trace your family tree back far enough, you'd find YOU'RE related to Bush, or Obama.

Maybe even Jesus!

reply to post by Hazelnut


Thank you very much, that sorta cleared things up

reply to post by suicide__x

Look far enough back, and you'll find most people are distantly related.

So true. Looking at mitochondrial DNA passed down generationally through the y-chromosome, our entire races's history can be traced back to just a handful of individuals originating in parts of the African continent.

( the link here to Dr. Spencer Wells' work has him suggesting just ONE man as the original 'ancestor'...I find that a bit hard to swallow, tho. Otherwise, a fascinating documentary. Of course, I'm not suggesting George W. Bush was somehow a throw-back to early Man....am I )

www.nationalgeographic.com...

No body knows who Obama's real father is. Just his word.. and we all know how honest a lawyer and politician is right?
So far not one legal birth certificate has been produced as evidence. Everyone else on your list has produced the same type why not him?

This is like the 6 degrees of kevin bacon. If you look you can find a relation.

I am probably Obama's or Bush's 9th cousin three times removed. Do you have any idea how distant that is?

You realize nine cousins means nine generations seperated. If you add in the one, two, three removed, then your not even in the same generation together.Then you are getting really distant.

[edit on 21-9-2009 by nixie_nox]

reply to post by Dragonsbreaths


Uh oh....

Looks like trouble, yes trouble! With a Capital 'T'!, right here in River City!

Starts with a 'T', rhymes with a 'roll'....yessirree, folks, we got trouble.....

Over, and out........

So it just so happens that bush's family tree genetically infiltrtated congress and the white house? Thats a load of horse****. If that were the case with everyone, wede ALL have cousins working at the same job, more or less. I know its a small world afterall, but of all places and things, i find it hard to belive it being in the presidency. Look at bush's plans for us. Now looka t obamas,...obama had made a complete 160 degree trun on his promises. See the resemblence? and his family ties with the bush family tree? or is that just coincidence too? mmmm i dont think so!
I work in retail management, for a CVS and one thing i have learned is..at leat in the store i work in.. they only really seem to hire famliy members or those that know eachother, screwing somene else with potential out of a job. To them, its politics, or rather, how things work. i am not realted or associated, which would explain years of abuse and harrassemnt thier. seems the same principle is int he white house too...u MUST have a bloodline to have the positioin/job*

reply to post by ziggy1706


Well, I do have cousins working in the US government - closer than the ones being written about here too. So I guess I don't find it that odd seeming.

[edit on 2009/9/21 by Aeons]

I heard a story the other night on NPR that was fascinating. I wish I could find the link to the story because it is very interesting.

8 years ago an 8 year old girl named Laura Buxton (or something similar) wrote her name and address and attached it to a balloon and let it sail. Several weeks and 140 miles south in England, it landed in the house of.. a 10 year old girl named Laura Buxton.

So naturally they wrote each other, and met. When they met, they both wore jeans and a pink jumper, they both had black laboradors and pet guinea pigs.
Brown hair and the same stature, they could of been twins.

So the guys reporting the story went to reputable and esteemed statisticians and commented on the chances of this. What the statisticians pointed out is the human propensity to pick out the nuances of the story that make the story better. As oppossed to stepping back and weighing all facts.

What wasn't reported is that: the girls had different numbers of siblings, had different interests in school, and that the balloon was actually found by the girl' grandfather in a hedge, not the girl herself.

Now personally I still find it pretty remarkable, but humans tend to look for randomness or sameness, and ignore all other facts.

He pointed out that people find it remarkable that people win the lottery twice. It does seem amazing, and that the universe is quite unfair. But the fact is, plenty of people win it twice. one guy won two in teh same day! And the chances are really not that spectacular.

So what you need to step back and look at is: How many people are they surrounded by that are NOT related? fact is, most are not.

[edit on 21-9-2009 by nixie_nox]

reply to post by weedwhacker


Bacon is their favorite breakfast meat.

Sorry, couldn't resist. Corny, I know.

I hate to ask, but what does "twice removed"...etc. mean??