Hillary Clinton traces roots to Durham

[T_i_B]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2242236,00.html

THERE must be something in the water. The family of Hillary Rodham Clinton, the American presidential hopeful, hails from the same part of northeast England as George Washington, the first president of the United States.

Clinton, wife of Bill Clinton, the former president, traces her ancestry to a mining family in Co Durham. Washington was the descendant of a family who lived in a village, now a town, of the same name 10 miles away on land once owned by the Bishop of Durham.

The lineage of the former first lady, who may one day be an incumbent of the White House in her own right, has been mapped by a computerised genealogy system that will help to track the roots of millions of Americans. British tourism chiefs are relishing the live launch of the system next month. It is expected to bring a fillip to the “ancestry industry” in which Americans come to the British Isles in search of their roots.

Clinton is descended from a family of coalminers in Co Durham. Jonathan Rodham, her great-grandfather, hailed from Oxhill, near Stanley. He emigrated to America and made his way to the coalfields of Scranton, Pennsylvania, in 1881 in search of work. He later became a policeman and then a florist.

[non sociopath skin]

1. Not unlikely. Many NE miners emigrated when times were hard ...

... which was most of the time!

The Skin

[T_i_B]

2. Yes it is highly likely

Mind you, I would also wish to point out that George Washington may have had a little bit of North-East in him but he also had Essex blood as well! His grandfather was expelled from the town of Maldon in Essex for drunkeness and the rest as they say is history. They even have a little memorial in one of the local churches in honour of George Washington.

Mind you, I've also heard stories about how the Bushes came orginally from this neck of the woods so I suppose it's not all good. :blush:

[Smarmie Doofus]

3. As in Bull Durham? Time for another "listening tour". n/t

[struggle4progress]

4. No -- that's an old tobacco moniker

named after the NC factory town

[Smarmie Doofus]

5. Thanks. I know; I was making a funny at HRC's expense. n/t