Samuel Prescott Bush (October 4, 1863February 8, 1948) was an American businessman and industrialist. Bush was the patriarch of the Bush political family. He was the father of

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and power ...

Prescott Bush Prescott Sheldon Bush (May 15, 1895 – October 8, 1972) was an American banker as a Wall Street executive investment banker, he represented Connecticut in the from 1952 of the Bush family, he was the father of former Vice President and Pr ...

, the paternal grandfather of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush, and patrilineal great-grandfather of former Texas Governor and President George W. Bush and former Florida Governor

Jeb Bush John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (born February 11, 1953) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. Bush, who grew up in Houston, was the second son of former President George H. W. Bush ...

Early life

Bush was born in Brick Church, Orange, New Jersey, to Harriet Eleanor Fay and Reverend. James Smith Bush (1825–1889), an Episcopal priest at Grace Church in Orange. His siblings included James Freeman Bush (1860–1913), Harold Montfort Bush (1871–1945), and Eleanor Bush Woods (1872–1957). He grew up in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

, and

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey b ...

, but spent the majority of his adult life in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, an ...

Career

Bush graduated from the

Stevens Institute of Technology Stevens Institute of Technology is a private research university in Hoboken, New Jersey. Founded in 1870, it is one of the oldest technological universities in the United States and was the first college in America solely dedicated to mechanical ...

Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,690 ...

in 1884, where he played on one of the earliest regular

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

teams. He took an apprenticeship with the

Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad The Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad, commonly called the Pan Handle Route (Panhandle Route in later days), was a railroad that was part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system. Its common name came from its main line, whic ...

at the

Logansport, Indiana Logansport is a city in and the county seat of Cass County, Indiana, United States. The population was 18,366 at the 2020 census. Logansport is located in northern Indiana at the junction of the Wabash and Eel rivers, northwest of Kokomo. H ...

shops, later transferring to

Dennison, Ohio Dennison is a village in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,655 at the 2010 census. History The confluence of coal and railroads drove the development of Dennison. It is located at the midpoint between Pittsburgh a ...

and

, where in 1891 he became Master Mechanic, then in 1894 Superintendent of Motive Power. In 1899, he moved to

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...

to take the position of Superintendent of Motive Power with the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad. In 1901, Bush returned to Columbus to be general manager of Buckeye Steel Castings Company, which manufactured railway parts. The company was run by

Frank Rockefeller Franklin Rockefeller (August 8, 1845 – April 15, 1917) was an American businessman and member of the prominent Rockefeller family. Early life He and his younger twin sister Frances, who died young, were born on August 8, 1845, in Moravia, ...

, the brother of oil magnate John D. Rockefeller, and among its clients were the railroads controlled by

E. H. Harriman Edward Henry Harriman (February 20, 1848 – September 9, 1909) was an American financier and railroad executive. Early life Harriman was born on February 20, 1848, in Hempstead, New York, the son of Orlando Harriman Sr., an Episcopal clergyman ...

. The Bush and Harriman families would be closely associated at least until the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. In 1908, Rockefeller retired and Bush became president of Buckeye, a position he would hold until 1927, becoming one of the top industrialists of his generation. Bush was the first president of the Ohio Manufacturers Association, and cofounder of the

Columbus Academy Columbus Academy (CA) is a selective, independent college- preparatory school for students from pre-kindergarten to twelfth grade. The school is located on a large, secluded campus surrounded by wooded areas in Gahanna, Ohio in the United States, ...

. Additionally, he was the co-founder of the

Scioto Country Club Scioto Country Club, is a private country club and golf course in the central United States, located in Upper Arlington, Ohio, a suburb northwest of Columbus. It hosted the U.S. Senior Open in August 2016. History Designed by Donald Ross, the ...

, a golf club in Columbus, Ohio.

Political prominence

In the spring of 1918, banker

Bernard Baruch Bernard Mannes Baruch (August 19, 1870 – June 20, 1965) was an American financier and statesman. After amassing a fortune on the New York Stock Exchange, he impressed President Woodrow Wilson by managing the nation's economic mobilization in W ...

was asked to reorganize the

War Industries Board The War Industries Board (WIB) was a United States government agency established on July 28, 1917, during World War I, to coordinate the purchase of war supplies between the War Department (Department of the Army) and the Navy Department. Becaus ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, and placed several prominent businessmen to key posts. Bush became chief of the Ordnance, Small Arms, and Ammunition Section, with national responsibility for government assistance to and relations with

munitions Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...

companies. Bush served on the board of the

Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland is the Cleveland-based headquarters of the U.S. Federal Reserve System's Fourth District. The district is composed of Ohio, western Pennsylvania, eastern Kentucky, and the northern panhandle of West Virginia ...

(as well as of the Huntington National Bank of Columbus). In 1931, he was appointed to

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gre ...

's President's Committee for Unemployment Relief, chaired by Walter S. Gifford, then-President of

AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile ...

. He was once recommended to serve on the board of the

Reconstruction Finance Corporation The Reconstruction Finance Corporation was a government corporation administered by the United States Federal Government between 1932 and 1957 that provided financial support to state and local governments and made loans to banks, railroads, mortga ...

, but Hoover did not feel he was sufficiently known nationally. Samuel Prescott Bush - Green Lawn Cemetery

Personal life

On June 20, 1894, he married Flora Sheldon (1872–1920), the daughter of Robert Emmet Sheldon (1845–1917) and Mary Elizabeth Butler (1850–1897). Her maternal grandfather was Courtland Philip Livingston Butler (1812–1891), a member of the Livingston family. Together, they had five children: * Prescott Sheldon Bush (1895–1972), a US Senator, who married Dorothy Walker (1901–1992), daughter of

George Herbert Walker George Herbert "Bert" Walker Sr. (June 11, 1875 – June 24, 1953) was an American banker and businessman. He was the maternal grandfather of President George H. W. Bush and a great-grandfather of President George W. Bush, both of whom were na ...

; he was the father of President

George Herbert Walker Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; p ...

and grandfather of President

George Walker Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

. * Robert Sheldon Bush (1896–1900), who died in childhood * Mary Eleanor Bush (1897–2001), who married Francis "Frank" House * Margaret Livingston Bush (1899–1993), who married Stuart Holmes Clement (1895–1974) in 1919. * James Smith Bush (1901–1978), a director of the Export–Import Bank, and president of the Northwest International Bank. His wife, Flora, died on September 4, 1920 in

Narragansett, Rhode Island Narragansett is a town in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 14,532 at the 2020 census. However, during the summer months the town's population more than doubles to near 34,000. The town of Narragansett occupie ...

, when she was hit by a car. He later married Martha Bell Carter (1879–1950) of

. Bush died on February 8, 1948, aged 84, in Columbus. He is interred at

Green Lawn Cemetery, Columbus, Ohio Green Lawn Cemetery is a historic private rural cemetery located in Columbus, Ohio in the United States. Organized in 1848 and opened in 1849, the cemetery was the city's premier burying ground in the 1800s and beyond. An American Civil War memori ...

References

External links

Samuel Bush residence
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bush, Samuel P. 1863 births 1948 deaths Bolling family of Virginia Bush family Businesspeople from New Jersey Businesspeople from Columbus, Ohio People from East Orange, New Jersey Stevens Institute of Technology alumni People from Dennison, Ohio American chief executives American steel industry businesspeople Stevens Tech Ducks football Burials at Green Lawn Cemetery (Columbus, Ohio)