Barbara Bush’s Ohio Supreme Court Connection

I just found this out while reading my Ohio State Bar news daily. James Edgar Robinson was a Justice on the Supreme Court of Ohio and the great-grandfather of former First Lady Barbara Bush. 

He was a Union County prosecuting attorney for two terms from 1900 to 1906. Robinson then went into private practice, but in January 1916, the governor of Ohio appointed him to the 3rd District Court of Appeals, which opened when a judge resigned. Unfortunately, the appointment didn’t go well. Ten months later, he lost his election bid for a full term.

His fortunes turned when he was elected to the Supreme Court of Ohio in 1918, taking his seat on the bench on January 1, 1919. Re-elected twice, Robinson died in office in 1932. Robinson was also a sixth cousin of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, once removed.