William Jefferson Blythe, Jr.
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| William Jefferson Blythe, Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Born | 27 February 1918 Sherman, Texas, United States |
| Died | 17 May 1946 (aged 28) Sikeston, Missouri, United States |
| Cause of death | Drowning |
| Resting place | Rose Hill Cemetery, Hope, Arkansas, United States 33°40′43″N 93°35′26″W / 33.6786°N 93.5906°W |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Traveling Salesman, Soldier |
| Employer | Manbee Equipment Company, U.S. Army |
| Known for | Father of Bill Clinton |
| Spouse(s) | Virginia Adele Gash (m. 1935–1936) Maxine Hamilton (m. 1938–1939) Fannie Maye Gash (m. 1940–1941) Wanetta Ellen Alexander (m. 1941–1944) Virginia Dell Cassidy (m. 1943–1946) |
| Children | Henry Leon Ritzenthaler Sharon Lee Pettijohn William Jefferson Clinton |
| Parents | William Jefferson Blythe, Sr. Lou Birchie Ayers |
William Jefferson Blythe, Jr. (February 27, 1918 – May 17, 1946), was an Arkansas salesman of heavy equipment and the father of former U.S. President Bill Clinton, Sharon Lee Blythe, and Leon Ritzenthaler.[citation needed]
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[edit] Early life
He was born as one of nine children to William Jefferson Blythe, Sr. (1884/1886-1935), a poor farmer in Sherman, Texas, and his wife Lou Birchie Ayers (1893-1946).[1]. In December 1935, shortly before his eighteenth birthday, he married Virginia Adele Gash. They divorced within 13 months. They had one son, Henry Leon Blythe, on January 17, 1938, who was conceived after their divorce. Henry later took the surname of his stepfather, Charles Ritzenthaler, after Gash and Blythe divorced.
On December 29, 1940, Blythe married his first wife's sister, Fannie Maye Gash. This short lived marriage produced Sharon Lee Blythe (later Pettijohn), who was born on May 11, 1941.
On May 3, 1941, he married for a third time in Jackson County, Missouri, to Wanetta Ellen Alexander of Kansas City. Their divorce became final on April 13, 1944.
Blythe's fifth marriage took place on September 3, 1943, to Virginia Dell Cassidy. His final wife would not learn of her husband's previous marriages until 50 years later.[2][3]
[edit] Career
Blythe soon shipped out for military service during the Second World War, and was stationed in Egypt. By December 1945 he was posted in Italy. After the war, he returned to his job as a traveling salesman for the Manbee Equipment Company, which repaired heavy machinery.
On May 17, 1946, while traveling from Chicago, Illinois, to Hope, Arkansas, Blythe lost control of his 1942 Buick on U.S. Highway 60 outside of Sikeston, Missouri. He survived the accident but drowned in a drainage ditch trying to make his way to the highway for help.[4]
Three months later, on August 19, 1946, his wife gave birth to their son, William Jefferson Blythe, III. In 1950, Mrs. Blythe married Roger Clinton; the future President legally took his stepfather's surname in 1961, and is familiarly known as Bill Clinton.
[edit] Memories
Blythe was buried at Rose Hill Cemetery in Hope, Hempstead County, Arkansas. In 1994 his last wife, by then known as Virginia Kelley, was interred beside him.
In Bill Clinton's autobiography, the elder Blythe was extensively mentioned including a visit that Clinton made to the site where his father drowned.
[edit] Notes
- ^ "The Ancestors of President Bill Clinton (b. 1946)", by William Addams Reitwiesner stating : "The following material on the immediate ancestry of Bill Clinton is taken almost verbatim from Gary Boyd Roberts, Ancestors of American Presidents, First Authoritative Edition. Santa Clarita, Cal.: Boyer, 1995."
- ^ Andrews, Edmund (June 21, 1993). "Clinton Reported to Have A Brother He Never Met". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE5DB1F3FF932A15755C0A965958260.
- ^ Gross, Jane (June 22, 1993). "Clinton's Lost Half-Brother? To Neighbors, He's Just Leon". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CEEDC103AF931A15755C0A965958260.
- ^ "The Clinton Family Bio". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/candidates/democrat/clinton/clinton.family.shtml.
[edit] References
- Weingarten, Gene (June 1993). "The First Father". The Washington Post;
- Maraniss, David (1996). "First in His Class: Biography of Bill Clinton". Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-684-81890-6;
- Clinton, William Jefferson (2004). "My Life". Hutchinson. ISBN 0-09-179527-3. pp. 4–7.
[edit] External links
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