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Hillary Clinton and her English relative: not quite parallel lives
04-06-2015 10:44
Hillary Clinton's third cousin has been found by The Telegraph living in rural Cumbria. Here we have a look at the different paths their lives have taken
Name: Hillary Clinton
Age: 67
Lives: Homes in Chappaqua, New York state, and in Washington DC
Marital status: Married to Bill since 1975; daughter Chelsea and granddaughter Charlotte
Profession: Politician
Name: Chris Abbot
Age: 75
Lives: Cumbria
Marital status: Married to Mary since 1966
Profession: Retired bank cashier
Early years
Hillary Rodham was born in Chicago – the eldest child of Hugh and Diane Rodham. Her brother Hugh was born when she was three and, seven years later, a second brother arrived – Tony.
The family enjoyed what she termed “a stable middle class life.” Her father owned a fabric shop; her mother was a housewife. She was a Brownie and a Girl Scout. She played in a girls’ softball league, and went to Sunday school with her Methodist family.
Chris Abbot was born in Whitehaven, Cumbria – the only child of James Abbot, a bank cashier, and Margaret Gilroy. Mr Abbot's mother used to race motorbikes, taking part in overnight rallies, from Newcastle to Edinburgh. She also shot for the county of Durham. His father played football at a high level in the north east, and was in the RAF during the war, based in Hattam in Holland.
Mr Abbot, a keen hockey player, went to school in Whitehaven and initially wanted to be a farmer or work in forestry – until seeing a man working in a field of frozen turnips changed his mind. Instead, on leaving school, he followed in his father’s footsteps and began work as a cashier at what would become NatWest bank, in a job which he would keep for life.
Education
Wellesley College, an academically-demanding all girls school in Massachusetts, was where the then-Miss Rodham was educated. She went from Wellesley to Yale, where she studied law and met Bill Clinton. The couple married in 1975.
Mr Abbot was educated in Whitehaven, but described himself as not being very academic, and preferring to go straight to work.
Professional life
After finishing university, Mrs Clinton moved to Arkansas to be with her husband Bill, and worked as a lawyer in the state. By 1979 Mr Clinton was governor of Arkansas and Mrs Clinton, as First Lady of Arkansas, was involved in education reform and sat on the boards of several companies.
When Mr Clinton was elected as president in 1993, she threw herself into health care projects and womens' rights issues. By 2000 she was a senator for New York – the only First Lady to ever run for public office. She went on to challenge Barack Obama for the Democrat nomination in 2008.
Mr Abbot worked for NatWest bank as a cashier – initially in Whitehaven, then Liverpool, before returning to Whitehaven. He retired at the age of 55 and has since been a dedicated volunteer with the Cockermouth Mountain Rescue and the local Community First Responders – who immediately respond to emergency calls and provide assistance until ambulances arrive.
Holidays
Perhaps not surprisingly for the most travelled Secretary of State in history – she visited 112 countries in four years – Mrs Clinton spends her holidays at home in the US.
She regularly spends her summers in the Hamptons, renting a house for several weeks. Last year they settled in to an $18 million, seven-bedroom home set on a 200-foot rise overlooking Gardiners Bay and Gardiners Island. The Clintons rented the house for three weeks at a reported cost of $100,000.
Mr Abbot is an equally enthusiastic traveller – although without the luxury of a presidential jet. Last year's holiday was a cruise down the Danube; he is planning a fell walking trip for his next break.
Home
Mr and Mrs Clinton left the White House in 2001 having spent 20 years living in government mansions in Little Rock and Washington DC. In preparation for leaving the White House, the Clintons bought two properties: a $1.7 million house in Chappaqua, NY so that Mrs Clinton could claim residence in the state ahead of her 2000 Senate campaign, and a $2.85 million home on Embassy Row in Washington DC. The five-bedroom home is in one of the most exclusive parts of the American capital - and, by bizarre coincidence, is named Whitehaven.
Mr Abbot has lived in the British town of Whitehaven for most of his life, bar a 12-year spell in Liverpool.
On retiring he moved to his current home, in a village between Cockermouth and Egremont. The house, on the site of former farm buildings, looks out across the rolling hills towards the Lake District.
telegraph