By Mark Rhoads
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-New York) was born in Chicago on Oct. 26, 1947 to Hugh and Dorothy Rodham. Her father was the son of English parents who won a football scholarship at Pennsylvania State University. Hugh worked in the textile supply indsutry and was a successful provider for his family. The Rodhams lived for many years at 235 Wisner Street in Park Ridge when Hillary was growing up. Hillary was the first child and she had two younger brothers, Hugh, Jr. and Tony. She is the fourth First Lady to have lived for more than ten years in Illinois. The other three were Mary Todd Lincoln, Julia Dent Grant, and Nancy Davis Reagan. Mrs. Betty Ford was born in Chicago but raised in Michigan.
Hillary Rodham had a fairly normal childhood in an above average income suburb. She was a member of the Girl Scouts and was very active in a youth group at the Methodist Church. Many biographers have credited ministers at her church with instilling in Hillary and some of her youth group friends a very strong sense of duty to work for social and civic reforms.
While she was a student at Maine East Township High School, Hillary was a good student who was also active in food drives and in student government. But she was not always serious. Her brothers played football and Hillary played tennis, softball, and volleyball. When she graduated from Maine East in 1965, she was a member of the National Honor Society.