Early Life and Career 10 Chapter 1 ichard Milhous Nixon was born in Yorba Linda a farming village in Orange County California on January 9 1913 He was the second of five sons of Francis Frank Anthony Nixon and Hannah Milhous Nixon Family History Frank Nixon came from a Scots-Irish farm ing family He was a descendant of James Nixon who emigrated from Ireland to settle in Delaware in 1753 One member of the Nixon family served in the American Revolution Another was killed in the battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War Richard’s father who was born near McArthur Ohio had to go to work after R
Young Richard Nixon right with his parents and brothers Harold left and Francis Donald 1916 11
Richard Nixon having had only about six years of school His last job in Ohio was as a streetcar motorman One winter day his feet were frostbitten in the car and he decided to move to a warmer climate In Whittier California he took a job running a trolley Whittier was founded in 1887 as a Quaker settlement and named for the Quaker poet John Greenleaf Whittier Here Frank Nixon met Hannah Milhous his future wife Hannah was one of nine children of Franklin Milhous whose ancestors had emi grated from Germany to England and then to Ireland Quakers in search of religious freedom they came to Pennsylvania in 1729 When Hannah Milhous was born her par ents lived near Butlerville Indiana They moved to California in 1897 Frank and Hannah met at a Quaker meet inghouse party in February 1908 Four months later they were married Frank who had been reared as a Methodist became a Quaker Their first son Harold was born in 1909 Childhood in Yorba Linda and Whittier The year before Richard was born his father bought land in Yorba Linda Here he built a 12
Early Life and Career house and started a lemon grove Richard’s brothers Francis Donald and Arthur were also born in Yorba Linda The citrus-fruit venture proved unsuccessful and after ten years struggle the family returned to Whittier There the last of the Nixon chil dren Edward was born in 1930 In Whittier Frank Nixon set up a gas station where he also began to sell a few groceries Later he bought an old Quaker meetinghouse which he moved next to the station to serve as a combination market and home The business was a family enter prise As soon as the boys were old enough they helped in the store and in the station Here young Richard learned his first lessons in dealing with the public I sold gas and delivered groceries and met a lot of people I think this was invaluable as a start on a public career Nixon said later Richard’s mother a devout Quaker was patient kind and conscientious His father was a rather severe man whose chief inter est was politics Frank Nixon’s love of debate turned the market into a neighborhood club At an age when most children are reading fairy tales young Richard took an interest in politics and began reading the newspapers He also absorbed his father’s fondness for 13
