Historical Name: Harry S. Truman
Common Name: Siberian Elm
Latin Name: Ulmus pumila
Born on May 8, 1884 in Lamar, Missouri, Harry Truman moved to Independence at age six and regarded that city as his home town. He soon met 5-year-old Bess Wallace, his life-long love, who became his wife 29 years later. The newlyweds lived with Bess’ parents in the elegant house that her grandfather had bought in 1867 and it was here that their daughter, Mary Margaret, was born in an upstairs bedroom. On the eve of his election in 1948, Harry addressed the nation by radio from the living room and it was here that he received news of the invasion of North Korea in 1950. Following his administration as 33rd President, he and Bess returned to 219 North Delaware Street where he lived until death in 1972. Ten years later, Bess Truman died and bequeathed the house to the nation her husband so proudly served. This tree grew from a seed collected from the Harry S. Truman Siberian Elm in the southwest quadrant of the yard surrounding the Independence, Missouri, home, and was planted into UCNJ’s Historic Tree Grove in 1997.
(text adapted from American Forests)