One of the facts that always crops up in 'Ten crazy things you didn't know about Essex' (or similar lists) is that five United States presidents claimed ancestry in Essex.

It's true that John Adams and John Quincy Adams are names that don't exactly come to everyone's mind, but they both played an important part in the early history of the Republic.

John Adams was second president of the United States, from 1797 to 1801. He was born in 1735 in Braintree Massachusetts. It's no surprise to find that Adams' great-great-grandfather Henry Adams came to Massachusetts from Braintree, Essex in 1638.

John Adams was one of the 'Founding Fathers', the revolutionary leaders who led the fight against the British in the War of Independence and shaped the constitution of the republic. In spite of this distinguished past, he is little-known in the U.S. now, being remembered (if at all) for being hard-working and honest but stubborn and unpopular. He died in 1818.

Adams left a son, John Quincy Adams, who also became President, serving from 1825-1829. With his father he visited Great Britain in 1784, though we don't know if they visited the ancestral town. His presidency saw the emergence of the Democrats and Republicans as the two main political parties in the U.S. He was a competent president and an able diplomat and secretary of state.

Both father and son were personally opposed to slavery, though John Quincy did more to try to actively push the abolition debate.

The father and son combination doesn't end there, as another presidential family duo also claim ancestry in Essex – George Bush Senior and George Bush Junior. Their family history goes back to the village of Messing, from where Reynold Bush emigrated in 1631, also to Massachusetts.

George H W Bush was president from 1989 to 1993. He is perhaps best remembered for leading the successful coalition against Iraq in the First Gulf War following the invasion of Kuwait. Legend has it that he was urged on by Margaret Thatcher saying, 'Remember George, this is no time to go wobbly.'

George W Bush served two terms in office, from 2001 to 2009. His greatest challenge was the September 11 Twin Towers attack in 2001. His 'War on Terror' was popular, and the Taliban was rapidly overthrown in Afghanistan. He followed with allegations that Iraq's Saddam Hussein was building weapons of mass destruction, and the Second Gulf War followed.

Both Iraq and Afghanistan have turned into apparently endless nightmares, and not the clear-cut victories that were claimed at the time. This has tarnished Bush's reputation – but Messing still has Bush souvenirs and a large U.S. flag donated by Bush Senior.

Saving the most famous for the last, Essex can claim to be the ancestral home of America's first president, George Washington. His great-great-grandfather Lawrence Washington moved to Essex in 1632 to be rector at All Saints in Purleigh.

Persecuted as a Royalist in the Civil War, Lawrence moved to the poorer parish of Little Braxted and died in poverty in 1655. His son John sought his fortune as office on a ship trading with America. Shipwrecked in the Potomac River, he decided to stay.

John's grandson George Washington first served the British as an officer of American troops serving alongside (coincidentally) the 44th Foot – also known as the Essex Regiment! However, in the American War of Independence he used his military experience to lead the struggle against the British, becoming Commander in Chief of the Continental Army.

It's likely that without his brilliant leadership the War of Independence would have taken a very different turn. Washington's reward was to serve as his country's first president, from 1789 to 1797.