Who are you related to?

[brstevns]

Was just curious with all the members here. Thought it might be interesting to know if anyone here is related to someone famous? I will start, Queen Anne Boleyn was a first cousin to me . I have others but this is a start.

[MUSTANG]

Wow! You are old.

Your first cousin is the child of your aunt or uncle. Your second cousin is the grandchild of your great aunt or great uncle. (If two people are first cousins, the children of each of the people will be second cousins.) Your third cousin is the great-grandchild of your great-great uncle or great-great aunt.

[waksupi]

Many, many years ago when I was twenty-three
I was married to a widow who was pretty as could be
This widow had a grown-up daughter who had hair of red
My father fell in love with her and soon they too were wed

This made my dad my son-in-law and really changed my life
For now my daughter was my mother, 'cause she was my father's wife
And to complicate the matter, even though it brought me joy
I soon became the father of a bouncing baby boy

My little baby then became a brother-in-law to dad
And so became my uncle, though it made me very sad
For if he were my uncle, then that also made him brother
Of the widow's grownup daughter, who was of course my step-mother

Father's wife then had a son who kept them on the run
And he became my grandchild, for he was my daughter's son
My wife is now my mother's mother and it makes me blue
Because although she is my wife, she's my grandmother too

Now if my wife is my grandmother, then I'm her grandchild
And every time I think of it, it nearly drives me wild
'Cause now I have become the strangest 'case you ever saw
As husband of my grandmother, I am my own grandpa

I'm my own grandpa, I'm my own grandpa
It sounds funny, I know but it really is so
I'm my own grandpa

[opos]

My Mother was the great niece of Harriet Beecher Stowe the author of many books including Uncle Tom's Cabin...the family all referred to her as "Aunt Hattie"...even had her picture on a postage stamp in the 70's as I recall.

[hoosierlogger]

I am a nephew by marrige to Orel Hershiser. He was a pitcher for the Dodgers in the mid 80's.

[brstevns]

Wow! You are old.

Your first cousin is the child of your aunt or uncle. Your second cousin is the grandchild of your great aunt or great uncle. (If two people are first cousins, the children of each of the people will be second cousins.) Your third cousin is the great-grandchild of your great-great uncle or great-great aunt.
The best way to explain this would be to say my 13th Grandfather was Queen Anne Boleyn's Uncle.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Any Rodeo fans here ?
I am related to Larry Sandvick ...He is my second cousin.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcF6M7RNbHQ

http://www.wildmanriggins.com/wildman_008.htm

[slim1836]

Distantly related to John Selman, the man who shot John Wesley Hardin.

Slim

[shooterg]

My full name is George David Venable. I'm a direct descendent of Adam and Eve Venable.
Seriously..not !

[Artful]

Benjamin Franklin way back there
- it's the 225th anniversary of his death today.

[shaper]

I have two.
#1 I am a descendant of Franz Gruber. The man that wrote the music to the song Silent Night.
#2 My mothers maiden name was Barrow. She had a uncle named Clyde, He had a girl friend named Bonnie.

[jmort]

Davy Crockett

[smoked turkey]

As far as I know a generation ago, my family had a few moonshiners and indian maid who was my Dad's grandmother. No one of importance except to me!

[Harter66]

My Miss has a couple of fellas about 4 generations back , a Frank and James Younger.

My 3rd great grandmother was named after her aunt Nancy Elliot , William McKinley's mother.

[bangerjim]

My family tree goes back a long way in Amreica. My great-great-great-great-great.......whatever was a civil engineer and surveyed the roads in Jamestown. He came here from Wales and liked it so much, he stayed! I am an umteenth generation American.

[bubba.50]

I remember hearin' old Speck Rhodes sing Waksupi's song on "The Porter Waggoner Show". his humorous songs along with Dolly Parton's "assets" were always highlights of that show for me.

[starmac]

Waksupi, did you ever live in Texas. lol I had a neighbor with very nearly that same scenario. lol

[Cowboy_Dan]

If anyone watches Vikings, I descend from Rollo. I'll try not to spoil anything, but it makes me a distant relative to all of the remaining European royals.

[Lead Fred]

Nobody, the Commies wiped out our entire family. Even came to America and kilt grandad, and auntie.

So when the left says lets get along, I say BITE ME Commie

[JeffinNZ]

My mother. She's a top lady.

[WRideout]

Davy Crockett
My paternal grandmother was a Crockett from the Missouri/Oklahoma area. When I was a kid I was told that we were related to Davey. Still a bunch of Crocketts back there.

Wayne

[Mike in TX]

I am related to no one who is famous but those related to me are related to an infamous person. LOL As my grandfather often said, son you do not have royal blood in your veins but your blood runs through the veins of the royals.

[375supermag]

My ancestors were Scot-Irish-German, so I suppose if one were to investigate I am probably descended from someone who was related to someone who may have been famous, but I don't know. Nor do I care.

Never researched it, have no plans to do so. Just trying to leave an honorable legacy for my own children and grandchildren

[RED333]

My Dads family did the family tree things a few years back. Dads family came to the country in the late 1600s,
can not remember the year, 3 or 4 ship after the May Flower. The family had a grist mill in NC close to the coast
some years latter. With the last name of Hoover, yep, the Pres and FBI man.
My family is so old there is more in my wood pile than you can shake a stick at.

[w5pv]

Just kin to a long line of Christain Americans not any that were famous but with a couple of outlaws threw in.lol

[azrednek]

For years my family believed we were decedents of Edgar Allen Poe. Turns out we are descended from a bastard child of Edgar Allen Poe's brother. We also share the same family tree but are not directly descended from the infamous sheriff Pat Garrat.

[blackthorn]

I am related (by blood) to----nobody! I was adopted at 8 months old. Records of such (in Manitoba) are sealed. Therefore---I am the first of my line. Perfectly happy with that too!!

[Goatwhiskers]

Mom had a genealogy study done, all I know is they found everything from royalty to horse thieves. As dad's mom said about ancestors: "ain't one of 'em ever put a bean in my pot." GW

[TXGunNut]

My brother is the genealogist in our family and has gone back thru our family tree for five hundred years but as far as I know found no one most folks would recognize. Mostly a long line of farmers with a few folks of regional note. My dad was pretty well known in certain circles of biology research but other than that nothing exciting. There have been a few notable folks that share my unusual last name but as far as I know we're not closely related. My dad's cousin (also an accomplished genealogist) was a CIA operative in SE Asia among other places but would never acknowledge his work in that area, he preferred to say he was an Air Force veteran. He's buried in Arlington Cemetery, in a rather exclusive section as I understand. Guess most folks will never know.

[rondog]

Somewhere back down the line Zebulon Pike is some sort of a relative. Guy that Pike's Peak is named after. Do I start getting checks now?

[azrednek]

My dad's cousin (also an accomplished genealogist) was a CIA operative in SE Asia among other places but would never acknowledge his work in that area, he preferred to say he was an Air Force veteran. .

I have a relative that worked briefly for the CIA as a linguist. Not exactly sure what he did but best guess is he monitored radio and/or telephones in eastern Europe. He also refused to acknowledge his time with CIA but mistakenly left it on my brother's computer in a letter he prepared to get his commission in the Army.

[DR Owl Creek]

I've done pretty extensive research into my family history on both my father's and mother's sides of the family. There really wouldn't be anyone you would have ever heard of, except possibly on my father's mother's side. Her maiden name was Riel. She was a distant relative of a character named Louis Riel.

Louis Riel had been a missionary to the Indians in what is now Manitoba and Saskatchewan, Canada in the 1800's. He ended up starting a couple of rebellions of the Metis Indians against the Canadian government (the Red River Rebellion, and the North-West Rebellion). He was eventually captured, tried, and hung for treason in 1885, by the Canadian government.

Dave

[brstevns]

Very interesting!

[waksupi]

Somewhere back down the line Zebulon Pike is some sort of a relative. Guy that Pike's Peak is named after. Do I start getting checks now?

Did you know there are two Pike's Peaks? This was the first one. I've been here many times.

http://www.iowadnr.gov/Destinations/StateParksRecAreas/IowasStateParks/ParkDetails.aspx?ParkID=610141

[Superfly]

Hi there Cousin LOL



I've done pretty extensive research into my family history on both my father's and mother's sides of the family. There really wouldn't be anyone you would have ever heard of, except possibly on my father's mother's side. Her maiden name was Riel. She was a distant relative of a character named Louis Riel.

Louis Riel had been a missionary to the Indians in what is now Manitoba and Saskatchewan, Canada in the 1800's. He ended up starting a couple of rebellions of the Metis Indians against the Canadian government (the Red River Rebellion, and the North-West Rebellion). He was eventually captured, tried, and hung for treason in 1885, by the Canadian government.

Dave

[mtnman31]

John Nance Garner - 32nd Vice President. Related through my maternal grandmother, her cousin I think - I'm not certain. I've never been too interested in genealogy or ancestry. I guess it has always been hard for me to give much thought to people I've never met nor will. My mother has a printed out tree going back a long time. My father was adopted and had no knowledge of his birth mother.

[dk17hmr]

Through the line on my dads mothers side
http://boston1775.blogspot.com/2010/05/true-story-of-isaac-bissell.html

Dad has our tree going back 13 generations from my son right now....there are some big Michigan names in it like Woodward and Bissell but no long lost rich relatives yet.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

If anyone watches Vikings, I descend from Rollo. I'll try not to spoil anything, but it makes me a distant relative to all of the remaining European royals.

Rollo's descendents were only dukes, until William made it big a century and a half later. He was called Rolf Ganger because he was too fat to ride a horse, athough statues in Normandy seem to have shrunk him. As the centuries go by, almost everybody is related to British royalty, which is probably more than can be said for yours.

George Washington's closest living relative was the Queen Mother, and as she died at the age of 101 I suppose they calculated it by a combination of direct lineage and number of generations. I suppose now it is Queen Elizabeth II. Of course Oliver Cromwell's statue is outside the Houses of Parliament, and they are only two among many in a time-honoured tradition of forming constitutional law by fighting the government.

[brstevns]

Started this thread because I love history. Like the old saying everyone is related to you if you go back far enough. Some names that appear in my tree besides Queen Anne Boleyn , would be her daughter Queen Elizabeth. It depends on how far back and how many times removed a relative can be, if you wish to claim them. Still with out a common Grandparent neither of us would be here. Other names in mine are The James family of Mo. outlaw fame. They are like 6th cousins about 9 times removed. Abe Lincoln another 6th cousin, Francis Scott Key, a 4th cousin. Johnny Ringo the gun fighter, so far distance he is hard to find, but we share some of the same blood.
Not taking pride in who may be a distant relative just a interesting fact in how we all are related.

[woodbutcher]

:drinks: Nothing that I know of on my side of the family.However,on my wife`s side there are a couple of fellows that come to mind.One is the Mr Holland that was the person who designed the Holland Tunnel,and the other was the Mr Holland that designed the first practicle submarine for the US Navy.Mr John S Holland.The Navy liked his design so well that they ordered 10 from him and he figured that he better start a company to build them.Started a little outfit called the Electric Boat Company.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

[MtGun44]

Not a clue, never paid much attention and no stories passed down.
Scotch and German back in there somewhere, but who knows.

[brstevns]

Ever hear of ( The Battle of PILOT KNOB ) took place in Southeast MO. when Confederate Gen. Price made his way toward St.Louis. Had two Great Uncles in that battle, One was a (Settle) that fought for the North and was inside the Fort. More of a dirt embankment then what we think of as a Fort. The other was a (Stevens) that was riding under the command of Gen Sterling Price. The good thing is that both survived the battle.

[opos]

Think this might be a bit off the family tree thing but in high school in Denver I threw up all over the back of Marilyn Vandebur who went on to become Miss America in 1958...she was dressed for the prom and was running for prom queen with her handsome gentleman escort...we all entered the hotel and as she started down the stairs with every one watching...about 3 quarts of Colorado Kool Aid (Coors 3.2 beer) covered the back of her prom gown...my claim to fame.

[starmac]

Not many that will admit it. lol
A few years ago my wife and I stopped in a business in midland. It covered a couple of blocks and had a couple hundred employees. I ask in the office, which was the manager and also the owners son, where one of his employees was working. It was on the other end of a huge building, so we walked down there and spent an hour or so bs'ing with him. When we were leaving the manager ask if we were old friends, I got a chuckle out of it, and told him, he was my cousin, infact so are you you just got too rich and famous to remember us peons. lol He then said awe heck, I know you now. lol

[mozeppa]

1st governor of Texas, general Samuel Houston

my dads side of the family ...funny...my dad sorta favored him in likeness.

[Blacksmith]

To brag a little I am related to Eliphalet Remington (Remington Firearms) we are 5th cousins 4 times removed. To show some humility I am also related to Sydney Biddle Barrows (the Mayflower Madam). It is interesting to note the relationships are each through two different Mayflower ancestors of mine. The Remington connection through descent from Edward Doty, a troublemaker in the colony and suspected ringleader in the mutiny. The Barrows connection is through descent from William Brewster the senior elder and religious leader of the colony.

Genealogy when done right is a fascinating study and requires real life detective work. They say that if you go far enough we are all related. In truth the further you go the more interconnections there are and the more possibilities of a link that leads to someone famous.

There are two kinds of relations, direct and indirect. Direct relatives are those in your direct genealogical line going back it would be your parents, grand parents, great grandparents, etc and going forward your children, grandchildren, etc. Your indirect relatives are those who you share a common ancestor with, your aunts, uncles, great aunts, great uncles, etc and their descendents who are your cousins, second cousins, second cousin once removed, etc. To help understand your indirect relatives better here is a cousin calculator that will give your relation to any individual as long as you know the relationship of each to the common blood ancestor, it also has some helpful definitions:
http://www.searchforancestors.com/utility/cousincalculator.html

To help you find the genealogies of some famous people here is a web site that has a collection of famous people and their genealogies so you can see if there is a tie in to your ancestors:
http://famouskin.com/

The more famous the person the more that people have worked out all the branches of the family. To see a lot of connections to a famous person for example look at Marylin Monroe from that web site:
http://famouskin.com/family-tree.php?name=22250+marilyn+monroe

Also the further back in history you go the more possible connections develop and an illustration of that from the same web site would be Anne Boleyn (mentioned in a previous post):
http://famouskin.com/famous_kin_menu.php?name=7174+anne+boleyn

If you would like to know more about your genealogy the place to start is with yourself and the best resource of helpful links I have found is Cyndi's List:
http://www.cyndislist.com/

If you are just getting started be sure you spend some time in the beginners section to make certain you get started on the right foot because there is an awful lot of bad genealogy on the internet and you don't want to have to do it over again.
http://www.cyndislist.com/beginners/beginners-guides-hints-and-tips/

Good luck and happy ancestor hunting.

[Calamity Jake]

Calamity Jane, hence my screen name and Harriet Beecher Stowe thru my stepfather.

[texaswoodworker]

Don't know if any of them are famous, but I've tracked my family back to the late 1500s in Switzerland. A lot of them had BIG families.

[brstevns]

Blacksmith

I came across the Anne Boleyn connection when running my Grandfather Greenfield's ancestors. His mother was a Arnold. Came across some Howard's that were Grandmother Arnold's Grandparents that lead me to Anne Boleyn's Uncle my 13th Great Grandparent.
Need to search my records but I believe Rev. John Burrows was also a distant relative . He was hanged for Witchcraft in the Salem Witch Trials.

[brstevns]

Don't know if any of them are famous, but I've tracked my family back to the late 1500s in Switzerland. A lot of them had BIG families.
Did you happen on any Greenfield's ?

[Pb2au]

No one too exciting in my family tree. In the early 1700's, my ancestors were "ahem" volunteered to go to Virginia to work for a specified amount of time. Their descendants later decided that they had had enough of Virginia and two brothers moved to western Kentucky. Form their we migrated north in the 1920's to SW Ohio to work in the steel and paper mills.
Fun facts!
My Great grandfather on my mom's side lost his arm in an automobile accident while fleeing from the cops. He apparently felt that he was honor bound to deliver ardent spirits to those in need, despite the Federal government prohibiting it. After a stay in the jail, he switched to running the books in a house of ill repute.
My G-grandfather on my dad's side (his dad's dad) shot a man for stealing a horse.
My G-Grandfather on my dad's side (his mom's dad) fled prussia after shooting an officer in the military. Apparently it was his commanding officer.
Wow, now that I wrote all of that down, my ancestors were a rough bunch....

[DR Owl Creek]

Hi there Cousin LOL


Howdy!

Nice to meet you Cousin!


Dave

[Blacksmith]

Blacksmith

I came across the Anne Boleyn connection when running my Grandfather Greenfield's ancestors. His mother was a Arnold. Came across some Howard's that were Grandmother Arnold's Grandparents that lead me to Anne Boleyn's Uncle my 13th Great Grandparent.
Need to search my records but I believe Rev. John Burrows was also a distant relative . He was hanged for Witchcraft in the Salem Witch Trials.

If I figured it correctly you and Anne Boleyn are 1st cousins 14 times removed.
Her grandfather (your common blood relative) would have been your 14th great grandfather.

[jumbeaux]

Dad's side were Freemen that came from Scotland to America (Virginia). Mom's side were Bond Servants that came from Ireland to America (Georgia). Both sides moved west. Guess the only infamous family member was a great great great something that was to be hanged for something in Alabama when a group of Mormons came thru town. Sheriff released him to the Mormons when they agreed to haul him west. He stayed with them until they got to Texas. He "excused" himself and made a life here (Texas). Do have a couple of Methodist Episcopal South Ministers on Mom's side.

rick

[OeldeWolf]

Most of my father's family were Native Americans, but had a few notables on my mom's side. I am a 43rd cousin to Daniel Boone, through his sister Hanna. There are a former governor and a sheriff of the Colony of New York. I had an ancestor with the Over the Mountain Men at the Battle of King's Mountain. A couple more were higher level members of the State of Franklin, in that little squabble. Another was Richard Lovelady, aka The Rake of England. And through him, to the Lovelaces, including Linda, I believe. There was a Bluestocking who helped with the math on the Turing Engine. And way back, King Charlemagne of France, through one of his legal wives. The way I understand it, we were here for the French and Indian Wars, the Revolutionary War, The State of Franklin messup, the fighting in Tenn and KY, then onto GA, then the Texas War for Independence at San Jacinto, do not know about WWI, WWII, but my dad caught the tail end of Korea and VN. Oh, and BOTH sides of the War Between the States. They started out NE, dropped South and West, till they ran out of West. Seems they also got involved in about every major bit of scrapping the USA did, even before the USA existed. Oh, some were with the original Virginia Company, too. From the records, they all seemed to have a real difficulty with centralized authority. My mom also says they were educated for their times, honorable, cantankerous, and independent. And that somehow they all seemed to find people just like them to marry with.

[brstevns]

If I figured it correctly you and Anne Boleyn are 1st cousins 14 times removed.
Her grandfather (your common blood relative) would have been your 14th great grandfather. Yes Sir, I believe you are correct.
It appears I would be related to his 5th wife Catherine Howard as well, and in some way to his third Jane Seymor.
I also have a G.G. Grandmother that was a Madam in St. Louis, MO. in 1870's to early 1900's She was a Middleton.

[texaswoodworker]

Did you happen on any Greenfield's ?

No, but I haven't looked into the hundreds of branches extending from the main line. Most of them were Frei's, Reimensburger's, and Kopp's. It seems the vast majority of them came from Luetisburg (or Lütisburg) Switzerland with the earliest relative I could find being born in the late 1500s. That town is still there, and only has a population of 1443. That side of the family immigrated to Texas through New Orleans in the 1880s.

This is Lütisburg Switzerland.

http://www.tagblatt.ch/storage/org/9/2/1/2111129_0_dda5973c.jpg?version=1399079988

[kfarm]

Two notables, Charles Carroll of Carlton. Signer of the Declaration of Independence and Bishop John Carroll the first Catholic Bishop in the new world. Looks like things have gone down hill since then.

[trails4u]

Elvis.....I think. :) My great grandmother was a Cherokee woman named Dove, and Elvis also has Cherokee Dove in his lineage. Never really did the research, just figured I'd run with it! :)

[Harter66]

William McKinley's genealogy says his grandfather was probably ____ and his grandfather was probably _______ ,amusing really since all of the president's have a complete and ongoing genealogy done by paid staff.
My mom,aunt and grandmother have done extensive digging. As far as I know dad's side his grandparents were Welsh Irish a their grandparents were from Germanic areas of Europe. The other side of dad's drys up with an Osage Confederate Scout . His grands were all full bloods as were his wifes'.

Off the line I shook hands and had dinner Col Gregory Boynton and Mike Kowato who shot him down when he became a POW. I had several dinners with Rear Admiral David Griggs ,he was the astronaut that ran the recovery arm on the space shuttle when the 1st satellite was recovered from orbit. Miss California 72' taught me to thumb punch goats when I was about 6.

[10x]

My Grandmother was first cousin to Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen, the first man to reach both the North and then South Pole

[brstevns]

Love reading all of this, Want to thank everyone that has posted. Keep it coming!!

[brstevns]

OeldeWolf

I also had a Grandfather that fought at the Kings Mountain Battle his name was Capt. Henry Whitener or Wiener as he may had been know at that time.

[Moonie]

Jefferson Davis, through the women in the family, directly up to his older brother. At least according to my mother, not arguing that one. The family story is that Jefferson was a lazy man, living off of his older brothers money and property (my direct relation).

[10x]

Jefferson Davis, through the women in the family, directly up to his older brother. At least according to my mother, not arguing that one. The family story is that Jefferson was a lazy man, living off of his older brothers money and property (my direct relation).

I would hope that you emulate this fine upstanding individual and are living a life of leisure too...

[sundog]

My grandmother's first cousins were Homer and Langley Collyer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collyer_brothers).

[brstevns]

My grandmother's first cousins were Homer and Langley Collyer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collyer_brothers). Thanks for posting, That was new to me and very interesting. Maybe a reason to stash 22 lr LOL

[mexicanjoe]

Ok folks here it goes : my kinfolk inhabited the area of North America called Tecas/Mexico , these people called themselves the RARAMURRI, but we call them Tarahumara Indians. I remember when I was a youngster we went to visit a lady named. "LUZ", who I was told was Pancho Villas widow, in Chihuahua, Mexico. I had kinfolk who ran alcohol during Prohibition, and ran guns and ammo to Mexico during the revolution . One in particular managed to give the Texas Rangers heartburn because they could never catch him hauling illicit liquor. Seems he knew the Big Bend area like the back of his hand , and his stud horse would run a hole in the wind. Names escape me,however......

[white eagle]

unfortunately I am not related to anyone of any significance in history
however if I looked back a couple of generations I could find some that were
in the mix with all the greats of the day
probably traded with the French and the English back in the day

[Wolfer]

My dad who has passed on was a bit of a rounder if you know what I mean. There's no telling who I might be kin to!

I miss him greatly!

[perotter]

Only two that I can know of.

Emil Truog who developed the inexpensive soil test that was used for about 70 years until computers(etc) replaced it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emil_Truog#Work_as_a_Soil_Scientist

The other one was the last dictator in central European country. He's still alive and out of prison now.

[brstevns]

We all have are good and bad relatives. Like I said in a earlier post I have one that was a St. Louis Madam, One a Gun Fighter and drunk ( Jonny Ringo) Bandits Frank and Jesse James not to mention Woodson Hite. I also had one or two law man and a lot of Preachers in the family. One Old gun fighter for hire that rode with the Bold Knobbers in MO. around Springfield. Got kill by a bounty hunter that shot him in the head in view of his wife in children during a Forth of July picnick. He rode for both the North and South during the war and later deserted went by the name of Wash Middleton

[kootne]

Family tradition says we had people on Noah's boat.

[Circuit Rider]

My cousin is Mary Costa, former Disney star and opera performer. Granddaughter is Kelsea Ballerini, up coming country songwriter and singer. CR

[hoosierlogger]

Most of my father's family were Native Americans, but had a few notables on my mom's side. I am a 43rd cousin to Daniel Boone, through his sister Hanna.

Daniel Boone's sister is buried in a cemetery near here. Can't remember if it was Hanna or another sister. I found the grave while out geocaching.

[19112TAP]

My mother is into the family tree really deep and tells me that I'm a distant relative to Richard Petty.

[tmax64]

Down in the Antarctic there's a sea and seal named after one of my ancestors, also Clark Gable is in my family's lineage.

[10x]

I had a couple of female cousins who were close to their grandmother on their moms side. Their grandmother claimed "royal" blood in her family. They spent around $500 (this was in the 1960s when $500 would be a very nice late model used car) on a search of church records in Germany. The lineage went back with names and sometimes addresses of people to the 1650s. They stopped looking with the name of a lady, father unknown and the address of a brothel linked to tax records

[brstevns]

Yes Sir, you never know what you will found out. I have always said I am related by name. Just think about how many women have had children by some other man, yet the child was given the family name. With all the wars etc while their husbands were away, by a afair or maybe already expecting by another when they were married. Makes you wonder. A DNA test would be needed to be for sure just who a person is really related to. Still we know we are all related if we go back far enough.

[10x]

Yes Sir, you never know what you will found out. I have always said I am related by name. Just think about how many women have had children by some other man, yet the child was given the family name. With all the wars etc while their husbands were away, by a afair or maybe already expecting by another when they were married. Makes you wonder. A DNA test would be needed to be for sure just who a person is really related to. Still we know we are all related if we go back far enough.

A young gentleman went out in the world to meet the lady of his dreams, a lady who he would be able to make his wife.
After a few days he found a charming young lady that was his hearts desire. He brought her home to meet his parents and after supper his father took him aside and said "you kaint marry her, she is your half sister!" so the romance ended.
This pattern continued with every girl the young gentleman brought home.
Finally his mother asked him "Why do you bring home very charming ladies but you never settle on one to be your wife?"
The young gentleman explained that his father claimed all were his half sister.
His mother snorted and said "you marry who ever you want to , he ain't your father...."

Every man knows who is mother is.....

[Rhou45]

Not overly famous outside the family, but my grandmothers father was Orrington "Red" Lucas. He was an Oklahoma US Deputy Marshall from 1882 through 1913. He chased the Doolins around Tusla and Gutherie Ok. Was involved in the shoot out at Gutherie.

Following the family tree takes me to a great grand mother named Sarah Ann Ball, whose cousin had a daughter named Lucy.

Further back in the family tree, there was a 14 time great grandfather named George Calvert. He was the first Lord Baltimore. He was given the land between Virginia's Potomac River and Penn state to form a colony by King James I of England. George died before he could see the place we know as Maryland, but his two sons Cecil (Lord Baltimore the 2nd) and his younger brother Leonard, the first Colonial Governor of Marlyland and my 13X great grand father did establish the colony.

That and 10 bucks gets me lunch at Arby's.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

Ok folks here it goes : my kinfolk inhabited the area of North America called Tecas/Mexico , these people called themselves the RARAMURRI, but we call them Tarahumara Indians. I remember when I was a youngster we went to visit a lady named. "LUZ", who I was told was Pancho Villas widow, in Chihuahua, Mexico. I had kinfolk who ran alcohol during Prohibition, and ran guns and ammo to Mexico during the revolution . One in particular managed to give the Texas Rangers heartburn because they could never catch him hauling illicit liquor. Seems he knew the Big Bend area like the back of his hand , and his stud horse would run a hole in the wind. Names escape me,however......

James Michener tells the story of two of Pancho Villa's widows who stood out from the others by having one of his skulls each. Logic inevitably produced some name-calling, but the Mexican authorities satisfied honour all round by declaring that the large, handsomely domed skull was obviously his skull in maturity, but the more delicately formed one was his skull as a young man. The story may be exaggerated.

On the subject of bloodlines being uncertain, I remember the pleasure with which my grandfather told me how my mother, aged three, brought him his army haversack when they got up from the table on his first night home from the Balkans in 1919. I understood that many a returning soldier couldn't have experience that pleasure, but it wasn't until several years later that I began to realize why. I well remember that when he met a man who fought at Waterloo, and was scared to ask any questions, it meant he (and I) would never know whether that old man saw The Man Himself on his white horse. Eight-year-olds have their values all the wrong way around nowadays.

I doubted some things he said, for a while, because he said his family name was originally Redmond, but they changed it and left Ireland because it was politically unpopular there. I took this for family myth, for I knew their present name applied long before John Redmond negotiated home rule under the Crown, to take effect after the men came home from the Great War. (Which, incidentally, is all Ireland ever got by fighting the British, for they later exercised their right to become a Republic after it was freely acknowledged that Australia and Canada could, and Mauritius did with no strain on relations.)

Then just a couple of years ago I discovered that the Redmonds turned Protestant and fought for the Crown in the 1798 rebellion. There they are in Scotland in the 1841 census, just a few hundred yards from where we have always been, and listed as Irish born. One of them was just the age to have joined the Army to escape the dangers of showing his shoulderblades in the dark, fought at Waterloo and settled in Scotland. Unfortunately we will never know that either, since the public records somehow got burned when the Irish were fighting each other in 1922.

[smokeywolf]

One relative who fought with Peter the Great and earned title, one who fought in the Revolutionary war, one who earned the Blue Max in the early 20th century, one who was on record as the strongest man in the world in the early 20th century, one who fought a grizzly with nothing but a hand ax and survived to tell about it.

[hiram]

I could be related to Hiram Abif, architect of King Solomon's temple, or Hiram Maxim, or Hiram Walker.

But I was told that I had a distant cousin in Russia who was a horse thief.

[brstevns]

We can not change who we are but we can try and make a better world for those that come after us. I love reading about the good and bad choices my relatives have made and how that decision effected their life.

[knifemaker]

I am the great grandson of William Anderson Hatfield, also known as Devil Anse Hatfield and the leader of the Hatfield clan during the feud with the McCoys. His middle son, Joe D. Hatfield was my grandfather. Joe was elected Sheriff of Logan County,WV in 1928. Joe like his father was very good at making some of the best moonshine in the county, even while he was sheriff.

[brstevns]

I am the great grandson of William Anderson Hatfield, also known as Devil Anse Hatfield and the leader of the Hatfield clan during the feud with the McCoys. His middle son, Joe D. Hatfield was my grandfather. Joe was elected Sheriff of Logan County,WV in 1928. Joe like his father was very good at making some of the best moonshine in the county, even while he was sheriff. Have a few books on the Hatfield and McCoy feud very interesting. What did you think about the Kevin Koaster mini series about the feud?

[knifemaker]

brstevns, it was about 75-80% right. Money and greed was involved a lot more then mentioned in the film. After Devil Anse had the three McCoy boys executed for killing his brother, the feud died down for almost 5 years. Then coal was discovered in the area and Devil Anse owned several thousand timber acres that had coal depostits. McCoy's cousin, the lawyer Perry Cline saw a way to get Devil Anse out of the way and take over his land. He used his influence with the Kentucky Governor to have the murder warrants re-issued for Devil Anse and several others. Only problem, Devil Anse also had a lot of political pull with the West Virginia Governor and that governor refused to honor Kentucky's warrants. That was the reason why bounty hunters were used to try and capture the Hatfields for the reward money. Family history says that a lot of those bounty hunters were never seen again after crossing the Tug river into West Virginia. Devil Anse had his own lumber mill and employed quite a few McCoys and some of the McCoys sided with the Hatfields in the feud.
During the pig trial, the one McCoy that sided with the Hatfields, jury consisted of 6 Hatfields and 6 McCoys, was killed by Randall McCoy's sons because he sided with the Hatfield's that the pig belonged to Floyd Hatfield.

[Huskerguy]

My last name is Custer. Since I can remember everyone has asked me if I am related to General George. I never cared much, kind of thought he was an idiot and when I was playing cowboys and Indians I wanted to be an Indian.

Over the years I have had multiple people tell me they are related to old George. Then I tell them that George never had any kids, at least that we know of with his wife, so no one is a direct decedent. It can be traced back to I think seven brothers who spelled the name Koester who came from Germany. All Custers came from them as I understand it. So eventually all of us Custers can be traced back to the original seven. And in case you are wondering it has never been said this is my last stand. :grin:

I like the Noah's arc one though, it really is the only one that we know for sure. :)

[Ed Barrett]

I would be a little worried about looking too far back in my family tree. I know some of my family in Croatia were "Fisherman who's nets never got wet" that was a nice way of saying smugglers. They were the better class ones.

[brstevns]

Had one Great Uncle that made a living making and selling Shine. Got in a shoot out in Texas with some Federal boys. One of the Fed's was shot and they haul my Uncle and his Friend off to jail. His friend finally admitted he pulled the trigger. Sent my Uncle back to MO and told him not to come back or he would be buried in Texas. He was a rough man and use to rough ways but he never went back to Texas.

[perotter]

My last name is Custer. Since I can remember everyone has asked me if I am related to General George. I never cared much, kind of thought he was an idiot and when I was playing cowboys and Indians I wanted to be an Indian.

Over the years I have had multiple people tell me they are related to old George. Then I tell them that George never had any kids, at least that we know of with his wife, so no one is a direct decedent. It can be traced back to I think seven brothers who spelled the name Koester who came from Germany. All Custers came from them as I understand it. So eventually all of us Custers can be traced back to the original seven. And in case you are wondering it has never been said this is my last stand. :grin:

I like the Noah's arc one though, it really is the only one that we know for sure. :)

That's very interesting about Custer and I didn't know that.

This is a very interesting thread. I've learned about a number of interesting people who I never knew were famous. Plus, interesting facts that I didn't know about both the famous, infamous and many who never made the history books.

[brstevns]

That's very interesting about Custer and I didn't know that.

This is a very interesting thread. I've learned about a number of interesting people who I never knew were famous. Plus, interesting facts that I didn't know about both the famous, infamous and many who never made the history books. Glad you are enjoying it.

[mold maker]

My Mother's, Father, was George Washington
Bolick.
As a young man he swiped his Pa's horse and left, with a brother for Texas. A few years later he left Texas in the Spring for home, in a covered wagon. Snow caught them before making NC, and he sent his Texas Bride and 2 children ahead by train.
Later lost his arm in a cotton gen, and farmed the rest of his life. At 81 he was gored against the barn by a mean bull. It's horn penetrated his only hand, but he sawed the horns off before going to see Dr Frie. At 89 he gave up farming and died that same year.
I have a shoe from one of the horses that pulled the wagon from Texas to Hickory NC.
With ancestors like that who needs fame.

[Blacksmith]

Many of our ancestors were made of sterner stuff and discovering some of those stories is an added benefit of tracing genealogies.

For those who are enjoying learning more about some of our lesser known history I will include some links to the Battle of Groton Heights or the Battle of Fort Griswold as it is also known. One of my direct ancestors, Lieutenant Ebenezer Avery, was killed in the battle. The list of the defenders includes many family names found in my genealogy so I am certain many would be indirect relatives, i.e. cousins, but so far I have only found the one direct relation already mentioned. Some of the survivors were made of sterner stuff:

Hartford native William Seymour visiting the area was stabbed 13 times after having nearly lost his leg below the knee by a musket ball.

Lt.Parke Avery of Groton had hi skull smashed, brain matter on his clothes and lost an eye. He survived 40 more year after pretending to be dead.

The British forces were lead by Benedict Arnold and I should mention for the benefit of our British Cast Boolits members the British accounts of the battle differ as to the events and the "massacre".

Here is a modern account of the battle with list of defenders:
http://www.battleofgrotonheights.com/Battle_of_Groton_Heights.html

Here is a link to a digitized book published in 1870, the battle occurred in 1781:
https://archive.org/stream/battlegroton00harrrich#page/n8/mode/1up

Google will turn up other links and accounts including the British reports and first person accounts.

[jaysouth]

This photo is of me and my two grandsons outside of the village of Percy en Auge about 40 kilometers East of Caen in Normandy. My mother's people lived in this village from the 900s until around 1100. The bulk of them "moved" to England in Oct, 1066, and settled in Northumberland. They were Vikings who became "Normans" and changed or adopted their name to Percy.

If you look at numbers, ten generations ago, each of us had 1,024 grandparents. Ten generations being 200-250 years. In the vast majority of cases, 99% of these 1,024 grandparents are buried in unmarked graves in unknown locations. If you are lucky, as my sister-geneologist was, we located three or four whose names were recorded and went back from there. At twenty generations, you have over a million grandparents. We were fortunate that a few were famous/infamous/rich enough to have their names recorded. One of my very distant grandfathers was George Percy, known as Hotspur. He was so feared by the population at large that to prove he was dead and no longer a threat to anyone, his head was placed on a pikestaff and planted in the ground at the Micklesgate entrance to the city of York. Tracing this bloodline up and down, my Mother is a direct descendant of Kings William the Conqueror through Richard III. And lateral descendant of all the Tudor "Henry" kings.

How did we wind up as hardscrabble farmers, poachers, and moonshiners in Arkansas?

http://i1223.photobucket.com/albums/dd507/jaysouth100/Juno%20Beach/Europe12210_zps61d80bb2.jpg (http://s1223.photobucket.com/user/jaysouth100/media/Juno%20Beach/Europe12210_zps61d80bb2.jpg.html)

[N4AUD]

George Washington is my second cousin, 9x removed. Daniel Boone's wife Rebecca Bryan is my second cousin, 6x removed. Sir Henry Wentworth is my 15th great grandfather, and he was Henry VIII's wife Jane Seymour's grandfather. My 10th great grandfather John Powell arrived in Jamestown in 1609 on "The Swallow." He has descendants all over the US. Some of my relatives were involved in the Hatfield McCoy Feud in KY/WVA. I'm a descendant of a Mingo Indian who took the name Arter Dale and became a minister, married a white woman and had many children, and is locally famous. Had a lot of ancestors that fought in the Revolution, French and Indian War before that, war of 1812, War Between the States, and my father was an infantryman in the 88th Division in WWII. Most of my ancestors weren't famous, they were farmers and teachers and coal miners and inn keepers and preachers. Ordinary Joes (and Jills). I've been working on my genealogy for about 35 years. I've had the DNA tests and all that, have met a lot of great people researching our families, learned a lot of history.

[fatnhappy]

I am a descendant of John Harrington, KIA 240 years ago this week on Lexington green. I'm quite proud to know my family was well represented that day. More Harringtons took up arms at Lexington than any other family.

Also on the paternal side, Thomas MacDonough, the hero of Lake Champlain during the war of 1812.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Macdonough

[brstevns]

History is to be remembered , we cannot change it. Good or bad we can learn from are families past. The courage and bravery needed to live in the time their lives took place. For without them we would not be here.

[Gisli]

I am not related to anyone known. We have been Icelandic for ca. 11 centuries.

[Blacksmith]

I am not related to anyone known. We have been Icelandic for ca. 11 centuries.

Probably related to Ingólfr Arnarson. :D

[azrednek]

I am not related to anyone known. We have been Icelandic for ca. 11 centuries.

Being a descendant of Vikings is really something to be proud of !!

[brstevns]

Being a descendant of Vikings is really something to be proud of !!
Yes Sir, Something to really be proud of.
Just found I am related to the late actress Elizabeth Montgomery. But very distant cousins

[bob208]

related to peter little founder of littlestown pa. he was German his last name was klein. but it was an English land grant so he changed it to the English little.

[27judge]

General John Sevier was my ( many greats) uncle . He was a Frontiersman, Politician, and the first governor of Tenn. Sevierville Tenn. is named after him. tks KEN

[brstevns]

There has been a lot of interesting reading in this thread. I hope it continues.

[Geraldo]

German farmers and Hungarian peasants. My paternal grandparents claimed a couple of famous ancestors but research proved that was BS.

What I found in genealogy is that all the personal stories and history are interesting.

[TenTea]

^^^ Geraldo!!! (I'd claim you rather than him.) :D

William the Conqueror
Admiral David Glasgow Farragut
President Chester A. Aurthur

...according to one of my long lost great uncles {/shrug}

The family line stops with me as the only male offspring on one branch of the tree!

When I die they'll say, "dogs loved him and he sure had some nice guns!" HAHA!

[brstevns]

Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis and Clark expedition . Is one more in my tree, but a far distant cousin.

[brstevns]

Surely there must be more members that would like to talk about there relatives?

[azrednek]

Surely there must be more members that would like to talk about there relatives?

I could tell some real tales of those I really wish I were not related to then I could tell some in-law horror stories.

[quilbilly]

Commanding Officer of the 1st South Carolina in the Great Rebellion from just after Sumpter to the Wilderness Campaign (my great grandfather) and his grand father raised a regiment from the Anderson, South Carolina area in the War for Independence. My family is just a bunch of independence loving malcontents.

[brstevns]

Thomas (Black Jack) Ketchem and his brother Sam, Western outlaws that rode with Butch Cassidy. 6th cousins