Ever find famous people in your line?

[Drunken Irishman]

I did. I actually posted about this in the lounge some time ago, but thought I would again.

On my father's side, if you go back a few generations from his father's grandmother, you'll pick up a Kennedy family line. Originally I just assumed it was a typical Kennedy, until I traced it back to an Alexander Kennedy. Alexander Kennedy is 10th great grandfather of John Kennedy. The Kennedy line goes like this:

Alexander Kennedy
|
Margery Sophia Kennedy (it's interesting to note she married a Kennedy, not sure it's a family member, though)
|
Gilbert Kennedy
|
Gilbert Kennedy
|
Gilbert Kennedy
|
Thomas Kennedy
|
John Kennedy
|
Patrick Kennedy
|
Patrick Kennedy
|
Patrick Kennedy
|
Patrick Joseph Kennedy
|
Joseph Patrick Kennedy
|
John Fitzgerald Kennedy

My line starts when Margery Sophia Kennedy (the 9th Great Grandmother of John Kennedy) married William Wallace. She had actually married him prior to marrying Gilbert Kennedy -- where that Kennedy line starts.

I thought it was interesting, none the less. What about you, find any famous names in your tree?

[fudge stripe cookays]

1. Only a semi-few, and not Kennedys

Crombie Taylor was an architect, and was one of the world's foremost Louis Sullivan preservation experts and lecturers.

Susan Seaforth Hayes of Days of Our Lives is about my 4th cousin once removed, I think. Her husband Bill and I e-mail and mail each other goodies from time to time.

Howard Day wasn't really famous, but in his day he was quite the scandal. Several years after the Scopes Trial, he was fired from a bible college in Alabama for questioning the stories of Noah and Jonah in an address before the school. His tory made headlines around the world, and his daughter still has all the letters he was sent, pro AND con. He later went on to teach at Sacramento City College for 37 years.

Edwin Gilcher was a noted bibliographer of the works of Irish writer George Moore. I think he's also around 4th cousins. Haven't checked the degree there.

That's it for me.

[CBHagman]

2. How fortunate you are!

It's cool that you can establish the link.

As for us, well, I haven't any proof of famous relatives. Family lore indicates that we're related to the first American-born cardinal, John McCloskey, and also to Saint Thomas a Becket. I have great hopes of proving the McCloskey link and very little hope of establishing the Saint Thomas connection. Still, it's fun to speculate.

[Bitwit1234]

3. Some how I didn't like this one but

I found out it was a different line...an ancestorial cousin married a Peter Coulter. Damn did I check that out. Well Ann Counter's relatives came to this county in the late 1800's and to New York. My line was here in the 1700's...Thank goodness.

But an ancestorial cousin married Cole Younger. She was about a 15th cousin connection.

Some people in my line of Purcells have tried to connect my great great great grandfather to be the son of Margaret Randolph and another George Purcell. Now the Margaret Randolph is supposed to be related to Thomas Jefferson. First this Margaret Randolph, I don't think is even related to Jefferson. I think they lived in the neighborhood and the families associated, and they named their children after Jefferson. Second my George Purcell was born in Prince William County Virginia and never went to Kentucky with the other George Purcells family. Of course there were a bunch of Purcells living in Prince William and the town of Purcellville was named after them. You know, the whole bunch all lived to gether in that area, people started calling it Purcellville and it stuck. That's how a lot of places got it's name.

[CBHagman]

4. That was a close call!

One does feel for anyone unfortunate enough to be related to the highly unpleasant creature in the black dress.

Then again, a little research and you'll find some sort of grim surprise on your family tree. It's the price of the pursuit.

[Drunken Irishman]

5. Speaking of famous Catholics, I've found a link to Charles Carroll of Carrollton.

He was the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence. And one of the most famous Irish-Americans.

Our line connects at Thomas Brooke, as Charles Carroll's mother was Elizabeth Brooke. Thomas Brooke is his great, great, great, great grandfather. He would've been my 12th great grandfather on my dad's side.

[Spider Jerusalem]

27. That would possibly make us distant cousins, then.

Thomas Brooke (great-grandfather of Charles Carroll of Carrollton) was married to Eleanor Hatton, whose father Richard Hatton is my 11th great-grandfather (my line is through his daughter Elizabeth, who married Luke Gardiner; Luke Gardiner and Elizabeth Hatton's descendants include Francis Scott Key and F. Scott Fitzgerald).

[sybylla]

6. A couple...

I'm a direct descendent of Nicolas Perrot, who accompanied Marquette and Joliet on their trip through the Great Lakes and down the Mississippi. Following that, he worked for a fur trading company and was the first European to make contact with several upper Great Lakes tribes. He learned several native languages. Eventually he became commander of the trading post at Green Bay. He even wrote a book on his experiences entitled, Memoire Sur Les Moeurs, Coustumes Et Relligion Des Sauvages De L'Amerique Septentrionale, about the tribes he worked with and his efforts in negotiating trade agreements and, sometimes peace. I'm hoping one day to get a copy of the 1864 edition. It is used as a primary source in so much of the research that is conducted today on Native American history, but hardly anyone knows about him in the US. In Canada, he is a legend.

I long thought I also shared ancestors with Oliver Wolcott, who signed the Declaration of Independence. The Wolcott Family Association has recently questioned that connection. I remain skeptical of their skepticism.

But my husband, being a thorough Yankee, has several Mayflower ancestors and is either descended from or shares ancestors with Robert Treat Paine, Stephen Hopkins and Roger Sherman - signers of the Declaration of Independence - all on his father's side and with his mother's side full of early Dutch connections, I can add shared ancestors with the Roosevelts (a couple of times) and Humphrey Bogart.

You would think with all that in his background, he'd be far more interested in his family history than he is. Instead, all he does when I point these discoveries out to him is shrug his shoulders and say "all that and still I have no money."

[fudge stripe cookays]

8. Very cool!

I forgot to say that on my mom's side we had an original settler of Montreal who was a syndic and quite prominent. He had like 10 kids, a few of whom became adventureurs up and down the Mississippi and Gulf Coast.

Place d'Urbain Baudreau de Gravelines in Montreal is named after him. Perhaps our Frenchies were cousins! Then you and I would have even more fun meeting in Madison!

:hug:

But his line has already been traced to death, and tons of people have written stuff on it and family reunions have been happening for the last 25 years or so. I wanted to blaze a new trail that no one had researched! :patriot:

[sybylla]

10. Ooo, cousins. I like that!

The name's not familiar, though. After researching my French Canadian connections and learning the fact that almost all early families (thanks to financial incentives from the French government) had great gobs of children, I decided we're probably all related somewhere along the line if our ancestors only stayed in the country for a generation or two.

My dad does business with a small Canadian firm in Quebec. He found out one of the owners was into genealogy and so he took along a printout of the main lines of our French Canadian ancestors on his last trip to visit the company. Turns out we're cousins several times over.

[fudge stripe cookays]

11. Yup!

And named almost every one Jean Baptiste or Marie Madeleine after the patron saints of the province! Oy!

We've got TONS of last names in addition to that one, but I haven't looked at that side in so long I've forgotten most of them. There were just SO FREAKING MANY. But they've already been documented. Boring for me.

reprehensor and I have a joke. He's half Metis on his mom's side, and through that is related to most of the early first peoples of Northern Alberta. Gail Morin's book on the Metis documents most of them.

One of his very early grandfathers (I forgot which-- maybe 5th or 6th) was Iroquois, from Quebec. And Urbain's father in law was scalped by Iroquois. So we say that his ancestors were scalping my ancestors, but only because my ancestors were oppressing his first.

And we've found Patenaudes on both sides- I'd lay ya 10 to 1 there's a connection there somewhere.

:D

[sybylla]

12. Ha - It's the same in my family

MadAsHell's grandmother was Seneca - an Iroquois Nation. And my ancestors came to Canada to kick their butts. We've definitely got to be related!

[NOLALady]

18. I think your Gravelines populated half of Canada.

They are connected to everybody! The Lalandes are similar. I'm not directly connected to them, but I have tons in my database as they are married to everybody.

[fudge stripe cookays]

19. They populated half of everywhere!

When the king told them to be fruitful and multiply to create French Canada, they were definitely listening!

Seriously, to look at the tree, everyone in the family had 10 or 12 kids, then those kids had 10 or 12, and everyone named their kid Jean Baptiste or Marie Madeleine. Aiyee!

It had been traced to death. That bored me. So I settled on my Smiths to work on, since no one else had been brave enough to do it. I like a challenge! :D

[NOLALady]

20. Well, Smiths are a challenge! You are one brave cookay.

Good Luck with that! My cousin's are Smith's from Pointee Coupee Parish in Louisiana. So, if you find any Smiths in that area I have a wee bit of info, but not much.

You're right, they (Gravelines) populated half of everywhere. I've found their Louisiana/Mississippi connections, also.

[fudge stripe cookays]

22. Most of the hard part...

(the Smiths) is done, believe it or not! Now, I'm tracking all the daughters' families from various branches whose descendants all had other names. :D Yay me!

I was so lucky to be from a main branch where my uncle traced quite a bit in the 1970s. I inherited all his research (a very cool article from the 1930s in the Beloit, Wisconsin newspaper written by a descendant), some Civil War records for two of the brothers, an obituary or two, and his trees hand-drawn on butcher paper. Those allowed me to know that the folks I was finding in various censuses were indeed the correct "Smiths."

Because he was closer to the first generation (or what I THOUGHT was the first generation), I was able to find ALL NINE of my great grandfather's brothers and sisters, and then last year, I traveled up to the Finger Lakes region and found so much that I had to take the book back an extra generation!

Right now (when I'm employed and have some vacation saved up), I'm poised to make a trip to Northampton County, Pennsylvania to begin making our "Schmidts" more concrete, and see if I can find our "Ancestor Zero", the first Schmidt who came to America. They were Pennsylvania Dutch, and were Schmidts before they were Smiths. No LA connections, sorry!

[kdmorris]

7. Yes, but I hate talking about it.

I just posted this on another thread here:

Me:
Direct Descendants of Jonathan Weir

1 Jonathan Weir b: Bet. 1750 - 1760 in , Rockbridge, VA, USA m Mary Polly Pettus m: ~1780
2 Hugh Weir b: 1789 in , Washington, TN, USA m Margaret Rankin b: May 12, 1798 m: 1810
3 John A. Wear b: Jan 06, 1820 in , Blount, TN, USA m Catherine Jones Smith b: Dec 03, 1826 in TN, USA m: Oct 15, 1845 in TN, USA
4 Mary Catherine Wear b: Mar 03, 1852 in MO, USA m William Martin Gatliff b: Dec 15, 1842 in KY, USA m: Dec 07, 1872 in TX, USA
5 Nora Jane Gatliff b: Mar 03, 1885 in Burnet, Burnet, TX, USA m Sumpter Stafford Huffman b. April 24, 1877 Liberty, TX, USA m: Sept. 24, 1900 in TX, USA.
6 My grandfather
7 My father
8 Me

Bush:

Direct Descendants of Jonathan Weir

1 Jonathan Weir b: Bet. 1750 - 1760 in , Rockbridge, VA, USA m Mary Polly Pettus m: 1780
2 James Hutchenson Weir b: Sep 30, 1789 in , Blount, TN, USA m Elizabeth Gault m: Oct 27, 1812 in Knoxville, , TN, USA
3 William Gault Weir b: Dec 11, 1817 in , Blount, TN, USA m Sarah Armanda Yancey
4 James Hutchenson Wear b: Sep 30, 1838 in Otterville, , MO, USA m Nannie E. Holliday m: Dec 04, 1866 in St. Louis, , MO, USA
5 Lucretia Wear b: Sep 17, 1874 in St. Louis, , MO, USA m George Herbert Walker b: Jun 11, 1875 in St. Louis, , MO, USA
6 Dorothy Walker b: Jul 01, 1901 in Walker's Point, York, ME, USA m Prescott Sheldon Bush b: May 15, 1895 in Columbus, , OH, USA m: Aug 06, 1921 in Kennebunkport, York, ME, USA
7 George Herbert Walker Bush b: Jun 12, 1924 in Rye, , NY, USA m Barbara Pierce
8 George Walker Bush b: Jul 06, 1946 in New Haven, , CT, USA

[OnionPatch]

56. Don't feel too bad.

I just found out there is a connection to the Bush family way back in my tree, too. According to Ancestry.com, my grandmother is H W Bush's 7th or 8th cousin or something like that. I'm very new to genealogy and don't know how much I should trust this info. I haven't traced the exact connection yet. I hope it turns out to be wrong but the scary thing is that I always thought my grandma looked a lot like W. :puke:

On edit: I found the names/relationship. If you aren't ashamed to post yours, I'll post mine. ;)

Direct descendents of Elizabeth Barnes

Elizabeth Barnes
Mary Mercer
Elizabeth Veazey
Sarah Arrants
Anne Price
Millicent Ann George
Ford Demelvin George
James Horace George
Mary Eleanor George
Emerson Sanders
Me

Direct descendents of Elizabeth Barnes

Elizabeth Barnes
Joseph Macgregory
Rebecca McGregory
William Davis
Rebecca Davis
Harriet Mercer
David Davis Walker
George Herbert Walker
Dorothy Walker
George Herbert Walker Bush
Shithead

Does this make Shrub my 11th cousin?

[Cybergata]

9. From my maternal Grandmother's . . .

Puritan ancestors, I have two lines that connect to all sorts of European royalty & peerage, all evil bastards of course. ;-) My father's Hispanic New Mexican ancestors are only famous to people who have any knowledge of New Mexican History. If U.S. History started with the first European settlements in what is today the U.S. (Florida followed by New Mexico), then my Hispanic ancestors would be the equivalent to my Mayflower ancestors like John Alden. If I lived in New England, I could brag about having Elder William Brewster as an ancestor, but here in New Mexico having Pedro Gomez Durán y Cháves as an ancestor is a much bigger deal. Or Jacinto Sánches de Iñigo, even though someone recently figured out he was the bastard son of an early priest in Santa Fé.

[Kind of Blue]

54. Hey! My husband is wondering if y Chaves is any relation to

Sen. Dennis Chavis of New Mexico who is my mother-in-law's uncle? Keeping in the New Mexico frame, my husband is a descendant of Capt. Juan Onata, first mayor (governor) of Albuquerque, 1598.

[WritersBlock]

13. Not me, but my ex has John Wesley Hardin in his line.

Looks just like him, too.


Acts sorta like him, too, come to think of it.

[Thirtieschild]

14. None. Either Southern PWT* or Mennonites and Amish in PA

*PWT - Poor White Trash

A famous religious fanatic (e.g. Cromwell) turns up every so often only to be disproved.

[NOLALady]

15. Have any of you with French Canadian ancestry

found a link with HRC?

[sybylla]

16. I haven't looked at her line

I wasn't aware she had French Canadian ancestry.

[NOLALady]

17. Yes she does through her Mother's line.

http://www.wargs.com/political

She has some of the following in her line...

*Launay/ de Launay/Delaunay/Delaunaise

*Jean Cusson b.c.1630 and M.Foubert

*Guyon and Huet

*Gilles

Guerin dit LaFontaine

Bordeau and Lefebvre

Campeau and Robert dit LaFontaine

*=my Aubuchons descend from these folks.

[sybylla]

24. Then Hillary and I do share ancestors

Looking at that website, I see two pairs we have in common: Jean Cusson & Marie Foubert plus Mathurin Langevin and Francoise Disle in the last generation they show. There are a couple of other family names in the list but no other visible connections - perhaps we join further back.

I guess that makes you and me cousins as well through the Cussons. :hi:



On edit: As my husband was born a Yankee, I checked out a couple other politicians and it turns out he shares Dutch and Mayflower ancestors with Howard Dean but it will really mess with him when I tell him he also shares a few Mayflower ancestors with Dan Quayle.

[NOLALady]

25. Elizabeth Cusson b.c.1665

the daughter of Jean Cusson and Marie Foubert...w/o Joseph dit L'Espérance Aubuchon

She's the Mother of Antoine Aubuchon who married Elizabeth Delaunaise (de Launay)

Their son Antoine "Tonish" Aubuchon had two families concurrently...ten children each.

I am descended from Tonish and Elizabeth (Zabetta) D'Atcherut.

So far I've found only one branch of that family that came back to New Orleans. The earliest record is a baptism of 1807.


Hubby is descended from the Trudeau line via Charles LaVeau Trudeau b.c.1750. Marie LaVeau (New Orleans Voodoo Queen) was his Grandaughter. She's also a 4thGAunt of hubby. I love to tease him about it.

Always great to meet another cuz:hi:

[sybylla]

29. The Cusson's had 16 children by my count - I expect we're related to half of Canada by now.

My Cusson decendency goes through their daughter Marie born 1658 who married Maurice Rivet/Rivest.

Then through their son Nicolas Rivest b. 1691 who married Marie-Anne Langois.

Then through their son Louis-Nicolas Rivest who married Marie-Louise Goulet and on through male lines until my 3rd great grandmother Marie-Madeleine-Charlotte Rivest/Rivers(stupid English conversion) came to Wisconsin with her husband, Andre Wilcott in the 1860's. Her Rivest cousins supposedly were the first settlers in the city I was born in but I haven't found the exact family link yet. I figure it's pretty good stock, though, as my 3rd great grandmother lived to be 98 years old. I am lucky to have several photos of her - each one of them labeled with a different first name, I think. The French are insane with all the names.

[NOLALady]

30. Then you're on the same line with Angelina Jolie

through Charles Rivest.

You are fortunate indeed to have photos of a 3rd GGMother.

I have 14 children listed. I guess I'm missing a couple.

[sybylla]

31. That's cool!

Since Jolie's mother was French, I assume that connection comes through her father's line.

Here are the 16 children I have found. At the moment, I don't have the sources handy but I can tell you they come from either Tanguay, Jette or the local baptismal, marriage and burial records for Cap-de-la-Madeleine and St. Sulpice. If you really want to know, tell me the two you're missing and I'll find my sources for them.

Marie b. c1658
Jean b. c1659
Marie-Madeleine b. c1662
Jeanne b. c1663
Elisabeth b. c1665
Michelle b. c1666
Michel b. c1667
Marguerite b. c1670
Jean-Baptiste b. c1671
Charles b. c1672
Marie-Jeanne b. Jan 3 1674
Pierre b. Oct 10 1675, d. Jan 30 1701
Ange b. Apr 7 1679
Catherine b. Feb 25 1681
Nicolas b. Nov 13 1682
Joseph b 1685

[NOLALady]

32. Thank You.

I mixed up my Nicolas and Charles. I also had one less Marie.

You're right about Angelina Jolie.


Jean Cusson m. Marie Foubert
.Marie Cusson m. Maurice Rivet
.Charles Rivet m. Marie Josephe des Marais
.Marie Anne Rivet m. Joachim Levesque
.Antoine Levesque m. Marie Justine Payet
.Antoine Levesque m. Josephte Chaput
.Marceline Levesque m. Basile Perreault
.Marie Aglae Perreault m. Leon Bertrand
.Louis Bertrand m. Marie Virginie Adelphine Maillet
.George Bertrand m. Angeline Leduc
.Rolland Bertrand m. Lois June Gouwens
.MARCHELINE BERTRAND, actress (1950-2007) m. JONATHAN VOIGHT, actor (b. 1938)
.ANGELINA JOLIE , actress (b. 1975)

[kestrel91316]

34. I have a photo of a 4th g-grandmother! Mary Vandermark, she

was born in OH or PA, married Stephen Vandermark, we don't know her maiden name. Came via Iowa to Denver with son Hiram Vandermark who founded the first dairy in Denver. They came across the plains in a covered wagon c 1865. Hiram was my great-grandmother's grandfather. I have several pics of him, too - one with him and the horse-drawn dairy cart.

The Mary Vandermark photo shows a cranky-looking elderly woman in 1860s attire.

I feel honored to be our family's unofficial archivist and genealogist.

[dragonlady]

26. I found Howard Dean too

Also Grant, FDR, and a pair of recent presidents who don't bear mentioning, plus Laura Ingalls Wilder and Daniel Webster. None of these are in a direct line, mind you--my ancestors were all simple farmers. But my grandpa was the mayor of a small town in Iowa a hundred years ago, if that counts (didn't think so).

:hi:

[sybylla]

28. That counts with me, Dragonlady

Most of my family were simple farmers, too. Only this one line of my grandfathers that starts in New England and Early Canada has any famous people attached to it.

[kestrel91316]

21. Supposedly descended directly from Geoffrey Chaucer, though

I am not convinced. There IS a strong thread of writing tendencies in my family - (niece is in the Writer's Workshop at U of IA for pete's sake, getting her MFA in creative writing). So it's an interesting proposition.

What with all the New England puritans heavily populating BOTH sides of my family, you can imagine all the English nobility way back. Supposedly Henry VII, Edward III, Edward I. These are pretty certain. One of my favorites is my supposed descent from Don Diego Gomez, Alcalde (mayor) of Toledo, Spain - this link mentions some of my ancestry:
http://nltaylor.net/sketchbook/archives/72

[yellerpup]

23. Oconostota

(aka Aganatstata, Stalking Turkey, Cunne Shote - all the same guy) He was Chief of the Cherokee from 1775-1781. His image is said to the be one depicted on the City of Nashville (TN) flag and he is buried outside the Tellico Dam in TN with a memorial marker at his gravesite. He was dug up and relocated before they opened the gates of the dam and they recognized him because he was buried in a canoe (he liked the idea of coffins, which the Cherokee didn't use) which Cherokees didn't do and they knew it was him because he was buried also with his reading glasses in this vest pocket. He did not like the way the Europeans did business. Also in the same line but not a direct descendent of mine is George Gist (Guess) also known as Sequoya.

[Spider Jerusalem]

33. Quite a few more or less distant cousins..

both famous and infamous (but then, if you trace a line that extends back to the 1600's or earlier forward, you'll probably find all sorts of unexpected people).

Sir Winston Churchill, Lady Diana Spencer, F. Scott Fitzgerald, G. Gordon Liddy, Confederate General James Longstreet, Paris Hilton (common descent from William Offley, 1480-1560, of Staffordshire and Cheshire, England...in most cases the connection is through a more recent ancestor)

Elizabeth II, the novelist Anthony Trollope, Confederate Admiral Raphael Semmes (common descent from Henry Clitheroe, 1540-1607, London merchant)

Roger Taney (US Supreme Court chief justice), Bob Dole (common descent from Richard Ewen, one of Cromwell's commissioners who governed Maryland under the Commonwealth)

John Edwards, Henry Jamison "Jam" Handy (Olympic bronze medallist, producer of training films, MST3K in-joke) (common descent from Samuel Handy, c. 1645-1721, emigrant to Maryland 1665)

Bill Clinton (probable shared descent from John Langston, c, 1620-1694, emigrant to Virginia c. 1650's)

Isabella Seymour-Conway (Marchioness of Hertford; mistress of the Prince Regent, later George IV), Bob Woodward, Kathleen Turner, Joseph Cotten (shared descent from Edmund Scarburgh, emigrant to Virginia c. 1625)

Sam Walton (of Wal-Mart; shared descent from Martin Nalle, emigrated to Virginia c. late 1600's)

George W Bush, Clint Eastwood: shared descent from John Carman, emigrated to Long Island c. 1640's

PG Wodehouse, JEB Stuart, Upton Sinclair, Lord North (Prime minister of Great Britain during the American Revolution) (shared descent from an Edmund Hewett, of Yorkshire, England)

[Joe Chi Minh]

41. Are they all descent, or some consanguines and some affines?

Some of my consanguines and affines are so amazing as to seem improbable. Drake (through his wife, a Sydenham), Shakespeare (through a man called Bushell) and St Thomas More, for example, are affines.

An Admiral Sir William Wynter, Surveyor of the Navy (also a privateer) was a great, great, etc, grand-pappy. Also his son, John, a vice-admiral, together with a third son (ancestral uncle), Benedict, slain in 1588 by the Spaniards in the battle against the Armada. They had earlier circumnavigated the globe with Drake.

Browsing in a book on the Royal Navy in Tudor Times in a local public libratry, I read that there was some saying, perhaps pronounced by the Braham seer, that the French would never be driven from Scotland, until winter came twice in a year. Here is a reference to its occurrence:

"In accordance with the terms of this treaty an English fleet under Admiral Winter arrived in the Forth. It had been delayed by storms, but the same storm that had detained Winter’s ships had also driven a French fleet on its way to Leith to ruin on the Danish coast. Two of these French ships, however, richly laden with much-needed stores, eluded the English vessels and came to anchor off the mouth of the harbour under the protection of the French guns. But misfortune was yet to overtake them, for while their officers, in the belief that their ships were perfectly safe, were supping with the queen-regent, a Leith sailorman, Andrew Sandes by name and one of a family of noted Leith mariners, with some kindred spirits, all apparently of Protestant leanings and all in league with the English admiral, stealthily rowed out to the Roads in the darkness of the winter night, boarded the two French ships, and, after a sharp conflict, carried them off to the English fleet.

Two months after Elizabeth’s fleet had begun to blockade Leith from the sea, Lord Grey and the English army joined the Scots in enclosing it on the land side. The English commander made himself comfortable in the deanery at Restalrig while his men lay encamped between that village and the Links. Whether Scotland was to remain Catholic or become Protestant was to depend upon the fate of Leith. The English troops had scarcely arrived, when the French, undeterred by their superior numbers, sallied out from Leith, and, crossing the Links, took possession of the heights of Hawkhill, where a fierce but unequal contest raged for several hours. The French were at last forced to retreat, and withdrew behind their ramparts.

A fuller story of the siege is here:

http://www.electricscotland.com/history/leith/22.htm

Further down the line, a descendant called Mary married a William Blathwayte, Secretary of State to William III, Clerk of the Privy Council to Charles II, James II, William III and Queen Anne. Here is a Wikipedia link I found the other day:

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

Oddly enough, I came across this reference to him and Captain Kydd in a fantastic book entitled, Raiders and Rebels by Frank Sherry, recommended to me by Autorank:

"Toward that end, Kydd carried letter of recommendation from James Graham, Attorney General of New York, addressed to William Blathwayte, a political figure who had a reputation as a man able to obtain favours for friends. Unfortunately for Kydd, Blathwayte was away from London - in Flanders with the king - when Kydd arrived in the city."

Every now and again, I get the bug and start browsing through it and looking up this and that on Google.

[Spider Jerusalem]

43. All by descent...

a good many of my 16th-century ancestors were fairly prominent members of the London merchant class--Henry Clitheroe, for instance, was an alderman and Master of the Ironmongers' Company; he financed privateering voyages and was one of the underwriters of Raleigh's second Roanoke expedition, and his son, Sir Christopher, was Lord Mayor of London and governor of the East India Company.

Others were the younger sons of gentry families who sought opportunity elsewhere; Edmund Scarburgh was from a Yorkshire family, educated at Caius College, Cambridge, and by profession a barrister; he was a justice and member of the House of Burgesses after emigrating to Virginia (his daughter and second son accompanied him; his eldest son, Charles, remained behind in England to complete his education, and was eventually an MP, original FRS, and physician to Charles II, James II, and William and Mary; he studied under Harvey at Oxford and tutored Christopher Wren--his son, however, seems to be best described as a 'useless fop'; he was gentleman of the bedchamber to Prince George of Denmark and had a sinecure position in the Royal Household).

[Joe Chi Minh]

46. I meant that being descended from emperors, paladins, kings, palatine earls, etc,

seem to be more commonplace than having a lot of more colourful villains lower down the line in society - not that I didn't have the former. Though most people are similarly descended. It's just having a crucial link.

An example of what I mean is Kevin Barry. I'd heard from lads in the army that he was an Irish nationalist hero, and only knew that he would be descended from William De Barry of Manorbier, in Pembrokeshire, South Wales; as were the earls of Desmond and Kildare - and the plain Fitzgeralds.

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

;)

[Joe Chi Minh]

48. One of the earls of Desmond was also an Irish nationalist. He was given a plantation in

Ireland by the English for the purpose of suppressing the Irish, but evidently quickly came to think the world of them, and instead led a rebellion against the English, for which he was beheaded.

There are hilariously conficting accounts of him. In a library book I read that his kind of fiefdom was utterly, utterly lawless, like the Wild West on steroids. But when I mentioned this to an Irish priest he said oh, no, he was a most civilised and gentlemanly man, a poet and all sorts of other stuff!

[Joe Chi Minh]

47. Google indicates I was misinformed about Thomas Bushell's being related to

Shakespeare. In fact, he worked for Francis Bacon.

http://www.fbrt.org.uk/pages/essays/essay-bacon's%20good%20pens.html

[Up2Late]

35. Yes, it seems almost half of my cousins have their own Wikipedia page

Here are a few in no particular order:

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright

Abraham Abraham, founder or Abraham & Straus Department store

Ivan Albright -- a magic realist painter and artist

Joseph Medill Patterson (founded the New York Daily News)

Alicia Patterson (founded New York Newsday) and was married to

Harry Frank Guggenheim, former Ambassador to Cuba

Elinor Josephine Medill "Cissy" Patterson -- first women to head a major daily newspaper, the Washington Times-Herald in Washington D.C.

Joseph Medill -- former Mayor of Chicago and part owner and business manager and managing editor of the Chicago Tribune

Meyer Guggenheim -- father of the famous New York Guggenheim family

Isidor Straus -- co-owner of the Macy's department store

There are more, but I think my favorite person, who I would have loved to have met was

Marjorie A Content who was a New York City Artist and Photographer

<http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F04EFDD123EF935A35757C0A9679C8B63>

She was a close friend Georgia O'Keeffe and her fourth marriage was to Harlem Renaissance poet Jean Toomer.

[grantcart]

36. Just Mormon Royalty

My grandfather was a grand nephew to the 7th President of the Mormon Church
Heber J Grant
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heber_J._Grant

My great (x6)grandfather was Jedediah Morgan Grant Bringham Young's right hand man and the first mayor of Salt Lake City.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jedediah_Morgan_Grant


Its helpful when Mormon missionaries stop by and try to convert us.

[CountAllVotes]

37. Revolutionary War heros and DAR's as well

I just found these people. There are a lot of them. My great great grandmother was one of them.

The surname is ISHAM. They were to be found in Connecticut c. 1700 or so. Wow!

:kick:

[dpbrown]

38. I'm G.H.W. Bush's 7th Cousin

And "W"'s 7th cousin once removed.

Sigh. Well, at least I can claim Geofrey Chaucer as my 17th Great-Grandfather.

[NOLALady]

39. Are you also connected to

Barack Obama? He's connected to the Bushes also.

[kdmorris]

40. I'm his 8th cousin

Join me in my sorrow!!

[dpbrown]

42. I feel your pain!!!

:(

Are you from the Woodworths?

[kdmorris]

44. No, the Walkers (Weirs). I posted the line further up

But here it is again:

Me:
Direct Descendants of Jonathan Weir

1 Jonathan Weir b: Bet. 1750 - 1760 in , Rockbridge, VA, USA m Mary Polly Pettus m: ~1780
2 Hugh Weir b: 1789 in , Washington, TN, USA m Margaret Rankin b: May 12, 1798 m: 1810
3 John A. Wear b: Jan 06, 1820 in , Blount, TN, USA m Catherine Jones Smith b: Dec 03, 1826 in TN, USA m: Oct 15, 1845 in TN, USA
4 Mary Catherine Wear b: Mar 03, 1852 in MO, USA m William Martin Gatliff b: Dec 15, 1842 in KY, USA m: Dec 07, 1872 in TX, USA
5 Nora Jane Gatliff b: Mar 03, 1885 in Burnet, Burnet, TX, USA m Sumpter Stafford Huffman b. April 24, 1877 Liberty, TX, USA m: Sept. 24, 1900 in TX, USA.
6 My grandfather
7 My father
8 Me

Bush:

Direct Descendants of Jonathan Weir

1 Jonathan Weir b: Bet. 1750 - 1760 in , Rockbridge, VA, USA m Mary Polly Pettus m: 1780
2 James Hutchenson Weir b: Sep 30, 1789 in , Blount, TN, USA m Elizabeth Gault m: Oct 27, 1812 in Knoxville, , TN, USA
3 William Gault Weir b: Dec 11, 1817 in , Blount, TN, USA m Sarah Armanda Yancey
4 James Hutchenson Wear b: Sep 30, 1838 in Otterville, , MO, USA m Nannie E. Holliday m: Dec 04, 1866 in St. Louis, , MO, USA
5 Lucretia Wear b: Sep 17, 1874 in St. Louis, , MO, USA m George Herbert Walker b: Jun 11, 1875 in St. Louis, , MO, USA
6 Dorothy Walker b: Jul 01, 1901 in Walker's Point, York, ME, USA m Prescott Sheldon Bush b: May 15, 1895 in Columbus, , OH, USA m: Aug 06, 1921 in Kennebunkport, York, ME, USA
7 George Herbert Walker Bush b: Jun 12, 1924 in Rye, , NY, USA m Barbara Pierce
8 George Walker Bush b: Jul 06, 1946 in New Haven, , CT, USA

[Montauk6]

45. President Grover Cleveland

My wife's a distant cousin.

[Mr. McD]

49. Charlemagne, King of the Franks

Holy Roman Emperor, My 37th great grandfather

Louis I, King of the Franks 36th
Charles II, King of the Franks 35th
Louis II, King of the Franks 34rd.
Charles III, King of the Franks 33nd
Louis IV, King of the Franks 32st
Charles of Lorraine, Duke of Lower Lorraine 31th

Bernard II, Duke of Saxony 29th great grandfather different lineage

These are the ancestors of one of my 18th great grandmothers (Alice Marmion) according to the book “Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America Before 1700”. I only bought the book last week so there is much more to explore.

[Spider Jerusalem]

50. It's pretty much a certainty that anyone of European ancestry is a descendant of Charlemagne

He's my 38th great-grandfather; that's 41 generations. The number of one's ancestors increases by a power of two for each generation; 41 generations back, one would have 2,199,023,255,552 direct ancestors. That's considerably more than the total number of people who have ever lived; there were probably somewhere near fifty million people in all of Europe c. AD 750, so the probability that anyone of European ancestry is NOT a descendant of Charlemagne is near zero. (Of course the number of descendants of Charlemagne who can establish a genealogical link is significantly less than the total number of descendants.)

[Mr. McD]

51. My thoughts exactly

I have done the math 2^40-1 We are all related.

[dflprincess]

52. Mike Farrell (B.J. Hunnicutt from M*A*SH*)

His great-grandma and my great grandpa were siblings. My mother recalls meeting him when he was just a little kid before his family left St. Paul. To the best of my knowledge "cousin Mike" lives in ignorant bliss about our relationship.

I have a picture of our mutal great-great-grandfather and the older Farrell gets the more I think he resembles that picture.

[Tracer]

53. Turns out that my kids are ...

... 10th cousins to the Fondas --- Jane, Peter (and Henry).

[davidinalameda]

55. My great-grandmother's maiden name was James

and she supposedly met Frank James at a wake way back when