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Link to Anyone Famous??
I'd be interested to hear anyone's story or stories about being linked to someone famous. I think these stories are facinating and love to hear how it all came about.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Heather Wilkinson Rojo on -
I've got lots of regular farmers and housewives in my family tree, and descended of only a few famous folk (Capt. Myles Standish, General John Glover, witchcraft victims John Proctor and George Jacobs) but I came close to a few more who were much more famous. I have many great grandmothers who had sisters who married well, including the mother of Benjamin Franklin, the mother of Count Rumford, the mother-in-law to Queen Lilioukalani and the grandmothers of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Nathaniel Hawthorne. So close! But I'm not descended from any of these luminaries! It's fun to see how close we can come to some celebrities, but all those regular folks in the family tree have fascinating stories, sometimes even more interesting than the ones in the history books!
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Permalink Reply by Caren on -
Thru my Mayflower ancestors Im related to Princess Diana, The Bush's and tons of others.
My LDS ancestors include Levi Jackman (who's bio is online if ya know where to look), Anthony Edward Ivins (he got a town in Utah named after him. He's also in the Cowboy Hall of Fame).
I am also related to Lizzie Bordon.. Im a member of the Borden Project. A group dedicated to finding all descendents of the first Borden's in America, Richard Borden and his wife Joan Fowle (they are Lizzie Borden's direct ancestors 7 generations from her and my link to Lizzie *lol*)
http://www.thebordenproject.com/
I am also descended from all the royal families of Europe. There's a great cousin site that links all historical folk and celebrities together. I go to it often to see who Im related to. *lol*
http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~dav4is/people/index...
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Permalink Reply by GaryRea on -
I know what you mean about understanding this fascination and compulsion we all have to be related to someone famous or important. As I got into the use of DNA in genealogy, seven years ago, I began to how insignificant it all really is. The fact is, we are all of the same species and are, therefore, quite literally all cousins - just many, many times removed. By the time you get back to 150,000 years ago, our common ancestors were a handful of people on this earth. So, in that sense, we are ALL related to royalty and to the famous. It's just that some of us are more closely related to them than others are, that's all.
As for any significance to this fact, there really isn't any, save for whatever significance it may have to us, personally. Yes, I'm descended from the royalty of medieval Europe, but so are millions of other Americans who don't have a clue about their ancestry. Meanwhile, I'm still an architectural draftsman from Oklahoma City and I doubt very much that I'll be moving into any ancestral castles any time soon. ;)
Gary
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Permalink Reply by Bobbie Kohler on -
Found out recently that Hillary Clinton is something like 6th cousin twice removed, and that Kenny Chesney and I have the same great aunt in common.
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Permalink Reply by Macky Lebron Montalban on
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Hi, I new here. so far I like what I see....Regarding "anyone famous", I remember my mom saying that we were related to Ricardo Montalban....That is my maternal surname...I have to find out...will let you know. My name is Macky Lebron-Montalban and was born & raised in Puerto Rico. Now I live in Orange, California.
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Permalink Reply by Jeff Genet on
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I am a direct descendant of Edmond Charles Genet first ambassador from the new formed French Republic who came to American in 1794 and created quite a stir here during the French Revolution. His sister was Madam Campan, head of the queens bedchamber - Marie Antoinette. Edmond married Cornelia Clinton daughter of George Clinton and Cornelia Tappan. George was the first governor of the state of New York and fourth Vice President of the U.S. under Jefferson and Madison. The Clintons trace back to England and came with William the Conqueror in 1066. On my Cravath line I am directly related to Elizabeth Hooke who married Ezekiel Cravath. Her great-grandfather Humphrey Hooke was one of the original adventurers in the state of Maine who sent his son, William, her grandfather, to administer his investment. My grand-uncle, Clifford "Gavy" Cravath held the major league home run record before Babe Ruth with 24 hrs in 1915. Most of the family were farmers and moved west as the U.S. expanded to the Pacific Ocean.
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Permalink Reply by Anita Wills on -
There are several links in my lines that go back to famous people. One of the most infamous is Elizabeth of York, the mother of Henry VIII, which is on my direct female line. The link came from other family members who traced the lines back through Wales. The Welsh are believed to have been the original inhabitants of Britain, until the Anglo and Norman invasions. The Royal families merged after battles were fought (regardless of who won). My Lewis (LLewelyn) lines trace back to Wales on my male and female sides. It appears that the Lewis family intermarried with cousin's etc., (not uncommon during those days). This same line also connects to George Washington through his grandmother Mildred Warner Washington. Her mother Elizabeth Lewis Warner is related to the Royal Family in England. One of the persons who also connects to this line is ex Virginia Governor Mark Warner.
Another famous person I have linked to is President James Monroe. The Uncle of President James Monroe, William Monroe married a Mulatto woman (Mary Monroe), sometime around 1730. They resided in Westmoreland County Virginia, in the house of William Monroe Senior and his wife Anna (Babcock) Monroe. In 1730 a child was born to the couple and Mary Monroe was summoned in front of a Grand Jury. The charge against her was bastardy, and the reason was the birth of a Mulatto child. Although William and Mary Monroe believed they were married, the marriage was void. It was against the law for a white man to marry a mulatto woman. However, the Grand Jury threw out the case, because of the ambiguity of the law. However the record of the marriage continues to be stored at the courthouse in Montross Virginia. I don't expect a dinner invitation anytime soon, but I found this very interesting (smile).
There is a some subtle resistance to my making mention of these connections. I requested a reading at the Library of Virginia for my book, Pieces of the Quilt: The Mosaic of an African American Family, and was denied. The other organization that denied me a reading (also in Virginia), is the Black History Museum and Cultural Center. It seems that these organizations want nothing to do with the mixed raced references in my book.
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Permalink Reply by patsy adkins on -
Yes!!!
Dagmar who was famous comedic actor's from the 1950's from Wayne Co. WV. She was Blond and had had big boobs.lol.
She was Egnor and was my second cousin.
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Permalink Reply by Anita Wills on
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I remember her!!
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Permalink Reply by Barb Norvell on -
I am related to the actress Ann Sheridan. Her mother was my grand mother's sister. Ann's real name was Clara Lou and she made a few pictures under that name, but then the studio changed it to Ann Sheridan. Lula Warren was her mother and her father was George Washington Sheridan. They had 6 children and Clara Lou was the youngest. An older sister entered her in "Search for Beauty" contest. She won the contest, and that is how she got her start. She is my first cousin, once removed.
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Permalink Reply by Anita Wills on
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This is so true. I have a grandfather, who had an illegal liquor operation in the 1920's & 30's. He brewed his owned Corn Liquor and kept it stored in warehouses throughout Chester and Lancaster County Pennsylvania. I also have ancestors who were not heralded, but fought in the Revolutionary, War of 1812, and Civil Wars. The ones that are most interesting are those whose deeds were not recorded.
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Permalink Reply by Beth Gatlin on -
My grandparents told me that we are related to the writer Booth Tarkington. I was told this when I was younger, before I was researching genealogy, and my grandparents are no longer alive, but even then I knew enough to ask exactly what the relationship was. They couldn't tell me exactly, but apparently he was some sort of cousin. I haven't been able to get any further back with my Tarkington line than my great-great-great-grandfather Joseph Tarkington. His granddaughter was my grandfather's mother. Joseph Tarkington was from Tennessee and is believed to be related to the other Tarkingtons in Tennessee, who had come there from North Carolina. Booth Tarkington's ancestors came from that area too. So my grandparents were probably right, but I would like to know exactly what the relationship was!
And like many others, I am also descended from medieval royalty.
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