I recently discovered I'm a direct descendant of this person:

[J-rap]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_Werenskiold

 

Not that anyone has ever heard of him!   :)  ha   But it's interesting to me, nevertheless.  Also, we do have a lot of artists in the family, so that's a fun link as well.  Anyone else know who you are a direct descendant of?

 

 

[purpleowl]

Not sure about the "direct" part, but I am somehow related to this lady. I didn't learn about her (or that I'm related to her) until after DD#2 was born, but DD#2 shares her first name, and DS's first name is the same as her last name. His name had been chosen earlier as our "if we ever have a boy" name, because it's my grandmother's maiden name.

[NicksMama-Zack's Mama Too]

This is my dh's great, great, great aunt. She led a very interesting life.

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornelia_De_Bey

[Violet Crown]

I'm a direct descendant of the first American governor to institute a War on Christmas :

-------------

One ye day called Christmas-day, ye Govr caled them out to worke, (as was used,) but ye most of this new-company excused them selves and said it wente against their consciences to work on yt day. So ye Govr tould them that if they made it mater of conscience, he would spare them till they were better informed. So he led-away ye rest and left them; but when they came home at noone from their worke, he found them in ye streete at play, openly; some pitching ye barr, & some at stoole-ball, and such like sports. So he went to them, and tooke away their implements, and tould them that was against his conscience, that they should play & others worke. If they made ye keeping of it mater of devotion, let them kepe their houses, but ther should be no gameing or revelling in ye streets. Since which time nothing hath been atempted that way, at least openly.

[JFSinIL]

I can trace my folks on my mom's mom's side back to the 1630's, when half the town of Hingham, England up and went to Massachusetts (Bares or Bears Cove, soon thereafter renamed Hingham, close by but not next to Plymouth). BUT - none of them (Beal family) did anything to get into the history books as far as I can tell, nor any of their descendants. I still find it cool, though.

 

On my dad's dad's side, I have some Ogle relations who founded what is now Gatlinburg, TN. The original cabin is still there

http://www.angelfire.com/biz6/dciris/ogle.html scroll down to see the cabin

Edited December 19, 2015 by JFSinIL

[MercyA]

I'm a descendant of Hannah Duston. From Wikipedia (warning, disturbing content):

 

"During King William's War, Hannah, her husband Thomas, and their eight children were residents of Haverhill, Massachusetts. In March 1687, the town was attacked by a group of Abenaki Native American from Quebec. (In this attack, 27 colonists were killed, and 13 were taken captive to be either adopted or held as hostages for the French.) When their farm was attacked, Thomas fled with eight children, but Hannah, her newborn daughter Martha, and her nurse Mary Neff (nee Corliss) were captured and forced to march into the wilderness. According to the account of Cotton Mather (who interviewed Hannah), along the way the Native Americans killed the six-day-old Martha by smashing her against a tree.

 

Hannah and Mary were assigned to a Native American family group of 12 persons and taken north. The group included Samuel Lennardson, a 14-year-old captured in Worcester, Massachusetts the year before.

 

Six weeks later, at an island on the Merrimack River at the mouth of the Contoocook River, near what is now Penacook, New Hampshire, Hannah led Mary and Samuel in a revolt. Hannah used a tomahawk to attack the sleeping Native Americans, killing one of the two grown men (Lennardson killed the second), two adult women, and six children. One severely wounded Native American woman and a young boy managed to escape the attack.

 

The former captives immediately left in a canoe, but not before taking scalps from the dead as proof of the incident and to collect a bounty."

 

Hell hath no fury like a grieving mother...  :(

[Alexigail]

I'm supposed to be descended from one of Ben Franklin's brothers.

[3 ladybugs]

I am a descendant of one of the witnesses of King Henry VIII wills. I also descend from the brother of s famous general in the American Revolutionary War. 3 people I descend from fought in that war, 2 for the Americans and 1 British that stayed. A branch of my family came to the "US" in the 1630's.

 

I am also a direct descendant of someone who server as an airplane gunner in WWII (enlisted before war, got out after) but never went overseas. 😄

[Amy in NH]

10th great-granddaughter of Governor William Bradford of Plymouth Colony, signer of the Mayflower Compact.

[ikslo]

Oxenbridge Thacher, who was a lawyer in Boston along with John Adams.

 

I wanted to name DS after him but DH vetoed me. 😆

[Onceuponatime]

According to my aunt, the family genealogist, we are direct descendants of Rebecca Nurse, on my Father's Mother's side.

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca_Nurse

[Lady Florida.]

I have no idea if anyone mildly famous is in my tree. If they are, they're not likely American. I'm only a 3rd generation American on my mother's side (and we know none of the g-grandparents were famous) and only 5th or 6th (we're not quite sure) on my father's side.

[Anne in CA]

My children are direct descendants of Jonathon Edwards, the theologian and Eli Whitney on DH's side of the family. No one famous in my family. Dh's uncle is really into genealogy, so he has lots of info. He also traced their ancestors to Plymouth Rock and while he cannot find any of them on the actual Mayflower, he can prove that he has ancestors who were living in Plymouth 39 years after the Mayflower landed, so it is not impossible that their ancestors actually arrived on the Mayflower. Dh's father can trace his family back to the original Williamsburg settlement, so my dh have a long history in America. I don't think any of my relatives go back that far.

 

Although in reading over a genealogy from my father's family my great, great, great grandfather was thrown on a plague pile of bodies and left for dead in Prussia. He was never sure if his step mother had done it intentionally or had really believed him to be dead. He immigrated right after that, lol.

[umsami]

We go back to the Mayflower...and John Adams and John Quincy Adams.  

 

I love some of the old names.  We have a Deliverance in the family.  I thought that would be a cool boys name, but DH looked at me like I was crazy.  

[Lady Florida.]

 Dh's uncle is really into genealogy, so he has lots of info. He also traced their ancestors to Plymouth Rock and while he cannot find any of them on the actual Mayflower, he can prove that he has ancestors who were living in Plymouth 39 years after the Mayflower landed, so it is not impossible that their ancestors actually arrived on the Mayflower. Dh's father can trace his family back to the original Williamsburg settlement, so my dh have a long history in America. I don't think any of my relatives go back that far.

 

 

 

FIL is very into genealogy and has done extensive research. He discovered that the original family name was Cholmondeley, so there's probably nobility somewhere in the past. The fact the FIL's ancestors came here with basically the clothes on their backs though suggests either the poor cousins looking for a better life, indentured servitude, or maybe even someone on the wrong side of the law.  :lol:

 

 We have a Deliverance in the family.  I thought that would be a cool boys name, but DH looked at me like I was crazy.  

 

We have a Nunzio. I thought that was pretty cool when I found out. As my mother and I were reading through family immigration papers from 1888 I spotted it and pointed it out. She said, "Oh yeah, I remember. We called him Uncle Nunzie". I suppose I can threaten people with my Uncle Nunzio if necessary. ;)

[shinyhappypeople]

I'm related to one of the original settlers of Penn's colony, and the first cousin (21 times removed) of Isaac Newton.  Others in the family traced our genealogy way back to the 1400s, I think.  We've been on North American soil since the 1600s (mother's branch) and 1700s (father's branch).  

[Spryte]

A well known founding father of the U.S. on my side. It's fun, at particular times of year, to go see his home and get the private tour. :) I like that his views re: native people were not quite in line with some other people of the time. DH is related to Patrick Henry. It fits.

 

We have several ancestral castles in Europe but have not gone to visit, though there's a standing invite.

 

Also on my side, a supreme court judge who made a really crummy ruling in the 1800s. Not pleased with that little part of history.

[1bassoon]

Oliver Wendell Holmes was my 4x great uncle.

 

John Cougar Mellencamp is my great-uncle's cousin's son, so what - like some kind of distant cousin or something. But he can't play the bassoon, so I'm not claiming him!

[J-rap]

So interesting to hear of others!  And some quite disturbing -- my goodness!

[umsami]

I wish it was easier to do genealogy in Egypt for DH's family.

 

There, it seems to be pretty oral.  Like if you know your name, you know your father, grandfather, great grandfather, great great grandfather... and possibly more.  But there's very little on who they were...and for women, it's much harder.   I think the Ottomans and other Egyptian regimes were pretty good with records, so if I just knew how and spoke Arabic, I could probably find more.

[Lady Florida.]

You people have some interesting family backgrounds. I'm envious, but in a good way. 

[Carol in Cal.]

I'm descended from Joseph Haydn.

[Guest]

I am a direct descendant of Carol and Roger, of Maryland. ;)

 

 

(Don't wrack your brains; they are ordinary people.)

[MEmama]

German composer Albert Lortzing.

Also a once famous tobacco dealer who was the primary supplier of tobacco to the Kaiser. Someday I'll see his mansion in Berlin, which miraculously survived the war and was then restored by the East German government.

Edited December 19, 2015 by MEmama

[Anne in CA]

Oliver Wendell Holmes was my 4x great uncle.

 

John Cougar Mellencamp is my great-uncle's cousin's son, so what - like some kind of distant cousin or something. But he can't play the bassoon, so I'm not claiming him!

Oh, dh is fourth cousins (lots of removals) with Tom Cruise. DH has a first cousin who looks just like Tom Cruise but he is SHORT. Like, I'm 5'5" and he's shorter than I am by a lot.

[elegantlion]

William de Warenne, first earl of Surrey. The Warren(Warenne) line is fairy easy to trace as much of it has been documented and I'm descended from male lineage until the early 19th century. The husband of the last Warren namesake in our line is buried not too far from me, she is buried in a different state. 

[maize]

Very, very cool!

 

I'm descended from several of the original Mayflower settlers, also a bunch of folks involved one way or another in the Salem with trials. Oh, and I'm a second cousin seven times removed or some such to George Washington :D

 

I point out historical connections to my kids to make things more interesting for them.

[maize]

We go back to the Mayflower...and John Adams and John Quincy Adams.

 

I love some of the old names. We have a Deliverance in the family. I thought that would be a cool boys name, but DH looked at me like I was crazy.

We're probably cousins ;)

[stephanier.1765]

On my mother's side, we are indirectly related to Robert the Bruce through his brother's line. I don't know how many times great uncle that makes Uncle Robert. ;)

 

On my father's side, again a brother and not a direct descendant, but the brother's wife was sisters with Daniel Boone's wife. Very convoluted but cool just the same. 

[PrincessMommy]

I am a direct descendant of one of the original settlers in So.Maryland.  According to my MIL, my dh is a descendant (don't know how direct) of Anne Hutchinson .

[knoxinsox]

Oh, what a fun thread!!  We've no famous people in our background, although we have a bit of information on our forefathers.  My grandmother was a Stewart, my aunt did some digging, and it dead ends in Scotland....probably people who lived the royal household, but not related to royalty.  Grandma's Grandfather was a Methodist circuit-riding preacher, who got sick and died from pneumonia from fording PNW rivers.  

 

On my dad's side--one side of the family is traced back to a man imprisoned for being a heretic in a castle tower during the Reformation.  And since both sides of my family are Amish and Mennonite, my Mom and Dad are 5th, 6th, and 7th cousins through different family lines. (Thank-you, Ancestry.com)  Mennonites play the Mennonite game and I've never gone anywhere in Mennonite-land, where I was not distantly related to someone.  

 

[hollyh]

Hubby goes back to Lewis or Clark... I don't remember which one. :)  Kinda fun. 

[Peach]

Doc Holliday

 

:)

[Zuzu822]

FIL is very into genealogy and has done extensive research. He discovered that the original family name was Cholmondeley, so there's probably nobility somewhere in the past. The fact the FIL's ancestors came here with basically the clothes on their backs though suggests either the poor cousins looking for a better life, indentured servitude, or maybe even someone on the wrong side of the law. :lol:

 

 

We have a Nunzio. I thought that was pretty cool when I found out. As my mother and I were reading through family immigration papers from 1888 I spotted it and pointed it out. She said, "Oh yeah, I remember. We called him Uncle Nunzie". I suppose I can threaten people with my Uncle Nunzio if necessary. ;)

Most of my family are new arrivals, as is DH's (although he some currently semi-famous musician relatives: strings and opera back in Italy), but I had to comment because one of our cats is named Nunzio! After one of the dogs in Dharma and Greg, though... No uncles. 😠We call him Nunz. Edited December 20, 2015 by Zuzu822

[Joker]

Dh's family have traced themselves back to John Rolfe. Dds think it's neat.

[Rosie_0801]

Robin's mate Little John.

 

Dd is descended from John of Gaunt.

[Carol in Cal.]

Forgot--one cousin says that she heard that we are descended from Robert the Bruce on my grandmother's side.  No one else is sure about this.  That name (Bruce as a last name) IS in our family tree, but I dunno.

[Barb_]

One branch in my mom's line (technically three overlapping branches thanks to a little friendly inbreeding among some cousins in mid 19th century) traces back George Calvert, the first Lord Baltimore. He's my 13th great-grandfather.

 

A branch on my dad's side traces back to John Alden and Priscella Mullins, but they had 11children so considering the number of ancestors they must have in this country, it's probably not a remarkable fact. They are my 9th great grandparents.

 

My 5th -grandmother was scalped by the Cherokee as a toddler but (I believe) went into shock, was left for dead, and survived. She lived until her 80s and always wore a bonnet to cover her disfigurement.

[Barb_]

Very, very cool!

 

I'm descended from several of the original Mayflower settlers, also a bunch of folks involved one way or another in the Salem with trials. Oh, and I'm a second cousin seven times removed or some such to George Washington :D

 

I point out historical connections to my kids to make things more interesting for them.

I do too! That part is really fun!

[Guest]

I am a direct descendant of one of the original settlers in So.Maryland. According to my MIL, my dh is a descendant (don't know how direct) of Anne Hutchinson .

This does fascinate me, because my maternal grandmother grew up in Solomon's Island. I was looking around the old gravestones at St. Mary's and found family grave sites bearing her maiden surname, though I do not know if they are her relatives/ancestors. It is something I want to research and explore a bit. :) I do know that part of my family tree has a long history in southern Maryland, though I don't know how far back it goes.

[jenn-]

I am related to Boots Randolph on my mom's side. My grandpa used to tell story about playing with his cousin Boots. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boots_Randolph

 

My mom's side has never been traced and I don't know how much documentation could be found. We just jokingly call her an American mutt since they have been here long enough that no one knows where they came from.

 

My dad's side jumps across the pond quickly as 3 of my 4 great grandparents were the immigrants that came and the forth one was first generation here. No clue if we are related to any famous Europeans though.

[YaelAldrich]

My DH is a second cousin once removed from Judy Blume.

[Violet Crown]

Hey, cousin! That was Gov. Bradford himself in my post above. Any chance you're descended through the Prince line?

 

10th great-granddaughter of Governor William Bradford of Plymouth Colony, signer of the Mayflower Compact.

Edited December 20, 2015 by Violet Crown

[Amy in NH]

I'd have to dig out the family genealogy book to find out.

 

It's neat to find long lost relatives, though! :D

[Aspasia]

I have no idea if anyone mildly famous is in my tree. If they are, they're not likely American. I'm only a 3rd generation American on my mother's side (and we know none of the g-grandparents were famous) and only 5th or 6th (we're not quite sure) on my father's side.

Same here. Second generation American on my dad's side. Fourth on my mom's.

[8circles]

Same here. Second generation American on my dad's side. Fourth on my mom's.

2nd and 3rd for me. I'm sure there is nobody of any notable import anywhere in my family tree.

[maize]

It was interesting to me to see that my own family lines and my husband's intersect several times--about nine generations back, in the 1600's, mostly Puritan immigrants to New England. I suppose there were few enough Europeans in the area back then that if your lines trace back to that time and place it isn't unusual to connect. Both his mom and his dad are related through different lines to each of my parents.

 

So yeah, I married a cousin ;)

[Farrar]

Not direct, but I'm descended from a sister of Martha Washington's somehow, so she'd be a many greats aunt. I can't remember the details, but it was in my grandfather's notes.

 

My family has been in the US for many, many generations on both sides. My mother's family mostly came in the 1600's and the branch that led to us eventually moved from NY to Tennessee. They were Dutch and English. The Dutch family, according to family lore, had land on the Hudson River and then returned it to the Indians they "bought" it from because they thought it was worthless. Heh. My father's family came over in the early 1800's. After just a generation, a set of twins - David Jonathan and Jonathan David - moved to Georgia and started our branch. I know almost nothing about my paternal grandfather's family though. I'm pretty sure they had been in Georgia for many generations though - definitely since before the Civil War. All my family that I know of fought on the wrong side of the Civil War. Oh well.

[Junie]

My family is descended from 10 of the Mayflower pilgrims.

 

Also my step-father is a descendant of Hans Herr, a Swiss Mennonite.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Herr My parents and my brother went to visit a few years ago.

 

Farrar:  My dc are descendants of this person:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicely_Jordan_Farrar  Do you know if you're related?

Edited December 20, 2015 by Junie

[kbutton]

William de Warenne, first earl of Surrey. The Warren(Warenne) line is fairy easy to trace as much of it has been documented and I'm descended from male lineage until the early 19th century. The husband of the last Warren namesake in our line is buried not too far from me, she is buried in a different state. 

 

Interesting. My family has a similar last name and is thought to be from the Normandy region. The last name is considered to be related to the name Warren as a variant. Your story strengthens the hypothesis of where our family line comes from--pretty cool. 

 

The reliable family history goes back to one generation in England, but the entire American line is traceable back to New England. There is an old genealogy book that goes from this ancestor down to my great-grandfather, who I think was a baby when the book was written (would have to check the dates for that). 

 

Hubby goes back to Lewis or Clark... I don't remember which one. :)  Kinda fun. 

 

Totally different side of the family, but someone in our family has documentation that suggests we are related by descent to Meriwether Lewis, and I would love to hear that story sometime since he supposedly didn't marry and have kids.