Is Your Pedigree AKC?
By Gene Blueblood
(October 10, 1999)
One of the most fascinating aspects of genealogy for the hobbyist is determining your relationship to famous persons. It can be very exciting to find out that you're descended from Daniel Boone, Robert E. Lee, or English Royalty. It is equally fun to try to determine if you're related to notable contemporaries such as Bill Clinton or Jimmy Carter.
Let's face it, famous people attract us because their contributions leave a lasting legacy that enhances our ability to find information. A great number of sources, from books containing biographical information, to important papers preserved by historians, and even modern movies and documentaries can be found relating to famous people like Abraham Lincoln. Equally important, yet more subtly infectious, is the idea that we might harbor some of that ancestor's greatness within us.
My great-grandmother, Francis Marion Grier, was named after the Revolutionary War hero who was called 'The Swamp Fox'. In the generations following the War, many families named their sons or daughters after him and other heroic figures such as George Washington. In fact, though, I found out this week that Judith Marion, the General's aunt, married into the Grier family. This makes General Marion a 'first cousin' of every Grier descendant. In my case -- first cousin, seven times removed.
The American Kennel Club (AKC) is well-known for its registering the pedigree of dogs. The idea is to prove the dog's ancestry is 'pure' to the breed. This, of course, significantly raises the purchase price, especially when the puppy you buy has 'champions of breed' in its ancestry. Perhaps we should apply this practice when looking for a husband or a wife.
Organizations that specialize in similar lineage-checking for people do exist. In fact, it's a cottage industry. You have to prove your lineage before you can join the Daughters of the American Revolution. My great-aunt was a member of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. A personal favorite of mine is the Royal Bastards, descendants of illegitimate sons and daughters of Kings and Queens.
Our look at famous ancestors would not be complete without mentioning those who gained notoriety in less scrupulous ways. I'm talking about our infamous and notorious ancestors, which can be just as fun to discover. Many of us descend from convicts who were cast out of their mother countries, or we came from pirates, outlaws, and other less desirables.
Here's a humorous look at famous ancestries, from a message originally submitted to the soc.genealogy.computing USENET news group. I thought it was so appropriate that I backtracked it to its source, through a series of email correspondences, to be able to share it with you.
The people are what it's all about so I don't worry about sources. If I find an ancestor with the last name Smith, I just go ahead and link them to Captain John Smith and his wife Pocahontas. Last name of Carson? I have them descend from Kit Carson, the famous pioneer. If their last name is King, I figure I can go ahead and show descent from King Richard the Lionhearted, because he was a king that I like.
After you do it for awhile, it gets easier and easier to link your family to really interesting people. Sure you have to be a little more creative than those fuddy-duddy, goody-goody source-quoting weirdoes. Sometimes I have to invent individuals to connect things up right but I figure they *could* have existed, right? And this way my genealogy is really interesting, my family loves it and it saves me time!
My motto: What the heck, who's going to check?
You can find genealogies of famous persons on-line, such as:
You can also find information on a number of lineage societies, including:
Celebrate your infamous ancestors on the pages below:
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