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For decades sociologists have grappled with this "small world phenomenon." For a long time it has been known that in any given population, even very large ones, there is a high probability that any two strangers are connected through a remarkably small number of acquaintances. Much is being made of the "six degrees of separation" and the amazing number of coincidences which happen which allow us to "know someone who knows someone" that is or was famous. By theory then, if you can trace your family lineage far enough back you will probably find that you are related to many famous or infamous people. Following my family lineage I have identified the following people as being relatives of varying degrees. Yes, there are those that, with me being a democratic, I would prefer were not...but we don't get to chose our relatives! I find amusing some of the people that have turned out to be related, even if distantly.
The Wigington - Pocahontas Connection:
Anne Elizabeth Wigginton - Wife of Dr. Archibald Bolling the GGGGG Grandson of Pocahontas - 4th Cousin 4th Removed
From the Mayflower passengers landing at Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620:
Priscilla Mullins - Wife of John Alden - 1st Cousin 11th Removed
Sarah Alden - Wife of Alexander Standish (son of Captain Myles Standish) - 2nd Cousin 10th Removed
Scottish and French Royalty by marriage through Mary B. Nash - GGGG Aunt - married to Squire Bates:
Macbeth King of Scotland A.D. 1040-1057 - 1st Cousin 26th Removed
Robert the Bruce King of Scotland Acceded 27 Mar 1306 - 16th Great Grandson
James I King of Scotland A.D. 1406-1437 - 12th Great Grandson
James II King of Scotland A.D. 1437-1460 - 11th Great Grandson
James III King of Scotland A.D. 1460-1488 - 10th Great Grandson
James IV King of Scotland A.D. 1488-1513 - 9th Great Grandson
Janet Stewart Illegitimate child of James IV and Lady Agnes (Isabella) Stewart, Countess of Bothwell - 8th Great Grandson
Henry De Valois II King of France Acceded 18 Sep 1559 - Affair and son (Henri De Angouleme, Grand Prieur) with Janet Stewart - Father of Half 8th Great Uncle
My Prather lineage goes back to England and Wales just prior to 1066. The Prather family is descended from Welch Princes and Norman Marcher Barons who possibly descended from Roman Nobility. Start back at my 25th Great Grandfather, De Presbyter (Prester De Praers), 27 generations ago!
Texans:
Col. James Rezin "Jim" Bowie - Died 6 Mar 1836 in San Antonio defending the Alamo - 5th Cousin 3rd Removed
Thomas Jefferson Nash - A signer of the Texas Articles of Secession in Austin, TX on 1 February 1861 - GGGG Uncle
Trailblazers and the Wild West:
John M. Bozeman - Blazer of the Bozeman Trail - GG Uncle
Carry Amelia Moore AKA Carry Nation - Saloon smasher who married my 5th Cousin 3rd Removed, David A. Nation, so her name could be Carry A. Nation with the acronym of CAN!
Outlaws and the Infamous:
George W. Wigginton - Rode with Quantrill's Raiders and cousins with both the Younger and Dalton Gangs - 4th Cousin 4th Removed
Politicians:
John Adams - 2nd President - 5th Cousin 7th Removed
John Quincy Adams - 6th President - 6th Cousin 6th Removed
Thomas Woodrow Wilson - 28th President - Husband to Edith Bolling my 6th Cousin 2nd Removed
George Herbert Walker Bush - 41st President - 9th Cousin
George Walker Bush - 43rd President - 9th Cousin Once Removed
Dan Quayle - Vice President - 12th Cousin
Celebrities:
William Cullen Bryant - Poet, Writer, Editor - 7th Cousin 5th Removed
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - Poet - 8th Cousin 4th Removed
Nathaniel Hawthorne - Novelist and Short Story Writer married to Sophia Amelia Peabody - 8th Cousin 4th Removed
Rev. Edwin Hyde Alden - The Rev. Alden portrayed on Little House on the Prairie - 8th Cousin 4th Removed
Abel Head "Shanghai" Pierce - Texas cattle baron - 9th Cousin 3rd Removed
Frank Nelson Doubleday - Publisher - 9th Cousin 3rd Removed
Norma Jeane Mortenson, aka Norma Jean Baker, aka Marilyn Monroe - 11th Cousin Once Removed
Orson Welles - 11th Cousin Once Removed
In the lineage from the Mayflower passengers also contains Adlai Stevenson and Neil Alden Armstrong. I have not had time to enter them into the database.
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