Name the most famous and/or interesting person on your family tree...I'll start...

[SaveElmer]

I have a few I would consider interesting...but I think the one that is kind of the coolest...

My Great-great Granduncle, Alonzo E Bunker, was one of the cashiers working in the Northfield Bank in Northfield, MN the day the James-Younger gang tried to rob it...he tried to escape out the back door while the robbers were distracted and was shot in the shoulder...but he escaped and aided in warning the town...he recovered and became very successful businessman and journalist in California...

The other cashier Joseph Heywood was killed...

The James-Younger gang was ambushed by the town as they tried to escape and only Jesse and Frank James got away...

[Godhumor]

1. Well, my most famous historical relative would be

Patrick Henry of "Give me liberty or give me death" fame.

[TZ]

60. hey..although thats not in MY personal family tree

(I don't really know much on mine becasue my family is Eastern European Jewish and therefore anything from before WWII is pretty much gone) my brother-in-law is also descended from Patrick Henry. In fact his last name *is* Henry and many people think one of his brothers looks a lot like the pictures of Patrick Henry you see.

[THUNDER HANDS]

2. Chuck Conners

I think he was some baseball player or actor or something. I'm not sure. My mom talks about him. He's her uncle. Or was her uncle. I think he's dead.

[SaveElmer]

5. Yeah Chuck Connors...

You might remember him as Chicken George's father/master in Roots...

His big claim to fame was as the star of the "Rifleman" in the 1950's I think...

Was in a ton of TV shows and movies...also played center for the Boston Celtics for two seasons in the 40's, switched to baseball and played with the Cubs for one season...

[lost-in-nj]

27. I had a crush on him

when he was in the Rifleman

lost

[two gun sid]

3. Related to Sid Hatfield of Matewan fame...

through my grandmother's people. Also, Irish Fenian and later MP Thomas Sexton.

[Rhythm]

4. Very far back in the roots of my family tree...

are King James IV of Scotland, and Margaret Tudor.

I only found out about tis recently, when i got in contact with a wealthy distant cousin, for whom our family genealogy is a passion more than a hobby. He sent me copies of all of his research as well, so that i can pass it along to my kids.

[Xipe Totec]

6. Great Grandpa Antonio

Married 8 times (serial monogamist). My grandfather was born from his fifth wife.

During the Mexican revolution great grandpa was arrested as a revolutionary sympathizer, and while in prison, my grandfather was kidnapped by the revolutionaries for ransom. He was negotiating for my grandfather's release while in prison. Fortunately grandpa was not a bad looker either and sweet-talked the daughter of the revolutionary commander into getting him the keys to his cell.

Great grandpa's descendants number in the several hundreds, and we're still trying to get a full census.

[mzteris]

10. ooo - he is cute

no wonder he was so - er - prolific with this attentions!

[Xipe Totec]

40. His nickname was Blue Beard

:hi:

[mzteris]

44. oops -

Not THE Blue Beard of the scary stories?? eeeeeeeeekkkkkkk!

(Man, I hadn't thought about that story in ages. I wonder if my kids know that one.)

[Xipe Totec]

46. Well, after you outlive three wives,

people start talking...

:evilgrin:

[mzteris]

47. maybe he just

wore 'em out?

[lost-in-nj]

7. On my dads side

we are part Blackfoot Indian
My great grandma was a bad shaman, she was called a witch...
actually she influenced my father in his early years from the stories he told we
sometimes wondered how he stayed alive so long...

lost

[mzteris]

8. Sgt. York is most famous, I guess.

Great-great-cousin or other on my mom's dad's side.

From wiki:

Alvin Cullum York (December 13, 1887 – September 2, 1964) was a United States soldier, famous for both his being a conscientious objector and hero in World War I. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for leading an attack on a German machine gun nest, killing 20 German soldiers and capturing 132 others.

From York's Medal of Honor citation:

“ The Argonne Forest, France, 8 October 1918. After his platoon suffered heavy casualties, Alvin York assumed command. Fearlessly leading 7 men, he charged with great daring a machine gun nest which was pouring deadly and incessant fire upon his platoon. In this heroic feat the machine gun nest was taken, together with 4 German officers and 128 men and several guns. ”

York was born in Pall Mall, Tennessee in the Valley of the Three Forks of the Wolf, the third of eleven children born to William York and Mary Elizabeth York, née Brooks. As was typical of the area and times, his family subsisted by farming and hunting. As a result, young Alvin became an expert marksman in the area woods.

[RetroLounge]

9. No One Famous...

My most interesting would be my great-uncle Alfred.

He was a 17 yr old horn player in the Marine Band stationed in China when Pearl Harbor happened. He was quickly transferred to the Philippines. He was captured on Bataan and escaped from the death march, only to be recaptured later on Corregidor and be put on the second death march (I may have them backwards). He spent 42 months as a POW in the Philippines and later in Japan, and was near Hiroshima working as a slave laborer and was burned by the Atomic Bomb. He had been tortured by his captors, had his teeth beaten out with a rifle butt and his nipples cut off with a bayonet, plus rusty nails driven thru his tongue. He was once crucified in the camp because he would tell them how he had escaped to town to buy alcohol and then broke back in to the camp. After returning to the states, he became a strong advocate of POW issues, and was the first person in Missouri to be given a POW License Plate ("POW 1"). He had early alcohol problems and became and alcoholic at a young age, and drifted the country for a few years, until getting sober in California, where he married his 3rd or 4th wife. Together they returned to Missouri, and when he found there were no AA meetings in the small town they lived, they bought a building and turned it into a local Alano Club, where to this day people go to meetings. He once spoke at a state conference for AA and I have a cassette tape of him telling his life story. I never met the man, but after he died, I found his widow and she sent me a large package of articles and clippings about his life. He was buried with military honors in Ft. Scott Kansas.

RL

[SaveElmer]

11. Wow...

Yeah that's why I said interesting too...usually the most interesting ones are ordinary people caught up in extraordinary events!!!

[BarenakedLady]

12. John Alden and Pricilla Mullens

from the Mayflower.

[The Inquisitive]

13. Benedict Arnold

top that, I dare you.

For a close second, President Calvin Coolidge.

[SaveElmer]

16. Good one...

I have always been fascinated by Benedict Arnold...what could have brought him to do what he did...? And the story of his march through the Maine wilderness to get to Quebec would make a great movie...

How are you related?

[The Inquisitive]

19. Through my Grandmother

she was an Arnold. My moms side of the family is a pretty old American one, the family tree we have starts in England during the mid 1500's, with the first of us coming to America in the 1630's. My grandmother always found it remarkably ironic that she was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and was related to the biggest traitor of the war.

[trof]

14. George Effing WASHINGTON!

He's a cousin.
Of course we all know that he and Martha had no issue.
OK, maybe they had 'issues', but no offspring.

But I'm a descendant of his grandfather.
If you're really really interested, I could post the lineage.

BTW, there are a LOT of us who are kin to him in some way or another.
There just weren't so many of us back then.

[SaveElmer]

17. Yeah me too...Washington had royal lineage...

So just about anyone in the U.S. with royal lineage is probably a cousin...but the fun part is proving it.

Me, 8th cousin 8 times removed...

[The Inquisitive]

20. he was a beast

according to this musical documentary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZCNrf0IH_U

[matcom]

15. Buffalo Bill

yes, i'm related to William Cody

[greatauntoftriplets]

18. My great-grandfather in Luxembourg...

Specifically my mother's father's father. He had the biggest pile of manure in his little farm town, which meant that he was the richest farmer in town. He was wealthy enough to send my grandfather to the Sorbonne in Paris. While there, my grandfather was valet to a French count as a job to help with university expenses. It was also a cool place to live.

I also had an uncle on my father's side, who was chairman of what once was the largest corporation in the United States. Sadly, the American industry has since fallen on harder times and there is talk of possible bankruptcy. Which certainly has my uncle spinning in his grave. He presided over the company until mandatory retirement at age 65, but it was far better times for such American companies.

[elshiva]

21. Joseph Smith, THE Joseph Smith

My maternal grandmother's maiden name was Mack and was related to Lucy Mack Smith, the mother of Joseph Smith. We are not Mormons.

[hfojvt]

58. Lucy Mack is a relative of mine too

daugther of Solomon Mack and Lydia Gates. Lydia Gates is part of the Loomis family. Solomon Mack is the son of Ebenezer Mack and Hannah Huntley. Hannah the daughter of Aaron Huntley and Deborah DeWolf. DeWolf is one of my ancestors.

[lost-in-nj]

22. He wasn't famous

but my grandfather was supposed to be on the Lusitania....
his whole unit went on but he had a blister and they held him back to take care of it
His unit was lost and my grandfathers hair turned grey overnight
after hearing about the ship sinking

For the want of a blister.....
lost might not be here.....

Life changes in a heartbeat

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

[SPKrazy]

33. well thank goodness for his blister

:hug:

life does change in a heartbeat doesn't it...

:hi:

[derby378]

23. On my father's side - Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland

To be fair, though, many people who trace their ancestry will probably find a king, prince, or duke somewhere down the line, but this was still a pleasant surprise.

The lines are still a little tenuous, though, but it's looking quite promising.

[SaveElmer]

25. Yeah if you hook into English Royalty...

You can trace back to these folks...

Millions of Americans related to Robert the Bruce (me included). The fun part though, is proving it!!!

[fudge stripe cookays]

42. Not me!

All the freaking research I've done, and it's ordinary farmers, ordinary laborers, and just plain ordinary folks!

My threebies of any note are above. But unless I eventually get back to Germany and find somebody notable there, I am of genuine 100% farm stock from pretty much all my branches. :-(

[derby378]

48. Here's a thought...

Maybe it's your cue to run for office. Then, 500 years ago, your great-great-great-great-grandnieces and grandnephews can trace you on a family tree and say, "That's our dear Aunt, the Distinguished Senator!"

:hi:

[fudge stripe cookays]

50. Nope! Not gonna happen.

WAY too many skeletons that would bury me. No thanks!

However, they can point to my book documenting the entire Smith family and say..."Look what she did!"

[derby378]

51. Hey, there ya go!

:toast:

[Aristus]

24. My 4x great-grandfather was Bright W. Hargrove, who signed the order of secession

for the state of Georgia. Not exactly proud of that, you understand...

His daughter, Fanny, was one of Margaret Mitchell's inspirations for Scarlett O'Hara.

[Roon]

26. My great, great, (not sure how many greats) Grandfather

fought for the south during the civil war. His name was Cornelius.

[SaveElmer]

28. Not this Cornelius...

Just kiddin...

A surprising number of records available for Southern soldiers...worth writing to the Archives for if your are interested...some of the stories in there are really interesting...

[Roon]

31. I might have to check it out

Thanks!

[lost-in-nj]

35. Hey

I like that Cornelius!!!

Bumbles Bounce!!!!



lost

[NewWaveChick1981]

29. My mother is third cousins with Charles Lindbergh...

and I am directly related to Edwin Land, inventor of the Polaroid Land Camera. Those are on Mom's side. On Dad's side, we have a minor pirate back in the lineage and Sir Ernest Shackleton---not to mention THE Alexander Hamilton. :D

Almost forgot: way, way back on Dad's side, we have the Brothers Grimm. :)

[Name removed]

30. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[fudge stripe cookays]

32. Susan Seaforth Hayes of "Days of Our Lives"

is about a fourth cousin. My dad's dad's side.

"The Incomparable Hildegarde" was my paternal grandmother's first cousin.

Crombie Taylor, a third cousin, was a very prominent architect and Louis Sullivan devotee. He was an amazing man (and an FDR Democrat!). He worked on renovating the Auditorium Building in Chicago, and saved the Van Allen Building in Clinton, Iowa from the wrecking ball. He taught at USC for many years, and I'm in love with his family. I've met his widow and his three kids, and they are the family I never got to have. They tell me that he and I would have gotten along famously because he enjoyed poking Republicans just for fun. Just like me!

[greatauntoftriplets]

37. My mother loved Susan Seaforth Hayes...

until she lost interest in the program.

:hi:

[fudge stripe cookays]

41. I've been e-mailing with her husband Bill...

who plays Doug. A nice guy.

We've helped each other out in our quest for information, and he gave me a couple of REALLY good clues! I was able to send them a picture of Susan's second great grandfather, which I got after my NY trip. I know that had to be exciting.

:hi:

[greatauntoftriplets]

43. That is great.

My mother liked them both. When she lost her ability to hear, she lost interesst in the program.

They always seemed like good people.

[fudge stripe cookays]

45. Another cousin in NY...

was very excited that she was related (her connection is closer than mine), so bought thir book "Like Sands Through the Hourglass" about how they met and married and the show and stuff.

It's sort of a "he said" "she said", and the writing is very entertaining. Until he sent me their mini descendancy chart, I had no idea how much older than her he was!

[jeff30997]

34. My great, great, great, great, great........great,great, Grandfather was

Grumblarg,the first homo-sapiens.So I guess that we're all related isn't it? :)

[hfojvt]

59. some of us have Neanderthal blood n/t

[SPKrazy]

36. My Grandfathers family

all played musical instruments and had a large family and played music.

I think that is cool when that kind of thing happens.

My mother's grandfather (maternal) was a streetcorner preacher... I have no idea what that might have been like then but I picture it and it kind of cracks me up :rofl:

[YankeyMCC]

38. My Dad was one of the Sonar men on the USS Maddox

during the Gulf of Tonkin Incident.

[pitohui]

39. as far as i know i'm the most infamous

and i'm too shy to say who i am so there it is

[Blue_Tires]

49. my mother's side -- Rosa Parks

but (very) distant as so my grandmother says....i never got the chance to meet her

[QMPMom]

52. Another Robert the Bruce descendant here. Also, Heloise of

Heloise and Abelard fame and US President James K. Polk are ancestors.

[SteppingRazor]

53. This came up on a different thread earlier today, but I'm distantly related to this guy:

Michael Collins, a founder of the Irish Republican Army and the Irish Free State.

[trackfan]

54. My wife's g-g-g-grandfather gave up his bed to Lincoln and slept

on the couch the night before Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address. He was on the dais for the address, and I think, designed the cemetery.

[Bryn]

55. Actors Dana Andrews and Steve Forrest

were my maternal grandmother's first cousins. Dana and Steve were brothers.

Dana Andrews (Carver Dana Andrews) played in movies:

Ike (3-May-1979)
Good Guys Wear Black (21-Mar-1979)
The Last Tycoon (15-Nov-1976)
Airport 1975 (18-Oct-1974)
The Devil's Brigade (15-May-1968)
Hot Rods to Hell (27-Jan-1967)
Battle of the Bulge (16-Dec-1965)
The Loved One (11-Oct-1965)
Crack in the World (7-May-1965)
In Harm's Way (6-Apr-1965)
The Satan Bug (26-Mar-1965)
The Crowded Sky (2-Sep-1960)
Enchanted Island (1958)
Night of the Demon (1957)
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (5-Sep-1956)
While the City Sleeps (16-May-1956)
Smoke Signal (1955)
Elephant Walk (21-Apr-1954)
The Frogmen (24-May-1951)
Edge of Doom (3-Aug-1950)
Where the Sidewalk Ends (26-Jun-1950)
My Foolish Heart (25-Dec-1949)
The Iron Curtain (16-Jun-1948)
Daisy Kenyon (25-Dec-1947)
Boomerang! (28-Apr-1947)
The Best Years of Our Lives (21-Nov-1946)
Canyon Passage (17-Jul-1946)
A Walk in the Sun (3-Dec-1945)
Fallen Angel (26-Oct-1945)
State Fair (29-Aug-1945)
Laura (11-Oct-1944)
Wing and a Prayer (24-Jul-1944)
The Purple Heart (23-Feb-1944)
Up in Arms (17-Feb-1944)
The North Star (4-Nov-1943)
The Ox-Bow Incident (21-May-1943)
Crash Dive (22-Apr-1943)
Ball of Fire (2-Dec-1941)
Swamp Water (16-Nov-1941)
Belle Starr (12-Sep-1941)
Tobacco Road (20-Feb-1941)
The Westerner (18-Sep-1940)


In 1975, Steve Forrest (real name: William Forrest Andrews) was cast as Lieutenant Dan "Hondo" Harrison on the popular TV action series S.W.A.T., which might have run for years had it not been axed under pressure from the anti-violence brigades. Before that, Steve had several years' worth of villainous roles. When asked why he accepted so many bad-guy assignments, Forrest would cite the comment once made to him by Clark Gable: "The hero gets the girl but the heavy gets the attention".

[LibDemAlways]

56. This is kind of a stretch, but my

sister-in-law's cousin is married to Michael Moore's step-daughter. So if I did a really extensive family tree, I guess Michael Moore would be on it.

[BlueStateGirl]

57. Robert Frost, Charles Carroll. And my boot legging, hard drinking

gambling, womanizing Great grandfather

[REP]

61. Elvis Presley, Daniel Boone, George Washington

Elvis is a distant relation, but the others are direct relations.

[Dr Batsen D Belfry]

62. Not sure who the most interesting would be

My grandmother is a Lurie. The Lurie family is in the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest continuous family lineage.

The Luries include Fex Mendelssohn, Sigmund Freud, Karl Marx, and the line goes back to King David.

There is a rumor that Roman Catholic Pope Andreas converted from Judaism and was a Lurie.

Closer to me, my great grandfather was an engineer who worked directly with George Westinghouse, and was supposedly responsible for several early designs involving the rail industry.

DBDB

[RebelOne]

63. On my father's side, Edward Teach (Blackbeard) was the most infamous. n/t

[cobalt1999]

64. They were mostly a herd of Black Sheep, Scofflaws, and Miscreants

This family line has more than it's share of ne'er-do-wells. They arrived in this country as part of penal colony after getting kicked out of Scotland after the failed rebellion. Many fought and died in the Civil War (again on the losing side). One great uncle lead the Florida KKK back in the 30's. My dad and his brothers made and ran moonshine in the 1950's. Cousins ran drugs in the 70's/80's. They always tried to enlist me for my sailing skills too.

They all lived way too hard and died too early. They had the most interesting stories though.

[Fox Mulder]

65. Archduke Franz Ferdinand

On my mom's father's side of the family. It's actually been traced, too. My grandma has the family tree at her home to prove it.