Inspired by the work of Gary Boyd Roberts at NEHGS, here are a few well-known relatives (and relatives who were spouses of the well-known) and how I'm connected to them. Granted, this information and $10 will get me a coffee at Starbucks, but I think it's a fun facet of genealogical research.

NAME	RELATIONSHIP	COMMON ANCESTORS
Charles Alden Black - Husband of Shirley Temple	7th cousin, 3 times removed	Isaac Sheldon (1627-1708) and Mary Woodford (1638-1684)
Humphrey Bogart - American actor and husband of Lauren Bacall, American actress	8th cousin, twice removed	Isaac Sheldon (1627-1708) and Mary Woodford (1638-1684)
George Bunker - Owner of Bunker Hill in Charlestown, MA	10G grandfather	Direct Ancestor (1600-1664)
Hugh Capet - King of France	32G grandfather	Direct Ancestor (~938-996)
Edith Kermit Carrow - Wife of President Theodore Roosevelt	7th cousin, 5 times removed	Robert Blott Sr. (1582-1664/5) and Susanna Selbee (~1586-1659/60)
Charlemagne - Holy Roman Emperor	39G grandfather	Direct Ancestor (747-813/14)
Eleanor Clark - Wife of novelist Robert Penn Warren	9th cousin, twice removed	Thomas Woodford (~1615-1667) and Mary Blott (~ 1615-~ 1662)
Sir William de Tracey - One of the four knights who murdered Thomas á Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury	26G grandfather	Direct ancestor
Admiral George Dewey - American naval hero	7th cousin, 3 times removed	Thomas Dewey (~1613-1648) and Frances
Emily Dickinson - American poet	7th cousin, 5 times removed	Robert Blott Sr. (1582-1664/5) and Susanna Selbee (~1586-1659/60)
Erle Stanley Gardiner - American detective novelist	9th cousin, 3 times removed	Robert Blott Sr. (1582-1664/5) and Susanna Selbee (~1586-1659/60)
Godgifu (a.k.a. Lady Godiva) - Legendary equestrian	32G grandmother	Direct ancestor (~1010-?)
Ulysses Simpson Grant - Union general and 18th President of the United States	5th cousin, 5 times removed	Christopher Huntington (1629-1691) and Ruth Rockwell (1633-1728)
Henry I - King of England	28G grandfather	Direct ancestor (1068-1135)
Anneke Jans - Legendary citizen of New Amsterdam whose farm in lower Manhattan was the subject of decades of lawsuits and scams	9G grandmother	Direct ancestor (~1605-1663)
Thomas Jefferson - 3rd President of the United States, author of The Declaration of Independence	21st cousin, 8 times removed	Robert of Caen, 1st Earl of Gloucester (~1090-1147) and Mabel FitzHamon (?-1157)
Janis Joplin - American singer	8th cousin	Joseph Root (1686-1728) and Mary Russell (1689-1737)
Henry Robinson Luce - Publisher (Time, Life, Sports Illustrated) and husband of Clare Boothe Luce, author, congresswoman and American diplomat	8th cousin, twice removed	John Roote (1608-1684) and Mary Kilbourne (~1619-~1697)
Margaret Mead - Anthropologist	9th cousin, 3 times removed	Robert Blott Sr. (1582-1664/5) and Susanna Selbee (~1586-1659/60)
Franklin Delano Roosevelt - 32nd President of the United States	6th cousin, 4 times removed 8th cousin, 3 times removed	Isaac Sheldon (1627-1708) and Mary Woodford (1638-1684) Simon Huntington (1583-1633) and Margaret Barrett
Elihu Root - Statesman and recipient of the 1912 Nobel Peace Prize	6th cousin, 4 times removed	John Roote (1608-1684) and Mary Kilbourne (~1619-~1697)
George Frederick Root - Civil War-era composer	5th cousin, 5 times removed	John Roote (1608-1684) and Mary Kilbourne (~1619-~1697)
Margaretta Sergeant - Wife of Union General George Meade	6th cousin, 6 times removed	Robert Blott Sr. (1582-1664/5) and Susanna Selbee (~1586-1659/60)
Captain Myles Standish - Pilgrim leader	10G grandfather	Direct ancestor (~1584-1656)
Harriet Beecher Stowe - American author	5th cousin, 5 times removed	Isaac Sheldon (1627-1708) and Mary Woodford (1638-1684)
Martin Van Buren - 8th President of the United States	4th cousin, 6 times removed	Cornelis Maessen Van Buren (1616-1648) and Catalyntje Martense (? -1664)
Diana, Princess of Wales	10th cousin, once removed	Thomas Woodford (~1615-1667) and Mary Blott (~1615-~1662)
Prince William and Prince Harry - Sons of the Prince and Princess of Wales	11th cousins	Thomas Woodford (~1615-1667) and Mary Blott (~ 1615-~1662)
Elizabeth Virginia "Bess" Wallace - Wife of President Harry S Truman	8th cousin, twice removed	Isaac Sheldon (1627-1708) and Mary Woodford (1638-1684)
William the Conqueror - King of England	29G grandfather	Direct ancestor (1024-1087)

. . . and a documented brush with greatness

My half-fourth cousin, once removed -- Benjamin Franklin Merklee, Jr. -- with Pete the dog from the Our Gang films.   And lest you think this is some form of bragging, you might want to check out "The Royal We" by Steve Olson, wherein the mathematical study of genealogy indicates that everyone in the world is descended from Nefertiti and Confucius, and everyone of European ancestry is descended from Muhammad and Charlemagne. Take care, cousins.   Return to Bill's Genealogy Page