Pluto: The other speaker at Gettysburg was Edward Everett. He spoke for two hours before it was Lincoln’s turn. Afterwards he told the Presidient, “I wish I had expressed myself as well in two hours as you did in two minutes.” 
According to a family tradition, I am a distant cousin, on my mother’s side, of Robert E. Lee.
My mother’s sister is married to a second cousin of Red Adair. (In other words, my uncle.) Adair was the fellow who put out oil well fires for a living. He was the basis for the John Wayne flick, Hellfighters.
Fighting my own ignorance since 1957.
My grandfather is locally famous. He was a television newscaster for a local TV station for close to 30 years. He claims that we’re descendants of Dr. Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
My husband’s family says they’re related to P.T. Barnum, but I don’t remember how. It believable, though. My father-in-law’s nose was strikingly similar to Barnum’s.
I can trace my family tree back to the beginning of time, which I think is rather clever.
One of my ancestors was the first person to step onto the South Island of New Zealand.
Also, my brother got married in January into a prominent New Zealand family. His new Father-in-Law is a Knight. Sir Tipene O’Regan.
Very cool, at least it is back home.
-PIGEONMAN-
Hero For A New Millennium!
The Legend Of PigeonMan - updates every Wed & Sat
Aseymayo said:
Dominie Everardus Bogardus, an early settler of New Amsterdam. It was said that he delivered two kinds of sermons - drunk and dead drunk. That’s my (number of greats) grandpa!
Lessee:
Drunk - check.
Settler - check.
Religious Fanatic - check.
That’s an Old Style Dutchie alright 
My fathers first name is Everardus, too ! And that would be “dominee”, BTW. Dutch for vicar.
Thank the Lord Almighty: I’m not the only Dutchman on the board anymore !!
"Wilhelmus van Nassaue,
Ben ick van Duitschen bloedt… "
Coldfire
“You know how complex women are”
- Neil Peart, Rush (1993)
My grandfather’s cousin played “Wendell Gibbs”, one of the engineers of the Cannonball on Petticoat Junction. Byron Foulger was a very recognizable character actor in over 250 westerns and “B” movies from the forties, fifties and sixties, and over 35 TV appearances.
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TT
“Believe those who seek the truth.
Doubt those who find it.” --Andre Gide
I am a direct descendant of Banastre Tarleton, a British Colonel during the American Revolutionary war. This one I know is true.
I think my family is also related to Stonewall Jackson, but I’ve yet to verify the claim.
The relation I am least proud of: the navigator on board the Enola Gay.
– Sylence
And now, for my next trick, I will talk in spooky half-references.
Oh, almost forgot. I’m also married to Julie Strain.
Mullinator, does your best friend happen to have a family tree documented (on paper, in a book, or otherwise)? My parents have a notebook of the Pickett family history which does not list George Pickett (hence a trace of skepticism on my part). It would be neat to compare the information I have to the information he has to possibly verify the relation (or even refute it).
Oh, least proud of…well, there’s my cousin “Dickie.”
Coldfire - Cousin! Bogardus’s wife got into trouble in New Am for lifting her skirts a shade too high when negotiating a puddle. What a wild bunch! (Uh - “William of Nassau has Dutch blood in him?” Am I even close?)
Flora - Cousin! Because of my Bogardus connection, I believe I’m distantly related to Humphrey Bogart.
Guanolad - Cousin! Ooops, no, I mean, I just wanted to say, I’m impressed.
I don’t think I’m related to anyone famous on the Kentucky hillbilly side, unless there’s a Civil War connection somewhere that I haven’t found yet. And on the Irish side, I know nobody’s done anything to be remembered for unless it was many, many generations back. The Randoms are just plain folks, I guess.
Catrandom
My cousin, Paul Bostaph is the drummer for the metal band Slayer. Well, thet do have several albums & tours to their credit.
One of my ancestors, Andreas Bostaph was an early settler in the Pittsburg area. There’s a strret named for our family there.
Is an appreciation of beauty a function of the human soul?
“Wilhelmus van Nassaue,
Ben ick van Duitschen bloedt…”
William of Nassau,
Am I, of common blood (common as in: the people)
WoN was our first king when we drove out the evil Spanish. If anyone is interested, I’ll post a thread about the Dutch national Anthem - the oldest still active in the World !
Incidently, many people (even Dutch !) mikstake the “Duitschen” for the new-Dutch word “Duits”, meaning “German”. Nothing could be further from the truth…
It’s an interesting anthem in many respects.
(PLEASE aks me to post a thread about it )
Coldfire
“You know how complex women are”
- Neil Peart, Rush (1993)
SUPPOSEDLY, through my Mom’s mom side, we are related to Buffalo Bill Cody. One of ours married one of his …or something like that.
I dunno, I’ve been told it so many times, and when I’ve asked for a direct connection, all I’ve gotten was, " Go look it up at the library." I’ve strong suspected this was a ploy to 1) get me out of someone’s hair and 2) get interested in history.
Some really distant cousin ( like a dot on the horizon) was Miss America in 1968 or 1969.
Winston Churchill on my maternal grandmother’s side of the family.
Richard Greico (21 Jump Street, Johnny Depp wannabe) on my father’s side.
“They have the internet on computers now.”–Homer J. Simpson
Bob Dylan is my 3rd cousin.
No, of course I haven’t met him.
How many of your 3rd cousins do you know?
(Sorry for the defensive tone, but I’ve learned the question that inevitably follows the declaration.)
Hey Daniel! I always wondered about that… Don’t forget to mention his earlier band Forbidden! “March Into Fire!” Metal!!
Anyway, when my grandmother on my dad’s side passed away a couple of years ago, he went through her stuff. She made it to 98, so she had a lot of stuff. And she also went through tons of hobbies. For a while, geneology was one of them, apparently.
So, on my dad’s side of the family, somehow, I am related to Guttenberg. Yes, he of the printing press!
Yer pal,
Satan
Satan, I’m disappointed. I thought you meant STEVE Guttenberg.
“They have the internet on computers now.”–Homer J. Simpson
I am told, by my father, who has extensively researched our genealogy, that I am a direct descendant of George Washington’s great-grandmother, down a different branch of the family tree, or something like that. I’ll ask him the next time I see him.
“That’s entertainment!” —Vlad the Impaler
On my dad’s side I have a fourth cousin four times removed that was captain of the German cruiser Prinz Eugen during a period of WWII.
On my mom’s side we have shirttail cousins named Le Gautier for who the town of Loogootee, IN was supposedly named.
(keystream, while I’m as willing as the next guy to point out the general genocidal nature of the European conquest of North America, the specific battle of Tippecanoe was fought as a defensive action by the U.S. forces who only took the Native town after it had been abandoned by the defeated warriors. This link alleges to be the story from the perspective of one of the warriors, but it matches every version I’ve heard given for this battle:
http://www.prairienet.org/~pcollins/shab.html . Harrison was, indeed, looking for a fight, but Harrison was no Custer on the Washita.)
Tom~
My grandfather swears up and down that he (and by extension me) is related to Jesse James. I read somewhere that Jesse James and QEII share an ancestor somewhere, which means that I’m also related to Queen Elizabeth. I should be getting the deed to that castle in Stratfordshire any day now…