My church has a cool new online gizmo that can tell you
everyone famous you’re related to. You
just plug in your name, and find out you’re related to Jesse James (in my case)
or Bill Gates (not in my case. Dang.)
People are even having
parties where they find out if they’re related to their friends, neighbors, and
church members-- often with surprising results. Granted, many of the names you
find will say 6th cousin twice removed, but sometimes you get a
direct hit. It’s called Relative Finder,
and anybody who has joined Family Search can use it.
Imagine my
surprise to learn I am related to more than a dozen U.S. Presidents! In no particular order, I can claim Adams,
Arthur, Harrison, Fillmore, both Roosevelts, Truman, Ford, LBJ, Kennedy, Nixon,
Coolidge, Garfield, and Buchanan. And
even more presidents’ wives.
The
English royalty in my line includes Mary Stuart (my 12th great great
aunt), George III, James II, and Queen Victoria.
Some other famous folks I
unearthed on my tree are John D. Rockefeller, Buster Keaton, Samuel Clemens
(Mark Twain), Charles Lindburgh, Susan B. Anthony, Walt Disney, and Orville
(but apparently not Wilbur?) Wright.
Plus several signers of the Declaration of Independence and of the U.S. Constitution.
As a Latter-day Saint, I was
particularly excited to learn I’m connected to dozens of Mormon leaders and
historical figures, including the Prophet Joseph Smith, as well as many early
pioneers and members of the Mormon Battalion.
There were no Salem Witch Trial
folks, which was mildly disappointing. But remember, I do have Jesse James, just to
liven things up. And now you have a
brand new party game to try out.
Entertain
your guests with another super idea: Show them some of my YouTube Mom videos!
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