General Discussion

It's about finding that "connection" in your tree.

I'm 10th-13th cousin with a lot of presidents. (It's a bunch of x cousin removed by 9 times or something weird because they were too old to actually be cousins)

I'm also 8th cousin of Charles Manson. (White privilege at work, baby!!!)
I'm either 8th or 9th cousin of Bonnie Parker. (There's an app on family search that allows you to compare yourself with another person. So one night, I started comparing relationships with famous people)

A 4th great grandfather of mine arrived here from Scotland in 1718. He was about 13 and came here by himself. His stepdad rejected him, so he left home and worked as a cabin boy. Supposedly, Blackbeard the Pirate attacked their ship when it was anchored off N Carolina. He took off his clothes and got in barrel and somehow made it to shore. Two friends went with him. One didn't take off his clothes and drowned. (I don't know if this is lore or not, but it is passed down).

His son served in the American Revolution. His son had 22 kids between two women and was never married.
One of his sons became a state senator and got all the kids legitimized via a resolution in the North Carolina legislature. (This is fact and the resolution and his will are online)

My great grandfather was born in 1863. The 1860 census shows they had several slaves and were comfortable. However, after the war my great grandfather's family likely poor. (Many southerners were after the Civil War). He eventually became a grove worker in Florida where he died around 1924.

My dad's side can't trace is ancestry back beyond 1909. They were Armenians who were expelled from Turkey. My GGF wrote a book that supplies a few names, but he didn't provide any dates etc. There are no "old country" records.

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On my hubby's side, he is the 11th great grandson of Diego Montemayor. (Founder of Nuevo Leon) He is also related to a few other conquistadors who settled northern Mexico. Using the Family Search app, he is related to former Presidents Carranza and SantaAna. He is also 8th cousin of Pancho Villa's wife. (I assume all northern Mexicans are related to each other due to lots of endogamy and little migration). In his case, there was an officer with the name Villejo, who married into hubby's "indigeno" family in the early 1800's. This officer became hubby's 3rd great grandfather. He was connected to all the important founders in the area.

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I'm probably related to someone on the Mayflower. I just haven't checked.