Do you Have Any Historical Figures In Your Family?

Post by **Surlethe** » 2006-03-31 10:53pm

I'm distantly related to Ronald McDonald. It goes back to the brothers Dougall and Donald way back when in Scotland.

Galvatron · Post by **Galvatron** » 2006-04-01 01:35am

General Robert E. Lee on my mother's side.

loomer · Post by **loomer** » 2006-04-01 02:10am

I'm related to the Ashley's. Earl of Shaftsbury Ashley, that is. Guy who worked to abolish child labour. Something like the son of the son of the seventh son of the seventh son. So I have Noble blood!

Hedgehog's Roommate · Post by **Hedgehog's Roommate** » 2006-04-01 02:58am

My mother has done geneology on her side going as far back as 600 AD. Though most are only mid 17th century. So to many to name here. Mostly english and scottish royalty.

On my fathers side some notables are: Pocahontas and Charlamagne. Direct descendant of both. As well as more english royalty.

Dartzap · Post by **Dartzap** » 2006-04-01 03:23am

My Great-granddaddy was the chairmen of the Labour party when it created the NHS - He was one of the first to sign the document creating it.

Cant remember his name though

FSTargetDrone · Post by **FSTargetDrone** » 2006-04-01 04:22am

Great stories. Quite the variety!

And I see at least 2 of you might have Charlamagne in your family lines? Time for a reunion, methinks!

Tiriol · Post by **Tiriol** » 2006-04-01 04:38am

According to my grandparents who have done family tree research for the last ten years or so, I'm distantly related to former President of Finland Kyösti Kallio, who died of heart attack in 1940.

And they also claimed at one point that Martin Luther is also a member of the family tree through marriage (that nun who married him is supposedly blood relative) and that it is possible that King of Sweden Gustav Vasa would also be related to us. I'm not sure about the king part though; the President is actually a (dead) relative and Luther is a possibility. That king was mentioned so many years ago so I'm not sure if it is true; perhaps they thought there could be a connection but figured out that there wasn't, or perhaps an overactive imagination on my part did a trick on me.

Dominus · Post by **Dominus** » 2006-04-01 04:59am

My lineage has been traced the way back to Alexius Comnenus, emperor of the Roman Empire from 1081 to 1118 -- though this is through a rather complicated system of royal marriages going all the way back to Europe's oldest noble houses. I think the critical connection was made in 1160 or so, with the marriage of an Oldenburg prince to one of Alexius's granddaughters.

I'm apparently more directly related to Queen Victoria on my mother's side, though I have no idea how close the relation is...

Lord Pounder · Post by **Lord Pounder** » 2006-04-01 10:42am

Not sure if anyone that far back on my family is historical. However my Uncle was the first leader of the Ulster Defence Association.

Oberleutnant · Post by **Oberleutnant** » 2006-04-01 05:50pm

Thanks to a German soldier who emigrated to Sweden sometime in the 18th century I'm a distant descendant of various medieval European nobilities (mainly Swedish, German, Norwegian, Polish, Danish, Aragonese, Byzantine and Russian, but others as well).

Lonestar · Post by **Lonestar** » 2006-04-01 07:24pm

Related to Robert Louis Stevenson, on my Mother's side.

Beware the black mark!

Post by **The Yosemite Bear** » 2006-04-01 07:32pm

My stepdad's a descendant of Pancho Villa (though his family is nearly all arizonia native americans...)

Winston Blake · Post by **Winston Blake** » 2006-04-02 04:43am

What's interesting is that i read a calculation somewhere explaining that if you go back just a few hundred years, pretty much everybody is related to everybody else (at least in Europe). I think it was >99% of European-descended people should be able to trace their relationship to Charlemagne.

As for me, i can, in fact, trace my relationship to Charlemagne/Robert the Bruce/etc, but i'm not a direct line descendant or anything.

Bounty · Post by **Bounty** » 2006-04-02 04:51am

Generation after generation of farmers and tailors, though one of my ancestors on my mother's side was the private secretary of the Prime Minister for nearly a decade.

Post by **Gandalf** » 2006-04-02 05:10am

A Lt. on Mawson's expedition to Antarctica.

He had a glacier named after him. Link.

Durandal · Post by **Durandal** » 2006-04-02 05:23am

There's a family legend that one of my ancestors was thought to be part of the story in the movie Gladiator. The name "Sorresso" is derived from the name "Surrexi". Apparently a Roman captain of that name was thought to have been killed, but showed up alive years after the fact. This story was apparently where the word "resurrection" comes from, after the event was described as "resurrexi" or "resurrection".

I don't know if there's any truth at all to this, but it's a cool story to tell girls to get in their pants.

Bounty · Post by **Bounty** » 2006-04-02 05:44am

This story was apparently where the word "resurrection" comes from, after the event was described as "resurrexi" or "resurrection".

Not to spoil your fantasy, but "surrexi" is just a form of "surgere", meaning "to rise". If anything, "Surrexi" would be a cognomen given after the fact.

And while congonmina were sometimes hereditary, I don't recall any of them morphing into modern surnames.

Winston Blake · Post by **Winston Blake** » 2006-04-02 06:09am

Durandal wrote:I don't know if there's any truth at all to this, but it's a cool story to tell girls to get in their pants.

And really folks, isn't that what this thread is all about?

Incidentally i just noticed i have an ancestor named Janet Riddick. Hence i am likely related to this famous historical figure:

Unfortunately my attempts to haul extremely heavy weights*, kick alien ass** and single-handedly take on dozens of Planetary Guards*** have all ended in miserable, miserable failure.

* ok, it was sofa
** it might have been a penguin
*** they might have been bouncers. alright, it was only one.

Stuart Mackey · Post by **Stuart Mackey** » 2006-04-02 07:00am

I am a decendent of General Wolfe, of Quebec and the killing of General Montcalm fame.

Post by **Simplicius** » 2006-04-02 04:51pm

Most of my family were relatively ordinary folk, but if the history in question is regional and specific...

My great-grandfather was an automobile designer and artist of some note during the '20s and '30s when he worked for LeBaron.

Roland Stickney

Trytostaydead · Post by **Trytostaydead** » 2006-04-02 05:43pm

Probably unknown to outside of Koreans. But, my grandfather was the first Korean consul permanently assigned within the US. My great-grandfather was Prime Minister in Korea during the Japanese Occupation. We're cousins to the last ruling family of Korea (and a recent Korean drama had our family as central characters). The famous Winter Story drama was taken place on an island owned by my grandmother's brother. And I know there's probably a lot more since my family was always center in politics in Korea. Hell, my dad grew up in one of Korea's famous palaces, and my grandmother's brother still never learned to tie his own shoe.

Post by **haas mark** » 2006-04-02 09:01pm

I can't say on either my mom or dad's side, but my stepdad's got Don Juan del Coronado way back when, not to mention a ton of other historical figures in the southwest that came from Spain back in the 16- and 1700s.

Civil War Man · Post by **Civil War Man** » 2006-04-02 09:16pm

Eh, best I can do is Niall of the Nine Hostages (the king that brought over Saint Patrick), but that is something my family cannot confirm. Only evidence in my favor is that one entire side of my family is from the appropriate region of Ireland and a majority have names associated with Niall's sons.

Yeah, my ancestors were probably a touch inbred. My mom always jokes that she married my dad in an attempt to disinfect the gene pool.

Glocksman · Post by **Glocksman** » 2006-04-02 11:00pm

MRDOD wrote:Charlemagne is somewhere in my family tree.

But then again, so does all of Europe's other residents/former residents except maybe the Basques according to some studies

Indeed.
He's somewhere deep in mine on my maternal grandmother's side according to the French family history compendium.

On that same side, I'm distantly related to the sculptor of the statue at the Lincoln Memorial, Daniel French.

Guardsman Bass · Post by **Guardsman Bass** » 2006-04-02 11:30pm

I can't remember the first names, but there were one or two good turn-of-the-century Cricket players that were the Uncles or great-uncles on my paternal grandfather's side.