# Famous ancestors - got any?!



## Ethan (Dec 6, 2008)

I happened to stumble onto the ancestry.com website and got totally hooked in looking at my ancestors.  It was just amazing what incredible people turned up and how it was actually possible to document their arrival in Boston in  1630 - just after the Pilgrims!  Turns out my great grand uncle (5 times back) was involved heavily in the Revolution and went on to be one of the leaders in Shay's Rebellion - he was a rebel, was sentenced to death and got a reprieve from John Hancock!  Love it because it explains a lot of my idiosyncracies!  I've even contacted the Mass. Supreme Court to get access to his trial documents and hope to be making a trip to Boston this summer to see them.

Anyway, Google books provided tremendous access to books (I highly recommend it for anyone doing research) about all he did and yesterday I took a nice, long, wonderful motorcycle trip to Groton, Mass. to see his grave and homesite.   It was a great time to be in a cemetary with all the flags on the gravesites - even rebels get one.

Would love to hear who you are related to, infamous or otherwise!


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Ethan,

Looking up your ancestors online is fun. Make sure to check out the old census records. You can look at records up to 1930. 1940 will go online in 2012.

Ancestry.com is fun, too, as you discovered. I actually found a facsimile of my grandfather's passport application from 1920, complete with picture and a statement from his father that he was of good moral character (hmmm....he might have changed his mind had he lived beyond 1931. See below).

For me, the New York Times is a terrific resource because the Nicolls came to New York and stayed pretty close to the city for many, many years. The Times has great records of births, deaths, and marriages. I found out that my great-great Uncle was crushed to death in an automobile accident in 1915 (that bit of news made the front page). My grandfather liked to be married and the Times tried to make his two elopements sound socially acceptable and proper. They did okay with marriage no. 1, but for no. 2, when Grandpa and his fiancee woke up the town clerk of Oyster Bay at midnight to marry them (one would assume this was after a night of hearty partying)...well, the details of that marriage were a little more blunt. LOL.

As for ancestors, the first Nicolls came to New York in 1664 with a grant from the King. They settled Islip, NY and named it after their home in Islip, England. I've been to Islip, England and seen the graves of my ancestors who are buried in the village church.

Through history, the Nicolls seemed to be merchants and lawyers, with a few doctors thrown in. There is a big hole in the family history around the time of the Revolution and I presume this is because they were loyal to the King. There is a family "legend" about how my great-grandmother was determined to join the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). LOL. She also wanted to join the Mayflower Society (for people who had ancestors on the Mayflower) and didn't get too far with that, either.

This is my great-great grandfather, Solomon Townsend Nicoll. Isn't he handsome? I love this portrait. It is in the Smith College Museum of Art, now, after years of hanging in our dining room.


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## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

On September 6, 1781, during the attack on Fort Griswold and Fort Trumbull at Groton, Connecticut:

[quote author=Thomas Hertell, witness]On entering the works the officer, on whom had devolved the command of the remnant of the British forces, demanded, "Who commands this fort?" The gallant Col. Ledyard advancing, answered, "Sir, I had that honor but now you have," -and presented &#8230; his sword to the victor, who &#8230; immediately with Col. Ledyard's own sword run him through the body.[/quote]

The victorious officer was my ancestor, Lieutenant Colonel Abraham Van Buskirk of the New Jersey Volunteers, which was a Tory unit under command of turncoat Benedict Arnold. After Colonel Van Buskirk stabbed and killed the Fort Griswold commander he ordered the British troops under his command to massacre the entire garrison.

http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1973/6/1973_6_69.shtml

Upon further research I discovered that Benedict Arnold had offered Colonel Ledyard an opportunity to surrender, threatening no quarter if the offer was refused. When Ledyard replied that he would fight to the death, Arnold ordered his troops to take the fort and kill all the defenders. At the end of the war the hue and cry to hang Van Buskirk as a war criminal was ignored by General George Washington who, instead, banished him and his immediate family. This was a source of great shame to my mother's family and the memory of it overshadowed that of the family members who had served the Revolution.


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## Ethan (Dec 6, 2008)

Leslie, that is very interesting about your family - the painting is wonderful. I will check the NY Times for more info. on my line. I was able to find my ancestor as part of the first census in 1791 and that was great. You are right about the census info. because it tells a lot about people.

Here is my rebel ancestor (hopefully it will come through here and I have not screwed something up) in a period woodcut with Daniel Shays - the only known "portrait" of him done by someone that never saw him. It is hanging in the National Portrait Gallery at the Smithsonian - that is the closest to greatness I will ever get:


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

That's a very cool woodcut, Ethan!

Jeff, where were the Van Buskirks banished to?

L


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Cool thread, Ethan!

The closest I can come to famous is that my cousin once lived in Bob Dylan's house in Hibbing, Minnesota.  I'm 2d or 3d generation born in the US, depending on which side, and family history in the old countries doesn't go back very far.

My husband, on the other hand, is a descendant of the Mayflower through both his father and mother. We went to a Mayflower dinner once with his parents. Everyone toasts their ancestors and asks everyone who they are related to. When I was asked, my husband answered "her relatives landed at Ellis Rock" LOL! He's somehow distantly related to Salmon P. Chase, one of Lincoln's _Team of Rivals_, excellent book!



Betsy


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## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

Leslie said:


> Jeff, where were the Van Buskirks banished to?


Shelburne, Nova Scotia where Abraham Van Buskirk, was subsequently elected mayor. Do you by chance know of Stephen de Lancey, of New York who was also banished?


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## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> He's somehow distantly related to Salmon P. Chase, one of Lincoln's _Team of Rivals_...


One of our resident female authors should write a book about Sue Kate Chase. She seems to have been skipped over by history.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

The daughter of Salmon P. Chase, Katherine Chase, known as Kate, was a notable socialite, acting as her father's official hostess in Washington and unofficial campaign manager. She was known as the Civil War "Belle of Washington". Her November 12, 1863, marriage to the textile magnate, Rhode Island politician William Sprague, did not flourish. After Salmon Chase's death, the Sprague marriage deteriorated further. Sprague had affairs, became an alcoholic, and constantly belittled Kate's spending habits. Kate in turn reputedly had an affair with New York Senator Roscoe Conkling. The Spragues divorced in 1882. Kate Chase died in poverty in Washington, D.C. in 1899. She was buried alongside her father in Cincinnati.


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## Ethan (Dec 6, 2008)

You're right, Jeff.  Just one bad apple and the whole bunch gets to bear the brunt.  In our case, one would think that a slight indiscretion like taking over the Concord courthouse with 200 followers while Shays stormed the Springfield Armory could be softened by his being in Nova Scotia at the forced resettling of the Acadians, his leading troops at Bunker Hill, guarding Ft. Ticonderoga during the Battle of Valcour Island and then escorting Brits from Saratoga to their final good-bye back to England would be enough to undo his later rebelliousness.  They only seem to remember the bad stuff!


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Jeff said:


> Shelburne, Nova Scotia where Abraham Van Buskirk, was subsequently elected mayor. Do you by chance know of Stephen de Lancey, of New York who was also banished?


No, I don't. but I would be interested to learn more. I always heard that my great-grandfather (the first DeLancey Nicoll, born in 1854) was named in honor of Bishop DeLancey, who was somehow or another connected to the family. There is also (supposedly) a relationship between the family and DeLancey Street in NYC.

This is going to sound incredibly ignorant, so forgive me in advance, but I didn't realize people were banished after the Revolution. I never heard of any Nicolls being banished. Maybe they kept waving their grant from the King (btw, the grant is hanging on my living room wall) and said, we ain't leaving!

On the other hand, I have also always been told that there are two distinct lines of Nicolls in the US. One...my ancestors. The second...a branch of Nicolls who settled in Nova Scotia and came from Scotland. It makes me wonder if there were actually some Nicolls who did go to Nova Scotia after the Revolution? Like I said, that time period in the family history is very murky. Things from about 1830 on are much more clearly documented.

L


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Jeff said:


> One of our resident female authors should write a book about Sue Chase. She seems to have been skipped over by history.


So much so that I don't know who she is. 


Betsy


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## Bren S. (May 10, 2009)

No famous ancestors as far as I know.Although I haven't really looked into it much either.
Maybe I should


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## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> So much so that I don't know who she is.


That may be because her name was Kate not Sue. She was the daughter of Salmon P. Chase.


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## Kathy (Nov 5, 2008)

My paternal grandmother was from England and she did a family tree. She was able to trace her ancestory back to Sir Walter Raleigh. The spelling was Ralegh and the i was added by his widow.


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## drenee (Nov 11, 2008)

I spent last summer going to libraries and court houses tracing back my family history.  At that point I was only looking for female relations along my maternal grandmother's line.  I'm working on a cross-stitch project for my daughter called Mother's Tree.  Females are hard to follow.  They didn't always keep a good record of them.  I also went to WVU's library.  They have a special room on the top floor where you can look up records.  Some of them are in storage and you can only view them in a special room with someone sitting with you.  And you can only bring a pencil and a piece of paper into the room.  They give you a locker for the rest of your belongings.  
It was very interesting.  I am going back this summer, (after students leave), and research some more just out of curiosity.  
Anyway, I don't believe any of my ancestors are famous.  At least I have discovered any so far.  But I was able to take my Mother's Tree back 8 generations to Ireland.  I even know what church she was married in.  
deb


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## crebel (Jan 15, 2009)

Great topic Ethan!  I think researching lineage would be fascinating, but have never started it as I think it would become an obsession.  Family legend has it that John C. Breckinridge (youngest Vice-President under James Buchannan) is a relative down DH's family line, but I have never seen any paperwork that confirms it.


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

drenee said:


> I spent last summer going to libraries and court houses tracing back my family history. At that point I was only looking for female relations along my maternal grandmother's line. I'm working on a cross-stitch project for my daughter called Mother's Tree. Females are hard to follow. They didn't always keep a good record of them. I also went to WVU's library. They have a special room on the top floor where you can look up records. Some of them are in storage and you can only view them in a special room with someone sitting with you. And you can only bring a pencil and a piece of paper into the room. They give you a locker for the rest of your belongings.
> It was very interesting. I am going back this summer, (after students leave), and research some more just out of curiosity.
> Anyway, I don't believe any of my ancestors are famous. At least I have discovered any so far. But I was able to take my Mother's Tree back 8 generations to Ireland. I even know what church she was married in.
> deb


Yes, the women often get pushed into the shadows. It doesn't help that they changed their names when they got married and as I have discovered with my family, many of the women married several times, with multiple name changes. Trying to keep them all straight is a challenge.

My sister did her Master's thesis on Delaware Valley Signature quilts (1840-1855) and took the premise that these quilts were a way for the women to document their history, family, and friendships, from the woman's perspective.

L


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## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

crebel said:


> Family legend has it that John C. Breckinridge (youngest Vice-President under James Buchannan) is a relative down DH's family line, but I have never seen any paperwork that confirms it.


You should research it. John C. Breckinridge was an absolutely remarkable man.


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

Outside of a paternal grandfather who was a musician with Victor Herbert's orchestra, I have no famous ancestors.  Since my lineage is full Italian, they all landed on Ellis Island in the 20th Century.  

I plan on being my family's famous ancestor, myself.


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

crebel said:


> Great topic Ethan! I think researching lineage would be fascinating, but have never started it as I think it would become an obsession. Family legend has it that John C. Breckinridge (youngest Vice-President under James Buchannan) is a relative down DH's family line, but I have never seen any paperwork that confirms it.


I went to school with a woman from the Breckinridge family. Apparently the town of Breckenridge in Summit County, Colorado is named after one of them.


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

Gertie Kindle 'Turn to Page 390' said:


> I plan on being my family's famous ancestor, myself.


Love that!


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

Susan in VA said:


> I went to school with a woman from the Breckinridge family. Apparently the town of Breckenridge in Summit County, Colorado is named after one of them.


I went to school with Al Capone's granddaughter.


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## KBoards Admin (Nov 27, 2007)

Fascinating thread! 

We have a small unpublished booklet of our family genealogy on the Chute side - it's not very well annotated but it's fun to read. 

One ancestor was hanged in England in the early 1700s, for piracy. Fortunately he had procreated before that occurred, otherwise I wouldn't be writing this thread. 

The other is not a direct ancestor, but a family link - - our branch of the Chutes is related by marriage to the Rices, who are related to the Potters, who trace their line to the 2nd wife of King Henry VIII, Ann Boleyn.


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

My parents came to the U.S. in 1968.  They, and my daughter and I, are the only part of the family that's here.

My dad's family is from England, though many of them seem to be fond of marrying people of other nationalities and so they live all over the place now.  Ancestors include a series of horse thieves in Borders Wars times, and there's also a connection to a Duke of Northumberland, though I don't know which generation that was.  And there's one married-in Sicilian, so I blame my one-eighth-Sicilian-ness for any bursts of temper.   

My mom's family is from Germany, and we have full genealogical records dating back to the early 1600's.  Before that it's almost impossible to find out anything because so many of the records kept in churches were destroyed during the Thirty Years' War.  The only semi-famous relative in there was Cosima Wagner, Richard Wagner's wife.  The depressing thing about this is that my grandfather did all the genealogical research in the early 1930's because at that time there was a certain importance attached to knowing about such things....


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Here's an interesting little family tidbit:

[Henry Ford] always remained a countryman in his plain way of living, for despite Keith Sward's statements, it was plain. When his fortune first grew, he said plaintively that the chief difference in his way of life was that "Mrs. Ford no longer does the cooking"-and he preferred her cookery. He refused a butler, for he wanted no man behind his chair at dinner "while I am taking the potatoes' jackets off." His puritanic condemnation of smoking, drinking and marital irregularities conformed to the principles described in Thorstein Veblen's essay The Country Town. *He rejected the eminent Delancey Nicoll as attorney in the Sapiro case because, when the New York lawyer came to Dearborn, Ford saw him chain-smoking cigarettes. *"I'm for Mr. Coolidge if he will enforce the Prohibition laws," he said in 1923. He was a countryman also in his devotion to work as a virtue in itself. His cure for nearly all ills was more work.

Henry Ford is the famous Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Automobile Company. The chain-smoking DeLancey Nicoll is my great grandfather. The "Sapiro Case" is considered to be one of the first hate speech trials held in this country. Looking back, it's probably just as well that great grandpa didn't get this gig. 

For more on the trial:

http://www.americanbarfoundation.org/research/project/19

The Henry Ford quote comes from this article:

http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1954/1/1954_1_54.shtml

L


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

I don't know many of the details: my sister and a cousin of mine have traced a lot of our genealogy, and I know that I have direct ancestors on both my maternal and paternal sides who were in "The Colonies" well before the Revolutionary War -- I think at least one before 1620.

Probably the most famous American ancestor of mine I know of:

General Benjamin Franklin Butler (perhaps not someone to be particularly proud of, but he was fairly famous at the time)


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## TheAutomaton (May 20, 2009)

Nope. We have some interesting characters in our family, but none of them were famous.
Probably the only interesting thing that happened to anyone in my family is someone related to my grandmother (can't remember how anymore) was on a battleship when a Japanese kamikaze bomber attacked it. Apparently he was able to snap a picture as the plane crashed into the ship, so there was just fire everywhere with the tail of the plane sticking up in the air. I guess the photo is or was somewhat famous because I remember years ago my father suddenly going nuts while watching TV. When asked what his problem was, he was exclaiming that they had been talking about the photo.

Other than that I have two great uncles who were executed in a forest. Put down on their knees and shot in the back of the head. They were Polish soldiers.
My dad claims that he traced his ancestry on his father's side (his mother is from Poland, his father came from France) back to the court of Napoleon Bonaparte. Obviously we're not related to him, but he says he was able to find ancestors that were there. I don't know. I never looked into it myself.


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## Anju  (Nov 8, 2008)

I have a cousin that did a detailed search, but have no idea what he came up with, he himself has disappeared.  I keep thinking I'd get into it, but which family? and how do you keep from branching off?  I know Pres. Buchanan is an uncle, James Naismith (inventor of basketball) is another uncle and so is Benjamin Franklin, or so the stories go.  Guess I"ll have to go check out this Ancestry.com.

Cool picture Leslie, those pictures are always so horrible, this guy is pretty handsome!


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## Ethan (Dec 6, 2008)

Probably the most famous American ancestor of mine I know of:

General Benjamin Franklin Butler (perhaps not someone to be particularly proud of, but he was fairly famous at the time)

[/quote]

That is very cool. I remember reading about Butler and his exploits pissing off the populace in Louisiana during the Civil War, but had no idea about his doings after the war. Sure was an active guy - homely, but active!


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## Ethan (Dec 6, 2008)

Sugar said:


> No famous ancestors as far as I know.Although I haven't really looked into it much either.
> Maybe I should


Yes, you should. The ancestry.com webpage can be a little daunting, but once you get into it a ton of information flows out. You can do the first 2 weeks for free to see if you like it and then join for a reasonable fee. I got the software to keep track of all the people and it was a great help.


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## Forster (Mar 9, 2009)

One of my Great, Great something Grandfathers was friends with Oliver Cromwell.  One of his kids married one of Cromwell's daughters (not my family line).  That's about as famous as my family tree is, lol.


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## KindleMom (Dec 11, 2008)

I'm a descendant of Pocohontas on my Father's side and King Charlemange on my Mother's.  

Mr. KM's family came to the US on the Mayflower - William Bradford is their ancestor.

Geneology is addicting, very fun and interesting.  I recall my grandparents trying to tell us about the people who came before us and I never had much interest until it was too late.    But I've done a little research on my own.  What I'm missing are the great stories that no one wrote down which they used to tell me.  I recall one grand parent (several "greats" but I have no idea how many) who only had one set of clothing and a girl he liked on the other side of a river.  He crossed the river while putting his clothes on top of his head to keep them dry.  I'm assuming they didn't see each other in the winter.


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## Cindy416 (May 2, 2009)

My sister was really into genealogy, and, after a great deal of work, was able to connect us directly to Charles Martel, (and then, of course, Pepin the Short and Charlemagne), William the Conqueror, and William Wallace. Sir Walter Raleigh is thrown in the mix, too, but he may just be a cousin instead of a grandfather. It's really interesting to hold a copy of a document from the Magna Carta Society in my hands and see famous figures in history at the top of the list, and then to see my name,followed by my daughters' names, at the bottom.


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## Sanveann (May 16, 2009)

I've done a lot of genealogical research, but haven't really uncovered anyone famous so far. Some of my French-Canadian ancestors were among the first (white) settlers of Canada, though.


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## Tippy (Dec 8, 2008)

My mother is an avid genealogist.  She has document three King Charlemange lines.  Two of the lines are from illegitimate children.  We are also descended from Chief Cornplanter, of the Delaware tribe.  We are distantly related to former Vice President, Dick Cheney.  (You never know the skeletons you will uncover in your genealogical closet.)    On my father's side she has traced a line to the Plantagenet family.


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

KindleMom said:


> I'm a descendant of Pocohontas on my Father's side and King Charlemange on my Mother's.
> 
> Mr. KM's family came to the US on the Mayflower - William Bradford is their ancestor.
> 
> Geneology is addicting, very fun and interesting. I recall my grandparents trying to tell us about the people who came before us and I never had much interest until it was too late.  But I've done a little research on my own. What I'm missing are the great stories that no one wrote down which they used to tell me. I recall one grand parent (several "greats" but I have no idea how many) who only had one set of clothing and a girl he liked on the other side of a river. He crossed the river while putting his clothes on top of his head to keep them dry. I'm assuming they didn't see each other in the winter.


Maybe they got married in the fall. 

L


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## dollcrazy (Jan 12, 2009)

Leslie said:


> As for ancestors, the first Nicolls came to New York in 1664 with a grant from the King. They settled Islip, NY and named it after their home in Islip, England. I've been to Islip, England and seen the graves of my ancestors who are buried in the village church.
> 
> Through history, the Nicolls seemed to be merchants and lawyers, with a few doctors thrown in. There is a big hole in the family history around the time of the Revolution and I presume this is because they were loyal to the King. There is a family "legend" about how my great-grandmother was determined to join the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). LOL. She also wanted to join the Mayflower Society (for people who had ancestors on the Mayflower) and didn't get too far with that, either.


Leslie,
Was Nicolls Rd. named after your family as well? I grew up on the Island and all of my family is still there. Many of them live right off Nicolls Rd.


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

dollcrazy said:


> Leslie,
> Was Nicolls Rd. named after your family as well? I grew up on the Island and all of my family is still there. Many of them live right off Nicolls Rd.


Yes. And Nicoll Bay, too.

I grew up in Bayport and they built Nicolls Road while I was living there, which was very cool. LOL.

(Technically, it should be Nicoll's Road since my last name doesn't have an S, but that's a rant for another thread.  )

L


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## dollcrazy (Jan 12, 2009)

That is very,very cool!


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

It's a bit of a shame that the genealogy for 3 of my 4 grandparents has been pretty extensively traced, but unfortunately my paternal grandfather's father was either orphaned or left for adoption early in life, so we cannot trace my surname past that generation. We don't even know what spelling would be followed if we wanted to speculate on it. (My last name is spelled rather unusually, and the suspicion is either that my great grandfather didn't know how to spell it and provided a spelling that _sounded_ right, or else that he purposely misspelled it out of spite for having been abandoned.) So if your last name is Reese, Rease, Reece, Riis, Rijs, Rhys, etc.; we might be related, but it would probably take a DNA test to determine that -- unless we're also related along the Butler, Wimp (yes, that's a surname), or Laughlin/McLaughlin lines.


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## Anju  (Nov 8, 2008)

My grandfathers sisters (my great aunts) spent a great deal of time in the Dallas library many many years ago researching and took the chart back to William the Great.  What happened to their work I have no idea, but it was basically worthless - no dates, none at all!  They did not want anyone to figure out how old they were LOL LOL LOL


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## KindleMom (Dec 11, 2008)

Anju No. 469 said:


> My grandfathers sisters (my great aunts) spent a great deal of time in the Dallas library many many years ago researching and took the chart back to William the Great. What happened to their work I have no idea, but it was basically worthless - no dates, none at all! They did not want anyone to figure out how old they were LOL LOL LOL


I am LOLing!!!


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Anju No. 469 said:


> My grandfathers sisters (my great aunts) spent a great deal of time in the Dallas library many many years ago researching and took the chart back to William the Great. What happened to their work I have no idea, but it was basically worthless - no dates, none at all! They did not want anyone to figure out how old they were LOL LOL LOL


Some people are not cut out to be historians...LOL.

L


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## Neversleepsawink;) (Dec 16, 2008)

According to my grandmothers huge family tree book.....Ronald Reagan and Jesse James are distant cousins of mine.


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## Meredith Sinclair (May 21, 2009)

Not really famous, but my great x ...........i can't remember how many.... uncle Dr.Bartlett Snipes (sp.) Durham donated four acres of his property to the city for a train station to be built. The town was later named after him... Durham, NC  Sadly enough I don't think he even knew it, he died at age 36! I have a book that traces my family to Durham, England and supposedly somewhere down the line we are supposed to be related to Prince Charles.... and I must say, my Dad's old photos (WWII) he looks just like Prince Charles did in his earlier days (20ish) WEIRD!


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

I'm related to Kevin Bacon within six degrees.  But, then, isn't everyone?  

Seriously, though, all I know is that I could be in the DAR if I wanted and have relatives buried in the same cemeteries as Roger Brooke Taney and Francis Scott Key.


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

I know who Francis Scott Key is but I am blanking on Roger Brooke Taney? Help me out, Ann.

L


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## Kristus412 (Nov 22, 2008)

My great great great great great great Uncle (give or take a great) was Grover Cleveland.


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Kristus412 said:


> My great great great great great great Uncle (give or take a great) was Grover Cleveland.


Interesting trivia about Grover Cleveland:

Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837 - June 24, 190 was both the 22nd and 24th President of the United States. Cleveland is the only President to serve two non-consecutive terms (1885-1889 and 1893-1897) and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Leslie said:


> I know who Francis Scott Key is but I am blanking on Roger Brooke Taney? Help me out, Ann.
> 
> L


Chief Justice of the Supreme Court -- best(?) known for the Dred Scott decision. We went on a field trip to his grave site in 8th grade: a 4 block walk to the cemetery.


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Chief Justice of the Supreme Court -- best(?) known for the Dred Scott decision. We went on a field trip to his grave site in 8th grade: a 4 block walk to the cemetery.


Ah, thank you.

L


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Chief Justice of the Supreme Court -- best(?) known for the Dred Scott decision. We went on a field trip to his grave site in 8th grade: a 4 block walk to the cemetery.


Is that who Taney Avenue in Alexandria is named after?


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Most likely. . . . .pronounced, incidentally, more like "Tawny" than "Tanny" or "Tane-ee".  At least that's what they always told us in school. . . . . .


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