So I was messing around on ancestry.com and found this list of famous people we are vicariously related to through Grandpa Leo. Here’s the complete list:
http://trees.ancestry.com/RelationFinder/relate.aspx?pid=40986176
Some of my favorites include George Orwell, JP Morgan, and Chaucer. Enjoy!
Dude, how did you get in there?
We’re related to the First Lady. And a former President. That’s pretty sweet.
I think it might let me in because I use BYU’s internet. Heres the list:
Famous People related to Leo Trussler Freeman
Stephen Hopkins (1582-1644)
Mayflower Passenger
Stephen Hopkins was a merchant and tanner by trade who came across the ocean on the Mayflower. He also signed the Mayflower Compact.
Relationship: 8th Great Grandfather
Samuel Huntington (1731-1796)
Connecticut Representative
Samuel Huntington signed the Articles of Confederation as a member of the Continental Congress. Later he signed the Declaration of Independence as Governor of Connecticut.
Relationship: 3rd Cousin 6 times removed
Lyman Hall (1724-1790)
Georgia Representative
Lyman Hall was selected by his parish to represent Georgia in the Continental Congress. He later helped to charter the University of Georgia.
Relationship: 3rd Cousin 6 times removed
William Brewster (1567-1644)
Mayflower Passenger
William Brewster was the senior elder of the Plymouth Colony and also served as an advisor to Governor Bradford.
Relationship: 1st Cousin 10 times removed
Franklin Pierce (1804-1869)
14th President of the United States of America
A strong background in law, military service and politics brought Franklin Pierce to the presidency of the United States in 1853. During his term the Kansas-Nebraska Act was enacted and the Gadsden Purchase, 45,535 miles of land, bought what now makes up the southernmost area of New Mexico and Arizona.
Relationship: 5th Cousin 3 times removed
Emily Dickenson (1830-1886)
American Poet
Emily Dickenson is considered one of the most influential poets in American history. During her lifetime she published only a few poems, though her writing career produced over 1700 poems (all published posthumously).
Relationship: 6th Cousin 1 times removed
William Ellery (1727-1820)
Rhode Island Representative
A successful merchant from Rhode Island, William Ellery was the only representative from Rhode Island to sign the Declaration of Independence.
Relationship: 3rd Cousin 7 times removed
Florence Kling Harding (1860-1924)
First Lady
Florence Mabel Kling Harding was the wife of President Warren G. Harding. Though she had struggled to support herself and her young son, she thrived as the hostess of the White House.
Relationship: 6th Cousin 2 times removed
J.P. Morgan (1837-1913)
American Banker
John Piermont Morgan I was one of the wealthiest men at the beginning of the 20th century. A financier and banker, he arranged the merger for General Electric, and his bank today is known as Morgan Stanley.
Relationship: 6th Cousin 2 times removed
Jonathan Swift (1667-1745)
Anglo-Irish Priest and Writer
Jonathan Swift is well known for his satirical prose such as Gulliver’s Travels and A Modest Proposal. Swift, was also an ordained minister in the Church of Ireland.
Relationship: 3rd Cousin 8 times removed
Walt Whitman (1819-1892)
American Poet
Perhaps the greatest of all American poets, Walt Whitman broke with the European style and structure of poetry and developed an innovative and “American” style of poetry. He revised and added to his most famous book Leaves of Grass until his death in 1892.
Relationship: 6th Cousin 3 times removed
Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849)
American Poet
Boston native Edgar Allan Poe was a progenitor of detective fiction. His life was full of tragedies, including the death of his mother and young wife to tuberculosis. His tragic life inspired many of his works such as “The Raven”.
Relationship: 6th Cousin 3 times removed
Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959)
American Architect
Frank Lloyd Wright was an influential American architect. Pioneering the prairie style house and designing the Guggenheim Museum in New York are two of his most famous accomplishments.
Relationship: 7th Cousin 1 times removed
Margaret Mitchell (1900-1949)
American Author
Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell is best remembered for her hugely successful novel, Gone with the Wind. She was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1937 for the novel. Gone with the Wind is the second best selling hard-cover book, taking second only to the Bible.
Relationship: 7th Cousin 1 times removed
Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400)
English Author
Often called the father of English literature, Geoffrey Chaucer was an English author, poet, and courtier known especially for his “Canterbury Tales”.
Relationship: 16th Great Grandfather
William Whipple (1730-1785)
New Hampshire Representative
A merchant and Brigadier General in the New Hampshire Militia, William Whipple Jr. signed the Declaration of Independence as a representative of New Hampshire.
Relationship: 3rd Cousin 5 times removed
Clement Moore (1779-1863)
Author/ Poet
Clement Moore wrote several poems but is most famous for “The Night before Christmas”. The clever poem was first published in the Troy, New York Sentinel in 1823.
Relationship: 3rd Cousin 5 times removed
Judy Garland (1922-1969)
American Actress
Judy Garland, born Frances Ethyl Gumm, was a child prodigy who’s singing and acting career soared after The Wizard of Oz. Her untimely death at 47 was caused by a drug overdose.
Relationship: 6th Cousin
Mamie Eisenhower (1896-1979)
First Lady
Mamie Doud Eisenhower was the wife of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Her popularity came from her beautiful clothes, her pride in her home and her husband, and her million dollar fudge recipe.
Relationship: 6th Cousin
Lucy Ware Webb Hayes (1831-1889)
First Lady
Lucy Ware Webb Hayes convinced her husband, Rutherford B. Hayes, to fight in the Union army and to oppose slavery. He later became an influential part of the abolitionist cause.
Relationship: 4th Cousin 4 times removed
Lucretia Rudolph Garfield (1832-1918)
First Lady
Lucretia Rudolph Garfield, wife of President James A. Garfield, wasn’t interested in the social duties of the First Lady, but her genuine hospitality made her gatherings very enjoyable.
Relationship: 4th Cousin 4 times removed
Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888)
American Novelist
Louisa May Alcott’s transcendentalist family supported abolitionist and feminist movements during the Civil War. Her family was the inspiration for her best known novels, Little Women and Little Men.
Relationship: 5th Cousin 2 times removed
Richard Allen (1760-1831)
Reverend, ex-slave
Richard Allen was an African American pastor and the founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. He was born as a slave to a colonial jurist.
Relationship: 4th Cousin 4 times removed
Sam Bass (1851-1878)
American Outlaw
American train robber Sam Bass robbed the Union pacific gold train and took $60,000, the largest robbery of the Union Pacific to date.
Relationship: 5th Cousin 2 times removed
Butch Cassidy (1866-1908)
American Outlaw
Robert LeRoy Parker, better known as Butch Cassidy, was part of an infamous group of train and bank robbers, called the Wild Bunch.
Relationship: 6th Cousin 2 times removed
Helen Adams Keller (1880-1968)
American author and activist
Relationship: 5th Cousin 4 times removed
Laura Welch Bush (1946-)
First Lady
Present First lady Laura Bush has taken an interest in the effects of the September 11 attacks on children. She has revived the more traditional role of First Lady back to the White House.
Relationship: 6th Cousin 3 times removed
Ruth Benedict (1887-1948)
American Anthropologist
American anthropologist Ruth Benedict wrote, Patterns of Culture which was translated into 14 languages. She studied cultural relativism and spoke out against fascism.
Relationship: 7th Cousin 1 times removed
Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892)
English Poet
Alfred, Lord Tennyson is remembered for his classical poetry. “Idylls of the King”, written in 1885 is a work derived from the legend of King Arthur and is one of Tennyson’s most famous pieces of writing.
Relationship: 7th Cousin 2 times removed
Ronald Reagan (1911-2004)
40th President of the United States of America
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the oldest person to be elected president. A former actor, he was called “The Great Communicator.” He helped to cut income taxes and to reduce inflation.
Relationship: 8th Cousin
Mae West (1893-1980)
American Actress, Screenwriter, and Playwright
Mae West, born Mary Jane West, is considered one of the most controversial stars of the 1930’s. Her scripts often endured huge amounts censorship, but also huge success with audiences. She wrote and starred in She Done Him Wrong and I’m No Angel.
Relationship: 7th Cousin 2 times removed
Byron White (1917-2002)
Football star and Supreme Court Justice
Byron White was nicknamed “Whizzer” during his days playing football for the University of Colorado Buffaloes. He played for the Steelers (formerly the Pirates). He later became a Supreme Court Justice.
Relationship: 7th Cousin 2 times removed
Edward Jenner (1749-1823)
English Physician
Edward Jenner was the first doctor to introduce and study the smallpox vaccine. He also contributed to the study of the heart and valvular disease.
Relationship: 5th Cousin 7 times removed
George Orwell (1903-1950)
British Author
Eric Arthur Blair is most commonly recognized by his pen name, George Orwell. His political commentary is a major theme in his most famous works: “1984”, “Animal Farm”, and “Down and Out in Paris and London”.
Relationship: 9th Cousin 2 times removed
Freddie Prinze (1954-1977)
American Comedian
Freddie Prinze was a Puerto Rican-American standup comedian and actor. He got his big break on the “Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson” getting an interview after his routine. Prinze also starred in “Chico and the Man”.
Relationship: 8th Cousin 4 times removed
Aldous Huxley (1894-1963)
English author Aldous Huxley emigrated to England with his scientifically genius family. He was known for his novels, such as “Brave New World” and “Time Must Have a Stop”.
Relationship: 10th Cousin 1 times removed
Dude, Geoffrey Chaucer, our 17th great gramps… SIC!
Butch Cassidy is pretty sweet too.