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Genealogy Blog

3 January 2013

Are You Related to Mel Gibson?

Gibson was born on January 3, 1956 in Peekskill, New York, the sixth of eleven children, and the second son of Hutton Gibson and Irish-born Anne Patricia (née Reilly, died 1990). His paternal grandmother was opera contralto Eva Mylott (1875–1920), who was born in Australia to Irish parents.

One of Gibson's younger brothers, Donal, is also an actor. Gibson's first name comes from Saint Mel, fifth-century Irish saint, and founder of Gibson's mother's native diocese, Ardagh, while his second name, Colm-Cille, is also shared by an Irish saint and is the name of the parish in County Longford where Gibson's mother was born and raised.

Mel Gibson's Family Tree

2 January 2013

Are You Related to Barry Goldwater?

Five-term United States Senator from Arizona and the Republican Party's nominee for President in the 1964 election, Goldwater was born on January 2, 1909 in Phoenix, in what was then the Arizona Territory, the son of Baron M. Goldwater and his wife, Hattie Josephine ("JoJo") Williams.

His father's Jewish family had founded Goldwater's, the largest department store in Phoenix. The family name had been changed from Goldwasser to Goldwater at least as early as the 1860 census in Los Angeles, California.

Barry Goldwater's Family Tree

21 December 2012

Are You Related to Samuel L. Jackson?

Jackson was born on December 21, 1948 in Washington, D.C. He grew up as an only child in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with his mother, Elizabeth Jackson (née Montgomery), who was a factory worker and later a supplies buyer for a mental institution, and his maternal grandparents and extended family.

His father lived away from the family, in Kansas City, Missouri, and later died from alcoholism; Jackson had only met his father twice during his life.

Samuel L. Jackson's Family Tree

20 December 2012

Are You Related to Harvey Samuel Firestone?

Firestone was born on December 20, 1868 on the Columbiana, Ohio farm built by his paternal grandfather. He was the second of Benjamin and Catherine (née Flickinger) Firestone's three sons.

Firestone's paternal great-great-great grandfather, Nicholas Hans Feuerstein, immigrated from Berg/Alsace/France, in 1753, and settled in Pennsylvania.

Harvey Samuel Firestone's Family Tree

19 December 2012

Helena Bonham Carter Connected To Victor Hugo Through Ancestors

Helena Bonham Carter, one of the stars of Les Miserables, is connected to Victor Hugo, the book's author, by more than just the film. A study by ancestry.com has shown that Hugo was a colleague of French financier and politician Achille Fould, Bonham Carter's first cousin five times removed.

The two men served together, Hugo in the constitutional and legislative assembly, Fould as minister of finance, in the postrevolutionary French government of the 1840s.

Source & Full Story

18 December 2012

Are You Related to Keith Richards?

Keith Richards is the only child of Bertrand Richards and Doris Dupree Richards. He was born on December 18, 1943 at Livingston Hospital in Dartford, Kent. His father was a factory worker who was injured in World War II during the Normandy invasion.

Richards' paternal grandparents were socialists and civic leaders whose family originated from Wales. His maternal grandfather, Augustus Theodore Dupree, who toured Britain with a jazz big band, "Gus Dupree and his Boys," fostered Richards's interest in guitar.

Keith Richards' Family Tree

17 December 2012

Duchess of Cambridge Discovers Blue Blood in Her Own Family

Since the Duchess married into the Royal family, much has been made of her “humble” roots, with coal miners, a road sweeper and even a prisoner among her ancestors.

New research has revealed that she is related to one of Britain’s grandest families and can count a prime minister, earls and countesses among her kin. The news has been welcomed by the Duchess, who was informed of her aristocratic heritage during the first few weeks of her pregnancy.

Source & Full Story

13 December 2012

Are You Related to Taylor Swift?

Taylor Alison Swift was born in Reading, Pennsylvania. Her father, Scott Kingsley Swift, is a Merrill Lynch financial adviser. He was raised in Pennsylvania and is the descendant of three generations of bank presidents. Her mother, Andrea (née Finlay), is a homemaker who previously worked as a mutual fund marketing executive.

She spent the early years of her life on an eleven-acre Christmas tree farm in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania and was educated at the fee-paying Wyndcroft School. When Swift was nine years old, the family moved to Wyomissing, Pennsylvania.

Taylor Swift's Family Tree

12 December 2012

Are You Related to Bob Barker?

Barker was born on December 12, 1923 in Darrington, Washington, and spent most of his youth on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota. The U.S. Indian Census Rolls, 1885–1940, list Barker as an official member of the Sioux tribe.

His mother, Matilda ("Tillie") Valandra (née Matilda Kent Tarleton), was a school teacher; his father, Byron John Barker, was the foreman on the electrical high line through the state of Washington.

Bob Barker's Family Tree

10 December 2012

The Hobbit Author JRR Tolkien Link To Newcastle Found In Graveyard

A little piece of Hobbit history was discovered in the North East. In the month the new film The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is released, it is Tyneside that holds a special Tolkien secret.

The first of the three fantasy-adventure films directed, co-written and produced by Peter Jackson is based on JRR Tolkien’s fantasy novel from 1937. The author had strong links to Newcastle, and the dedicated team renovating graves in Jesmond Old Cemetery in Newcastle uncovered a secret about him.

Source & Full Story

Are You Related to Emily Dickinson?

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was born at the family's homestead in Amherst, Massachusetts, into a prominent, but not wealthy, family. Two hundred years earlier, her patrilineal ancestors had arrived in the New World—in the Puritan Great Migration—where they prospered.

Emily Dickinson's paternal grandfather, Samuel Dickinson, had almost single-handedly founded Amherst College. In 1813, he built the homestead, a large mansion on the town's Main Street, that became the focus of Dickinson family life for the better part of a century.

Emily Dickinson's Family Tree

6 December 2012

Are You Related to Kit Culkin?

Culkin was born on December 6, 1944 in Manhattan, New York, the son of Marian Ethel (née Wagner), a writer and editor, and Philip Harley Culkin, a journalist. He spent his youth in New York City, working on Broadway in theater productions with actors such as Richard Burton, John Gielgud, Laurence Olivier and Anthony Quinn.

He is the father of Macaulay Culkin, of Home Alone fame.

Kit Culkin's Family Tree

5 December 2012

Are You Related to George Armstrong Custer?

Custer was born on December 5, 1839 in New Rumley, Ohio, to Emanuel Henry Custer (1806–1892), a farmer and blacksmith, and Marie Ward Kirkpatrick (1807–1882).

According to late 20th century research, Custer's ancestors, Paulus and Gertrude Küster, who followed the first thirteen immigrant German families from Krefeld and surroundings, had emigrated to North America around 1693 from the Rhineland in Germany.

George Armstrong Custer's Family Tree

4 December 2012

Are You Related to Lillian Russell?

Russell was born Helen Louise Leonard on December 4, 1860 in Clinton, Iowa. Her father was newspaper publisher Charles E. Leonard, and her mother was the feminist Cynthia Leonard, the first woman to run for mayor of New York City. Her family moved to Chicago by 1865, where she attended the Convent of the Sacred Heart (from age 7 to 15) and the Park Institute.

Lillian Russell's Family Tree

3 December 2012

Are You Related to George Cabot?

Cabot was an American merchant, seaman, and politician born on December 3, 1752 in Salem, Massachusetts. His father was Joseph Cabot, a ship merchant. His mother was Elizabeth Higginson.

He had four children: Charles, Henry, Edward, and Elizabeth.

George Cabot's Family Tree

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