Am I Related to Someone Famous?
Ever wonder if you could be next in line to be king? You may be closer than you think. You could be related to other famous individuals as well; perhaps they’ll write you into their will as an 8th cousin twice removed. You never know.
Check out our Brand-New Step-by-Step Guide Are You Related to Someone Famous: The 7 Secrets to Discovering your Famous Relatives
For a glimpse of what’s in the full guide: In the past, you had to do a lot of work to find out if you were related to someone famous or even hire a specialist to find out for you. Now there is a free tool that will list if you are descended from or related to famous individuals such as:
- European royalty
- Famous English
- Famous Writers
- Signers of the Declaration of Independence
- Mayflower passengers
- U.S. Presidents
- Technology Figures and Scientists
- Famous Americans
To find out if you have famous ancestors or relatives, follow the steps below:
- Create a free account at http://roots.cs.byu.edu/digroots/
- Create a family Group
- Add a Person to your group (grandparents for example)
- You’ll need to have an Ancestral File Number (AFN) for one of your ancestors. If one of your ancestors is included in the index, you’ll be able to search for famous ancestors. You can search FamilySearch.org to find out the Ancestral File Number for a deceased ancestor (grandparent or great grandparent). Look in the matches for “Ancestral File” when you search for your ancestor, and you’ll find the number.
- Select the Run a Report option
- Select the check boxes for the groups of famous people
- Request the report
You can run the report for a specific ancestor or link the ancestor to yourself (even if you don’t have an AFN for yourself). Running the reports, I discovered that I’m related to:
- Various European Royalty such as Richard the Lion Hearted and other less well known figures such as Louis II The Stammerer, Louis VIII The Fat, and Wladislaw I The Short (they weren’t too forgiving with titles back then I guess).
- Various Signers of the Declaration of Independence including Robert Paine (3rd cousin 9 times removed)
- Walt Disney (8th cousin 3 times removed)
- Thomas Edison (7th cousin 5 times removed)
- T.S. Eliot (7th cousin 4 times removed)
- Various U.S. Presidents including Quincy Adams (4th cousin 7 times removed), Abraham Lincoln (6th cousin 5 times removed), Franklin Roosevelt (7th cousin 4 times removed), and George W. Bush (8th cousin)
- Gordon B. Hinckley (7th cousin 4 times removed)
- Joseph Smith (3rd cousin 7 times removed)
- Philo T. Farnsworth “Father of Television” (8th cousin 3 times removed)
I was excited to be related to 14 U.S. Presidents. We then ran the report for my wife and found out that she was related to John Adams! I was jealous because I very much enjoyed reading David McCulough’s book John Adams and gained a great respect for his role in the Revolution. I suppose I can say I’m related to the Adams family (no pun intended) through marriage. My wife says that’s a stretch.
To understand what the “7th cousin 4 times removed” jargon is all about, click here.
For those of you with European ancestry, you could find out if you’re related to royalty. I figure that for me, I’d have to be about the last living person alive, of British descent, to be next in line to be king. Hey, at least I’m in line.
Testimonial:
“Before I read this book, I was worried that searching for my ancestors and my relationships to famous people would be too difficult and time consuming. I took a chance, followed the 7 secrets, and was surprised how easy it actually was!
I quickly learned that I am not only related to at least 15 U.S. Presidents, but I’m also a direct descendant of 3 passengers on the Mayflower! I’m excited to continue using the 7 secrets to find out more about who I’m related to.”
-Justin C., Santa Clara, UT
Tags: Family Tree, Famous Relatives, Genealogy Research
