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Saturday, November 17, 2007
So, President Bush is my Cousin...
Seriously. Well, probably.
So, I used my day off today to plug the already fairly-detailed family history that I have into Ancestry.com.
Continued after the fold, for those who find geneology mildly interesting.
Now, some of this may be off - but, really, it's not that many generations ago. And, of course, there's the question of legitimacy, but...
I'm Adam Yoshida. Hi. My mother is June Yoshida (nee McKinnon). Her father was Hector Walter McKinnnon. His mother was Gertrude McKinnon (nee Barkley). Her mother was Maria Elizabeth Forester.
The first set are well known. I knew my Grandfather. My mother knew her Grandmother.
There are census records which show that Maria Barkley was Gertude Barkley's mother and that Maria Forester married Phillip Ellijah Barkley.
Now, Maria Forester's mother was Lurenia Cowdrey. That - and her father being Daniel Forester - is reflected on Maria Barkley's death cerificate from 1933.
Now, the rest I don't have records for. But, on the other hand, it's all been entered into the database and, based on the specific nature of the dates, places, marriages - it all seems to match.
Lurenia Cowdrey's father was named George Washington Cowdrey. He was born on February 10th, 1785 in Vermont. His father was Samuel Cowdrey, who was born on May 25th, 1766. In turn, his father was Thomas Cowdrey - who was born on September 14th, 1729 in Reading, Massachusetts. In turn, Thomas Cowdrey's mother was Mehitabel Damon, who was born on November 9th 1699. He mother was Lucy Ann Emerson, who was born on October 2nd 1667. He mother was Elizabeth Bulkeley, who was born in 1638 in Massacusetts.
In turn, the father of Elizabeth Bulkeley was Edward Bulkeley, who was born in Bedfordshire, England in 1614.
In turn, Edward Bulkey's father was the Rev. Peter Bulkeley, who was born in 1583 in England.
I realize that this is getting to sound a little like one of the more-boring sections of the Bible... So, the upshot of all of this is that President George Walker Bush in my 10th Cousin, 1 times removed and President George Herbert Walker Bush is my 9th Cousin, 2 times removed.
Also, through the same connection:
1) John Hancock is my third cousin, eight times removed.
2) Canadian Prime Minister Robert Borden is my eighth cousin, five times removed.
Through other family relationships - though ones I'm less certian of than the one that I've outlined above:
1) Revolutionary War hero John Parker is my second cousin (eight times removed).
2) President Taft is my sixth cousin, four times removed.
3) So is President Garfield.
4) President Fillmore is my sixth cousin, five times removed.
I'm also related to two First Ladies:
1) Frances Folsom Cleveland.
2) Grace Coolidge.
Also of note, I seem to have some poetic relations:
1) Ralph Waldo Emerson is my fourth cousin, six times removed.
2) Emily Dickinson is my seventh cousin, four times removed.
3) T.S. Eliot is my ninth cousin, two times removed.
4) Jack London is my tenth cousin, three times removed.
In the technical field, I'm distantly related to Samuel Morse, Robert H. Goddard, and Ferdinand von Zepplin. That last part might explain some stuff.
Alas, no royal bloodlines - beyond the fact that the MacKinnons (the name was changed by my Great-Great Grandfather for reasons which are lost to history) claim descent from the historical King MacBeth (alas, not much like Shakespeare's - that I could really dig).
Posted by Adam T. Yoshida on November 17, 2007 in Current Affairs | Permalink
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Comments
That's great for you, Yoshi. Alas, I am unable to go back for more than five generations (through oral history alone) because all the records of my family - not to mention almost all members of my family - were destroyed in WWII.
Posted by: obc | 2007-11-17 6:40:14 PM
My father died at Auschwitz, he fell out of the gun tower.
Just kidding.
Posted by: John | 2007-11-17 7:24:27 PM
Congratulations to YOSHI on his excellent access and utilization of Ancestry.com and of course his very impressive ancestoral pedigree.
I wonder whether searching that site with a MAC may have something to do with my ancestoral search results, because I find myself - I won't say how many times removed, from "ATTILA the HUN"
Posted by: Joe Molnar | 2007-11-17 7:34:15 PM
John ~
I'm assuming you had a beer or three while watching Hockey Night in Canada - and overlook your tasteless attempt at humour.
Posted by: obc | 2007-11-17 7:35:34 PM
OBC, you have a limited sense of humour.
I don't drink beer and hockey for the perpetual child.
Posted by: John | 2007-11-17 7:54:59 PM
I agree, John. Now, let's crack some jokes about those two Canadian soldiers that were killed today in Afghanistan.
I'll let you begin:
Posted by: obc | 2007-11-17 8:00:23 PM
OBC,
You sound upset, angry, frustrated, insulted, vindictive unhappy, miserable ... looks good on you. Enjoy.
I have noted that you live on this blog. Maybe you need to take a break and go get some fresh air.
Posted by: John | 2007-11-17 8:20:35 PM
I'm still waiting for that hilarious gag about those two dead Canadians.
What's the problem? Is your sense of humour on strike?
Posted by: obc | 2007-11-17 8:25:36 PM
No doubt Ukrainians, victims of mass murder by Stalin and his Jews, share your chagrin, Oswald.
Posted by: DJ | 2007-11-17 9:42:39 PM
My ancestral roots go back to Romania. Vladmir The Impaler was a distant relation. Good ole Count Dracula. Oh well, you can pick your friends....
Posted by: Bazoo | 2007-11-17 10:04:06 PM
Yoshi,
Any Jewish Ladies in your family tree-descending through the women?
Posted by: Lady | 2007-11-17 10:48:40 PM
Lady,
No, it doesn't appear as such. But, at the present time, I have zero information about one of my Grandparents. Pretty much all of this is through my Grandfather.
Basically:
1) My Paternal Grandmother: Descent from Japanese nobility of some sort.
2) My Paternal Grandmother: Japanese merchant class.
3) My Maternal Grandmother: I don't know. I have practically zero information on her. She died when my mother was very young.
4) My Maternal Grandfather: The one whose descent I outlined.
So, it's possible - but not very likely, I think, since my maternal Grandmother's background seems to have been principally Northern European.
Posted by: Adam Yoshida | 2007-11-17 11:10:04 PM
You ever realize that when people talk about ancestors or the get some person the "read" their past lives they always have a long list of famous people...lol, Well I guess its not like anyone else would know 15th uncle john you work until 50 in some field in england and died.
Anyway, good for you Yoshi!
Posted by: SW | 2007-11-17 11:40:39 PM
and dammit all, dosent it suck when you type something out and realize after its posted that you forgot the Y in "they" not once but twice!!!
Posted by: SW | 2007-11-17 11:47:17 PM
"So, President Bush is my Cousin..."
No doubt there.
As for me I'm a descendant of the Major Clément Gosselin aka "Washington's spy".
Posted by: Marc | 2007-11-18 11:22:59 AM
Yoshi ~
Ultimately, all humans are related, since we are all descendants of Adam & Eve - with the exception of those who claim their ancestors were simians of one kind or another. :)
Posted by: obc | 2007-11-18 1:47:34 PM
Either monkeys or consanguines...
What a beautiful bunch - either ways.
Posted by: Marc | 2007-11-18 2:34:41 PM
Consanguination is the proof that we are all descended from the same stock.
You can pick your friends but you can't choose your relatives.
Posted by: atric | 2007-11-18 3:31:55 PM
i'll never find out my ancestors, raised on an iceberg by polarbears
Posted by: reg dunlop | 2007-11-18 5:03:41 PM
How's doing Ned's wife Reg ?
Posted by: Marc | 2007-11-18 5:44:42 PM
not doing that no more.
Isn't it the Mormons in Utah that hold all the tree lines in N.A.?
Posted by: reg dunlop | 2007-11-18 6:48:54 PM
heh heh heh heh heh ... ;D
Posted by: shel | 2007-11-18 6:52:33 PM
I thought the tree line was up in northern Canada? You telling me the Inuit are all Mormons? :)
Posted by: obc | 2007-11-18 7:09:46 PM
just asking. I heard that utah has the largest collection of family trees.
but that could be the reason the inuit changed from eskimos, because of the mormons..?8)
Posted by: reg dunlop | 2007-11-18 8:02:40 PM
Related to Bush? That explains a lot.
Posted by: Cynic | 2007-11-18 9:55:14 PM
Interesting Adam,
The first wave of Jews to North American came in around 1750--some earlier.
The second wave came in the late 1800's to early 1900s with the rest of the Northerners from Europe. Amongst them were many persecuted Jews--who were primarily Ashkenzai. The first wave were Sephardic--primarily--and that wave had about 2,500. I do not recall the actual number in the second or third wave--but it was quite large in comparison. The third wave was post WWII when the Brits got in the way of many of those who attempted to got back to Israel, but who were not permitted--largely due to British control over the immigration to Israel under the mandate.
So, there are many people whose grandparents have one or more Jewish relatives. The women were the ones whose identities were hidden the most--as it was customary for the families whom these women married into--to adopt the patriarchal lines.
This was largely due to the anti-Semitism who pervaded the time.
Also, some were just tired of the persecution. Interestingly enough, many people are in fact researching--as you are--their family backgrounds, and many have indeed discovered a female Jewish link--through the maternal line.
What this means is--in a halachic sense--Jewish identity flows through the maternal line.
Posted by: Lady | 2007-11-18 11:42:08 PM
O/T but vital:
"Heart attack patient delayed at U.S.-Canada border"
Canadian officials are calling for a review of border security after ambulance workers were delayed while transporting a heart attack patient to a Detroit hospital.
"It's another sad chapter of what's happening at the border," New Democrat MP Brian Masse told CTV News. "It's becoming a militarized zone."
The incident happened last Monday, when 46-year-old Rick Laport needed emergency angioplasty -- a procedure that couldn't be performed at his Windsor, Ont., hospital.
HEY, DIPPER BRIAN MASSE! Instead of condemning the "militarized zone", how about addressing the fact that the "village" of Windsor - with its "free health care" could not provide the patient with the emergency care he needed? Only the hated US system had the ability to look after this poor guy.
WHAT DOES THAT TELL YOU ABOUT OUR HEALTHCARE SYSTEM, Dipperhead???
Posted by: obc | 2007-11-19 6:38:13 AM
Bush is also Kerry's cousin..seems he has a lot of em..small world eh?
Posted by: WL Mackenzie Redux | 2007-11-19 10:09:42 AM
And who is Huma related to? The profit, perhaps?
"Hillary’s Mystery Woman: Who is Huma?"
This is Hillary Clinton’s top aide. Goes with her everywhere. And, according to Vogue magazine, "fluent in Arabic, and a practicing Muslim born in Kalamazoo, MI, to a Pakistani mother and Indian father. Moved to Saudi Arabia when she was two…Her father is an Islamic scholar…." This story is a real eye-opener.
Am I the only person who thinks it is strange that Mrs. Clinton has a top aide who is a Muslim raised in Saudi Arabia? What is going on here?
Paul Sperry’s book, “Infiltration: How Muslim Spies and Subversives have Penetrated Washington” has become more and more relevant, hasn’t it?
WHEN THIS hits the fan, Middle & Southern Americans will unite behind the Republican candidate - no matter who he is - and finally chase the Clintonoids off the American stage. Especially when they hear that she spends every night with Shrillery - if you know what I mean.
She could diffuse this by shrieking: "I'm gay, and I'm proud!"
But somehow I doubt she'll do that.
Posted by: obc | 2007-11-19 7:22:20 PM
Obama is related to Cheney and Bush !
Posted by: Cynic | 2007-11-21 8:45:46 PM
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