I just rembered this. My blood uncle's step daughter was the captain of the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders in the early/mid 90s. Not really a relative, but I got a ton of free calendars.
I'm in someway or another related to Sitting Bull. I'm also related to Ralph Waldo Emerson in some form too. I think there's some others too, but I don't really remember.
My Great Great Uncle on my mom's side is this assclown: Henry Hopkins Sibley was a graduate of West Point. Like Loring, he had fought in the Seminole War, in Mexico, on the frontier, and as a Confederate general. When the Civil War broke out, Jefferson Davis appointed him to lead an expeditionary force from Texas to seize New Mexico, Colorado, and California. He won a controversial Confederate victory at the Battle of Valverde in 1862—controversial because of his own disreputable performance. In the spring of that year, after defeat at Glorieta Pass, he retreated in disgrace from New Mexico into West Texas and later faced court-martial for his inadequate and often drunken leadership. (Film buffs may recognize him as the general glimpsed briefly in Sergio Leone’s The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.) He was best-known as the inventor of the Sibley tent, a single-pole conical tent used by the Union and Confederate armies, and the Sibley stove, used until the advent of World War Two. Upon arriving in Egypt for a mercenary stint in the Egyptian army, Sibley was made inspector general of artillery, and devised the plans for the coastal defenses of Egypt and Alexandria. Unfortunately, General Sibley was an alcoholic, and also ran up a number of unpaid bills during his tenure in Egypt (including one for eating a cheese belonging to his landlord). The Khedive discharged him in 1873 for “physical disability.” Denied royalties from his inventions, Sibley died impoverished and forgotten in 1886, his grave remaining unmarked until 1956.
How do most of you know you are related to the big names from a bit farther back? Family lore passed down? Personal research? Just curious. JV, Don't worry, I am not related to anyone. My uncle once did some geneology and found that my mom's side had some Native American celebrity in there, but he is an idiot and I trust his geneology research (skills attained from a book) about as much as I trust my dog's recent research on Tristan Tszara.
I'm related to Robert Gould Shaw, the Colonel in charge of the Massachusetts 54th Infantry Regiment during the Civil War. This was the first all-black unit to fight for the Union forces. This is the subject for the movie, Glory.
On my father's side I'm related by marriage to one of the Younger brothers from the James/Younger gang. Also a grandfather's nephew(whatever that makes him to me) was the Sherrif and at the jail when Lee Harvey Oswald was killed. On My mothers side, my great grandfather was a rough rider.
You are correct, the invention was actually stolen JV. Slaves invented the cotton gin, not Eli Whitney but since slaves were viewed as property and not people they couldn't hold patents and Whitney was credited for the invention.
That is a great movie and a really compelling story. I just watched most of it again on one HBO's stations Sunday. Do you know much of his story? If so, how accurate would you say the movie was about him personally from what you know?
Except that my friend is white as can be. The relative was supposed to be Cajun, if I recall. My guess -- which is utter speculation -- is that this ancestor had a tenuous claim that didn't hold up at the time but gained legitimacy within the family with successive generations.
I'm related to this dude Pedro Menendez de Aviles Captain Pedro Menendez de Aviles (Feb. 15, 1519-Sept. 17, 1574) was a brutal Spanish sailor, soldier, explorer, and conquistador. King Philip II of Spain sent de Aviles to Florida to kill the French Huguenots who had settled there; the Spanish wanted the New World for themselves. De Aviles sailed from Spain in July 1565 with 11 ships and about 2,000 soldiers. They landed in Florida on August 28, 1565, at the Bay of St. Augustine and established a settlement at St. Augustine (the oldest continually-inhabited city in the United States), in what is now northeastern Florida, USA. On September 20, 1565, Aviles and his soldiers attacked the nearby French colony called Fort Caroline, murdering everyone (men, women and children), hanging some of the butchered bodies from trees. De Aviles also explored the coastline of North America as far north as St. Helena Island, South Carolina, and had forts built along the coast for protection. Aviles returned to Spain in 1567, and later died while fighting the British in a naval battle at Santander, Spain. My great-aunt, always claimed, to her dying day, that we were also related to Isabella I of Spain (ya know the one that gave Columbus his grant to make a lil sailing trip)
I don't think anyone was ever burned at the stake during the Salem Witch Trials. Many women were hanged (which was the official punishment for being a witch according to law) but none were burned (at least not in Salem!). Salem Witch Trials FAQ In Europe, quite a few women (and men) were burned for all sorts of things. And the Europeans have the nerve to call us barbarians!
I'm related to Karl Marx, but not the Marx Brothers, although I do have this cool shirt that says Of Course I'm a Marxist with the three bro's and Karl just sitting in a room.
Your right - my memory had them as burned but upon rereading it my actual relatives were imprisoned but a husband of my 9th great aunt was excuted. My 9th great-grandmother was Sarah Bassett b. 1651 who married Thomas Elwell. Some of her siblings were: Elizabeth Bassett who married John Proctor, Sarah Hood who married William Bassett, and Mary Bassett William (Captain) BASSETT [NI23797] BEF. 30 MAY 1624 - 31 MAR 1703 BIRTH: BEF. 30 MAY 1624, Dorking, Surrey, England [40980] [40981] DEATH: 31 MAR 1703, Lynn, Essex Co., Massachusetts [40982] [40983] [40984] Father: Roger BASSETT Mother: Ann HOLLAND Family 1 : Sarah BURT MARRIAGE: 1646, Lynn, Essex Co., Massachusetts? [147232] +William BASSETT , Jr +Elisha BASSETT +Elizabeth BASSETT +Sarah BASSETT +John BASSETT Miriam BASSETT Mary BASSETT +Hannah BASSETT Rebecca BASSETT Samuel BASSETT +Rachel BASSETT [NI23797] William Bassett, son of Roger and Ann (Holland) Bassett, was baptized at Dorking, Surrey, England 30 May 1624. At age 11 he came to America in 1635 on the "Abigail" with his mother and step-father, Hugh Burt, and lived in Lynn, MA as early as 1640. He married his stepsister, Sarah Burt, daughter of his mother Anna (Holland) (Bassett) and her second husband, Hugh Burt. William was an ensign in the company of Capt. Joseph Gardner of Salem in the Indian War and was in the "swamp fight." For his services in this capacity he was awarded by the General Court a grant of three acres 128 poles of land. In Lynn and Essex County records he was called "Quartermaster." He served many times on the jury for trials in the Quarterly Court, was a constable of Lynn, a selectman, and was among those citizens who signed for the purchase of land from the Indians in 1686. He was the Capt. William Bassett who was at a council of war with Maj. Benjamin Church at Scarborough, ME 11 Nov. 1689. His will is dated 10 Feb. 1701 and proved 22 May 1703. His wife survived him. From History of Lynn, Massachusetts, pp. 184-185: "WILLIAM BASSETT--was a farmer, and died 31 March, 1703. He had two sons; William, who married Sarah Hood, 25 Oct. 1675; and Elisha, whose wife's name was Elizabeth. His descendants remain. [He lived on Nahant street, on land which is still (1863) in possession of his descendants. He married Sarah, daughter of Hugh Burt, who died in 1661. He was an ensign in the company of Capt. Gardner, of Salem, in the Indian war, and was at the "swamp fight." For his services, the General Court made him a grant of land. Capt. William Bassett, supposed to be the same individual, was one of a council of war, with Major Benjamin Church, at Scarborough, Me. 11 Nov. 1689. His name often appears in the oldest town records of Lynn, where, in 1691, he is called Quartermaster Bassett. He died 31 March, 1703. His son William, who married Sarah Hood, as stated above, by Mr. Lewis, succeeded to the estate. This Sarah was the same person spoken of under date 1692, as having been imprisoned for witchcraft. He also had a daughter Elizabeth, who married John Proctor, of Danvers, who was executed for witchcraft. She was condemned, but pardoned. She had a second husband, named Richards. His children, besides those named, were Sarah, who married Thomas Elwell, of Gloucester, in 1675, and in 1701 lived in Salem county, N. J.; Rebecca; John, born in 1653; Miriam, b. 1655; Mary, b. 1657, who was also imprisoned for witchcraft, in 1692; Hannah, b. 1660, who married John Lilley, of Woburn; Samuel, b. 1664; and Rachel, b. 1666, who married Ephraim Silsbee. And this is, perhaps, as convenient an opportunity as any that will occur, to follow the line down to the present time."
Honestly, I don't really know many details, but I do know that the movie is at least fairly accurate concerning its portrayal him. Here's a bit about him from http://www.civilwarhome.com/shawbio.htm: Son of a prominent Boston abolitionist family, Robert Shaw was serving as a captain in the 2nd Massachusetts when he was tapped by Massachusetts Governor John Andrew for a special assignment. Shaw was to raise and command the first regiment of black troops organized in a Northern state. All the previous 11 colored" regiments had been raised principally from freed slaves in occupied areas. Shaw went about the organization of his command, recruiting free blacks from all over New England and some from beyond. The regiment was mustered into service on May 13, 1863, with Shaw as its colonel, and was sent to the South Carolina coast to take part in the operations against the cradle of secession, Charleston. After leading the regiment in smaller actions on James Island, at Legaresville on July 13, and Secessionville on July 16, Shaw moved the regiment over to Morris Island. On July 18, 1863, he led the 54th, in conjunction with two brigades of white troops, in an assault on Confederate Battery Wagner. In the unsuccessful charge, the black troops proved themselves to be fully capable of standing up to enemy fire but lost about one quarter of their men, including Colonel Shaw. The rebels in the battery were so outraged by the Union commanders arming blacks that they decided to insult the white officer by burying him in a common grave with his black enlisted men. But Shaw's parents, when they heard of it, were pleased and believed that was the way their son would have wanted it. (Burchard, Peter, One Gallant Rush: Robert Gould Shaw and His Brave Black Regiment) Source: "Who Was Who In The Civil War" by Stewart Sifakis
