Category Archives: genealogy

Ancestry, genealogy, History, Politics

James Knox Polk ,11th President of the United States, 9th cousin 6x removed

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James Knox Polk, the 11th President of the United States in my 9th cousin 6x removed. The ancestor who connect us together is Sir James 1st Lord Duke Hamilton Hamilton 6th Laird of Cadzow Hamilton (1423 – 1479), my 11th great grandfather.

James Knox Polk was born on November 2, 1795 died on June 15, 1849. He was the 11th President of the United States (1845-1849). He previously was Speaker of the House of Representatives (1835-1839) and Governor of Tennessee (1839-1841). A protégé of Andrew Jackson, he was a member of the Democratic Party and an advocate of Jacksonian democracy. During Polk’s presidency, America expanded significantly with the annexation of the Republic of Texas, the Oregon Territory, and the Mexican Cession following the American victory in the Mexican-American War. After building a successful law practice in Tennessee, Polk was elected to the state legislature (1823) and then to the United States House of Representatives in 1825, becoming a strong supporter of Jackson. After serving as chairman from the Ways and Means Committee, he became Speaker in 1835, the only President to have been Speaker Polk left Congress to run for governor; he won in 1839 but lost in 1841 and 1843. He was a dark horse candidate for the Democratic nomination for President in 1844; he entered his party’s convention as a potential nominee for vice president but emerged as a compromise to head the ticket when no presidential applicant could secure the necessary two-thirds majority.

The genealogical chart shows how President James Polk and I share a common ancestor:

James Knox Polk ,11th President of the United States (1795 – 1849)
9th cousin 6x removed

Samuel Ezekial Polk (1772 – 1827)
Father of James Knox Polk ,11th President of the United States

Ezekial Franklin Polk (1747 – )
Father of Samuel Ezekial Polk

William Polk (1700 – 1753)
Father of Ezekial Franklin Polk

Robert Bruce Polke (1640 – 1704)
Father of William Polk

Robert Bruce Pollock (1601 – 1640)
Father of Robert Bruce Polke

Robert Pollok (1559 – 1625)
Father of Robert Bruce Pollock

Janet Mure (1524 – 1576)
Mother of Robert Pollok

Elizabeth Hamilton (1505 – )
Mother of Janet Mure

Gavin Hamilton (1480 – )
Father of Elizabeth Hamilton

Sir James 1st Lord Duke Hamilton Hamilton 6th Laird of Cadzow Hamilton (1423 – 1479)
Father of Gavin Hamilton

Culture, genealogy, History, Politics

President John Tyler, 5th cousin 6x removed

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President John Tyler is my is my 5th cousin 6x removed. That ancestor who connect both of us is Robert Booth, my 10th great grandfather. John Tyler was born on March 29, 1790, and died on January 18, 1862. He was, in fact, the tenth president of the United States from 1841 to 1845 after briefly serving as the tenth vice president (1841); he was elected to the latter office on the 1840 Whig ticket with President William Henry Harrison. Tyler ascended to the presidency after Harrison’s death in April 1841, only a month after the start of the new administration. He was a stalwart supporter of states’ rights, and as president, he adopted nationalist policies only when they did not infringe on the powers of the states. His unexpected rise towards the presidency, with the resulting threat to the presidential ambitions of Henry Clay and other politicians, left him estranged from both major political parties.

This is how President John Tyler appears on my genealogical chart to the ancestor we both share:

President John Tyler IV, 10th President of the United States (1790 – 1862)
5th cousin 6x removed

Mary Marot Armistead (1761 – 1797)
Mother of President John Tyler IV, 10th President of the United States

Robert Booth Armistead
Father of Mary Marot Armistead

Ellyson Armistead Captain (1690 – 1757)
Father of Robert Booth Armistead

Moss Booth (1682 – 1750)
Mother of Ellyson Armistead Captain

Robert Booth (1644 – 1695)
Father of Moss Booth

Robert Booth (1610 – 1657)
Father of Robert Booth

Ancestry, Culture, genealogy, History

Lord Randolph Henry Spencer-Churchill , 12th cousin 2x removed

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Lord Randolph Henry Spencer-Churchill is my 12th cousin 2 x removed. The ancestor who connect us is Catherine Neville, my 11th great grandmother. Lord Spencer-Churchill was born at 3 Wilton Terrace, Belgravia, London. He was initially independently schooled, and later went to Tabor’s Preparatory School at Cheam, London. In January 1863 he attended Eton College, in which he continued to be until July 1865. He did not stick out either at academic work or sport while at Eton; his contemporaries identify him as a vivacious and somewhat unmanageable young man. In October 1867 he matriculated at Merton College, Oxford. He had a preference for sports, but was also an enthusiastic reader, and acquired a second-class degree in jurisprudence and contemporary history in 1870. In 1871, Churchill and his uncle George Spencer-Churchill were definitely initiated in to the rites of Freemasonry, as later on his son Winston would be. In 1874 he was chosen to Parliament as Conservative member for Woodstock, Oxfordshire defeating George Brodrick, a Fellow, and afterwards Warden, of Merton College. His maiden speech, delivered in his initial session, encouraged kind comments from Harcourt and Disraeli, who published to the Queen of Churchill’s ‘energy and natural flow’.

These are the ancestors who connect Lord Randolph Henry Spencer-Church and I:

Randolph Henry Spencer-Churchill ,Lord (1849 – 1895)
12th cousin 2x removed

John Winston Sir 7th Duke of Marlborough Spencer-Churchill (1822 – 1883)
Father of Randolph Henry Spencer-Churchill ,Lord

Jane Stewart Stewart (1798 – 1844)
Mother of John Winston Sir 7th Duke of Marlborough Spencer-Churchill

Jane Bayley Bayly alias Paget (1774 – 1842)
Mother of Jane Stewart Stewart

Henry Bayly alias Paget
Father of Jane Bayley Bayly alias Paget

Caroline Paget
Mother of Henry Bayly Bayly alias Paget

Brig. Gen. Thomas Paget
Father of Caroline Paget

Henry Paget
Father of Brig. Gen. Thomas Paget

Frances Rich (1617 – 1672)
Mother of Henry Paget

Henry Rich, Earl (1617 – 1672)
Father of Frances Rich

Penelope Devereux (1562 – 1607)
Mother of Henry Rich, Earl

Diet, disease, genealogy, Health

Glucosamine supplements linked to lower risk of cardiovascular disease

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Regular use of glucosamine supplements may be related to a lower risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) events, suggests an analysis of data from the UK Biobank study, published in The BMJ today.

The findings suggest that glucosamine may have benefits in preventing CVD events, such as coronary heart disease and stroke, and further clinical trials are needed to test this theory, say the researchers.

Glucosamine is a popular dietary supplement used to relieve osteoarthritis and joint pain. While its effects on joint pain continue to be debated, emerging evidence suggests that glucosamine may have a role in preventing cardiovascular disease and reducing mortality. However, conclusive evidence is still lacking

So to explore these potential associations further, researchers led by Professor Lu Qi at Tulane University in New Orleans drew on data from the UK Biobank—a large population-based study of more than half a million British men and women.

Their analysis included 466,039 participants without CVD, who completed a questionnaire on supplement use, including glucosamine.

Death certificates and hospital records were then used to monitor CVD events, including CVD death, coronary heart disease (CHD), and stroke, over an average seven-year, follow up period.
Overall, almost one in five (19.3%) participants reported glucosamine use at the start of the study.

The researchers found that glucosamine use was associated with a 15% lower risk of total CVD events, and a 9% to 22% lower risk of CHD, stroke, and CVD death compared with no use.
These favorable associations remained after taking account of traditional risk factors, including age, sex, weight (BMI), ethnicity, lifestyle, diet, medication, and other supplement use.
The association between glucosamine use and CHD was also stronger in current smokers (37% lower risk) compared with never (12%) and former smokers (18%).

Several mechanisms may explain these results, say the authors. For example, regular use of glucosamine has been linked to a reduction in levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a chemical associated with inflammation. This may also help to explain the stronger association among smokers, who have higher levels of inflammation and a higher risk of CVD than non-smokers.
Also, previous data suggest that glucosamine may mimic a low carbohydrate diet, which has been inversely associated with the development of CVD.

Despite the large sample size, this is an observational study, and as such, cannot establish cause, and the researchers point to some limitations, such as lack of information on dose, duration, and side effects of glucosamine use.

Regular glucosamine use may also be a marker for a healthy lifestyle, they add, but this is unlikely to have affected the results.

Culture, genealogy

Harrison Ford, 13th cousin 1x removed by marriage

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Harrison Ford is my 13th cousin 1x removed by marriage to Calista Flockart. The ancestor that connect Calista and I, is John Field (1519 – 1587), my 13th great grandfather.
Ford was born at the Swedish Covenant Hospital in Chicago, Illinois to Christopher Ford (born John William Ford), an advertising executive and former actor, and Dorothy (née Nidelman), a former radio actress. A younger brother, Terence, was born in 1945. His father was Catholic and his mother was Jewish. Ford’s paternal grandparents, John Fitzgerald Ford and Florence Veronica Niehaus, were of Irish and German descent, respectively. Ford’s maternal grandparents, Harry Nidelman and Anna Lifschutz, were Jewish emigrants from Minsk, Belarus (at that time a part of the Russian Empire). When asked in which religion he and his brother were raised, Ford jokingly responded, “Democrat,” “to be liberals of every stripe”. In a television interview shown in August 2000, when asked about what influence his Irish Catholic and Russian Jewish ancestry may have had on his life as a person and as an artist, Ford humorously stated, “As a man I’ve always felt Irish, as an actor I’ve always felt Jewish.”

The genealogical chart shows that ancestor that Calista and I share:

Harrison Ford (1942 – )
husband of 13th cousin 1x removed

Calista Kay Flockhart (1964 – 2015)
Wife of Harrison Ford

Ronald Flockhart
Father of Calista Kay Flockhart

Jewell Floris Miller (1908 – 1973)
Mother of Ronald Flockhart

Dora May Brown (1894 – 1953)
Mother of Jewell Floris Miller

Chauncey Augustus Brown (1857 – 1918)
Father of Dora May Brown

James Monroe Brown (1821 – 1895)
Father of Chauncey Augustus Brown

Chad Brown (1779 – 1841)
Father of James Monroe Brown

Ruth Winsor (1751 – )
Mother of Chad Brown

Mercy Smith (1728 – 1776)
Mother of Ruth Winsor

Solomon Smith (1702 – 1771)
Father of Mercy Smith

Mercy Angell (1675 – 1721)
Mother of Solomon Smith

Ruth Field (1645 – 1727)
Mother of Mercy Angell

John Field (1616 – 1685)
Father of Ruth Field

William Field (1565 – 1623)
Father of John Field

John Field (1519 – 1587)
Father of William Field

Culture, genealogy, History

Hallam Tennyson, 17th cousin 1x removed

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Hallam Tennyson is my 17th cousin 1x removed. The ancestor who connects us together is Sir Ralph De Neville of Raby Earl of Westmorland (1364 – 1425), my 13th great grandfather.

Hallam Tennyson was born at Chapel House, Twickenham, in Surrey, England, and schooled at Marlborough College and Trinity College, Cambridge. His profession aspirations concluded when his parents’ age and ill-health required him to depart Cambridge to become their personalized assistant. The concept of proceeding directly into nation-wide politics was also left behind.

It was partially for Hallam’s advantage that Alfred Tennyson acknowledged a peerage in 1884, the year Hallam married Audrey Boyle (after being disappointed in his love for Mary Gladstone, daughter of William Ewart Gladstone). On his father’s dying in 1892, he handed down the title Baron Tennyson, and also the function of established biographer. His Tennyson: a Memoir was published in 1897.

The genealogical chart of the ancestor who connects both of us to Sir Ralph De Neville:

Hallam Tennyson (1852 – 1928)
17th cousin 1x removed

Alfred Tennyson , Lord (1809 – 1892)
Father of Hallam Tennyson

George Clayton Tennyson , Rev. (1778 – 1831)
Father of Alfred Tennyson , Lord

George Clayton Tennyson (1750 – 1835)
Father of George Clayton Tennyson , Rev.

Elizabeth Clayton
Mother of George Clayton Tennyson

Dorothy Hildyard (1700 – 1781)
Mother of Elizabeth Clayton

Christopher Hildyard ( – 1719)
Father of Dorothy Hildyard

Henry Hildyard (1637 – )
Father of Christopher Hildyard

Anne Leke
Mother of Henry Hildyard

Anne Cary (1585 – 1624)
Mother of Anne Leke

Katherine Knyvett (1547 – 1622)
Mother of Anne Cary

Anne Pickering (1514 – 1582)
Mother of Katherine Knyvett

Christopher Pickering , Sir (1485 – 1516)
Father of Anne Pickering

James Pickering , Sir (1444 – )
Father of Christopher Pickering , Sir

James Pickering (1419 – 1497)
Father of James Pickering , Sir

Mary Lowther (1400 – )
Mother of James Pickering

Margaret Strickland (1360 – 1443)
Mother of Mary Lowther

William Strickland (1336 – 1419)
Father of Margaret Strickland

Cicely de Welles (1315 – )
Mother of William Strickland

Maud de Clare (1285 – )
Mother of Cicely de Welles

Idonea de Clifford (1303 – 1365)
Daughter of Maud de Clare

Maud de Percy (1335 – 1378)
Daughter of Idonea de Clifford

Ralph de Neville Sir, van Raby Earl van Westmorland (1364 – 1425)
Son of Maud de Percy

Culture, genealogy, History

David William Donald Cameron, 14th cousin 2x removed

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Prime Minister David Cameron is my 14th cousin 2x removed. The ancestor who connects us both is Ralph de Neville Sir, of Raby, Earl of Westmorland (1364 – 1425), my 13th great grandfather. David William Donald Cameron is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. He was the Member of Parliament for Witney from 2001 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016.

The genealogical chart showing the ancestor that connect us:

David William Donald Cameron (1966 – )
14th cousin 2x removed

Mary Fleur Mount
Mother of David William Donald Cameron

William Malcolm Mount , Sir (1904 – 1993)
Father of Mary Fleur Mount

William Arthur Mount , Sir (1866 – 1930)
Father of William Malcolm Mount , Sir

William George Mount (1824 – 1906)
Father of William Arthur Mount , Sir

Charlotte Talbot ( – 1879)
Mother of William George Mount

George Talbot (1763 – 1836)
Father of Charlotte Talbot

George Talbot ,Rev. (1717 – 1782)
Father of George Talbot

Charles Talbot , Baron (1685 – )
Father of George Talbot ,Rev.

William Talbot (1658 – 1730)
Father of Charles Talbot , Baron

William Talbot (1617 – 1686)
Father of William Talbot

Elizabeth Leighton (1573 – 1633)
Mother of William Talbot

Sir Thomas Leighton (1523 – 1609)
Father of Elizabeth Leighton

Joyce Sutton (1492 – 1586)
Mother of Sir Thomas Leighton

Cecily Willoughby (1463 – 1539)
Mother of Joyce Sutton

Joan Strangeways (1427 – 1484)
Mother of Cecily Willoughby

Catherine de Neville (1400 – )
Mother of Joan Strangeways

Ralph de Neville Sir, van Raby Earl van Westmorland (1364 – 1425)
Father of Catherine de Neville

Culture, genealogy, History

Frank Spencer Sutton, 7th cousin 2x removed

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Frank Spencer is my 7th cousin 2x removed. The ancestor who connects us together is Thomas Claiborne (1680 – 1732), my 8th great grandfather. was an American actor best remembered for his role as Gunnery Sergeant Vince Carter on the CBS television series Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.

The genealogical chart with the ancestor that connects us together:

Frank Spencer Sutton (1923 – 1974)
7th cousin 2x

Frank Sims Sutton (1905 – 1938)
Father of Frank Spencer Sutton

Clark Sutton (1844 – 1921)
Father of Frank Sims Sutton

Hannah Holdaway (1815 – 1898)
Mother of Clark Sutton

Henry Holdaway (1784 – 1840)
Father of Hannah Holdaway

Eleanor Anderson Crystal (1762 – 1841)
Mother of Henry Holdaway

Mary Cole Claiborne (1738 – 1790)
Mother of Eleanor Anderson Crystal

Nathaniel Claiborne (1716 – 1757)
Father of Mary Cole Claiborne

Thomas Claiborne (1680 – 1732)
Father of Nathaniel Claiborne

Culture, genealogy, History

King Albert Frederick Arthur George Windsor known as George VI, 10 cousin

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King George VI is my 10th cousin. The ancestor who connect us is Georg Landgrave Hesse Darmstadt (1605 – 1661), my 9th great grandfather.

George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George) was born on 14 December 1895 and died on 6 February 1952. He had been King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 right up until his passing away on 6 February 1952. He was the final Emperor of India as well as the first Head of the Commonwealth.

Recognized publicly as Albert right up until his accession, and “Bertie” amongst his family and close friends, George VI was born within the reign of his great-grandmother Queen Victoria, and had been named after his great-grandfather Albert, Prince Consort. As the second child of King George V, he was not anticipated to inherit the throne and invested his early life in the shadow of his older sibling, Edward. He went to naval college as a teenager, and served within the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force throughout the First World War. In 1920, he was made Duke of York. He wedded Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in 1923 and they also had two daughters, Elizabeth and Margaret. In the mid-1920s, he had speech therapy for a stammer, which usually he by no means completely overcame.

This is the genealogical chart showing my direct kinship to King George VI along with the ancestor we both share:

Albert Frederick Arthur George Windsor (1895 – 1952)
10th cousin

George Frederick Ernest Albert Windsor V (1865 – 1936)
Father of Albert Frederick Arthur George Windsor

Albert Edward Windsor, VII, King (1841 – 1910)
Father of George Frederick Ernest Albert Windsor V

Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819 – 1861)
Father of Albert Edward Windsor, VII, King

Louise Dorothea Pauline Charlotte Fredericka Auguste Wettin Princess of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1800 – 1831)
Mother of Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

Louise Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1779 – 1801)
Mother of Louise Dorothea Pauline Charlotte Fredericka Auguste

Wettin Princess of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
Friedrich Franz I. Großherzog von Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1756 – 1837)
Father of Louise Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

Louis “Ludwig” Mecklenburg-Schwerin Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1725 – 1778)
Father of Friedrich Franz I. Großherzog von Mecklenburg-Schwerin

Christian Ludwig Macklenburg-Scwerin II, Duke of Macklenburg-Scwerin (1683 – 1756)
Father of Louis “Ludwig” Mecklenburg-Schwerin Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

Christine Wilhelmine Hesse Homburg (1653 – 1722)
Mother of Christian Ludwig Macklenburg-Scwerin II, Duke of Macklenburg-Scwerin

Sophie Eleanora Landgrafin Von Hessen Darmstadt (1634 – 1663)
Mother of Christine Wilhelmine Hesse Homburg

Georg Landgrave Hesse Darmstadt (1605 – 1661)
Father of Sophie Eleanora Landgrafin Von Hessen Darmstadt

Culture, genealogy, History

Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark, 14th cousin 2x removed

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Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark is my 14th cousin 2x removed. The ancestor that both of us are connect to is Sir Ralph De Neville Sir, of Raby, Earl of Westmorland (1364 – 1425), my 13th great grandfather. Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark  was born on 22 January 1872 and died on 8 February 1938., of the Gluckburg branch of the House of Oldenburg, was the fourth child and third son of King George I of Greece, and of Queen Olga. He was known as “Greek Nicky” in the family to distinguish him from his paternal first cousin Emperor Nicholas II of Russia. Prince Nicholas was a talented painter, often signing his works as “Nicolas Leprince.

This is the genealogical chart that shows that ancestor we both share:

Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark (1872 – 1938)
14th cousin 2x removed

George of Greece, King (1845 – 1913)
Father of Nicholas of Greece and Denmark , Prince

Louise of Hesse-Kassel, Queen (1817 – 1898)
Mother of George of Greece, King

William of Hesse-Kassel (1787 – 1867)
Father of Louise of Hesse-Kassel, Queen

Frederick of Hesse-Kassel (1747 – 1837)
Father of William of Hesse-Kassel

Mary Hanover, Princess
Mother of Frederick of Hesse-Kassel

George Augustus of Great Britain, King (1683 – 1760)
Father of Mary Hanover, Princess

George Ludwig of Great Britain, King (1660 – 1727)
Father of George Augustus of Great Britain, King

Ernst August I von Braunschweig-Lüneburg von HANNOVER Kurfürst von Hannove (1629 – 1698)
Father of George Ludwig of Great Britain, King

Elizabeth Stuart Stuart , Princess of England (1596 – 1662)
Mother of Ernst August I von Braunschweig-Lüneburg von HANNOVER Kurfürst von Hannover

James Stuart , VI of Scotland and I of England (1566 – 1625)
Father of Elizabeth Stuart Stuart , Princess of England

Mary Stuart , Queen of Scots (1542 – 1587)
Mother of James Stuart , VI of Scotland and I of England

King James V Stewart (1512 – 1542)
Father of Mary Stuart , Queen of Scots

Margaret Margaret Tudor Queen Consort Tudor Queen consort of Scots (1489 – 1541)
Mother of King James V Stewart

Elizabeth Plantagenet of York , Queen Consort (1466 – 1503)
Mother of Margaret Margaret Tudor Queen Consort Tudor Queen consort of Scots

Edward IV, King of England Plantagenet (1442 – 1483)
Father of Elizabeth Plantagenet of York , Queen Consort

Cecily “The Rose of Raby” De Neville (1415 – 1495)
Mother of Edward IV, King of England Plantagenet

Ralph de Neville Sir, van Raby Earl van Westmorland (1364 – 1425)
Father of Cecily “The Rose of Raby” De Neville