Cousins
For 2023, I’m writing responses to the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks prompts provided by Amy Johnson Crow on her ”Generations Café” website and Facebook page.
I don’t use WikiTree as much as a lot of people do, but I find it very useful when I do access it. A few weeks ago, I found the WikiTree feature that can illustrate connections with other profiles on the page. On a whim, I decided to figure out how I was connected to President James Madison; this was not entirely random, as I had good information that I was connected to his family in colonial Virginia.
After confirming this relationship (he is my first cousin 9x removed), I decided to see if I am related to another Virginia president, Thomas Jefferson. Long story short – I am. The relationship is by marriage, not by blood, and is somewhat convoluted: according to the “very” undeveloped ancestry tree I made, he is the “1st cousin 1x removed of the husband of my 2nd cousin 5x removed.” Not exactly eligible for a seat at the family table at a wedding, but connected nonetheless. But I digress.
So I began to try to find links to other Presidents. Astonishingly, I have found links to all but about four of the American Presidents. I created a new tree on Ancestry to begin to pull these connections together, and I have already identified a few key nodes on this tree, where presidential lines come together. I have already found one suggested connection that doesn’t bear up under closer scrutiny, so I know that some of my expected connections won’t pan out. But the research is the fun part.
I generally structure my genealogy research by identifying projects, giving them names, and then researching to meet the project goals. I’m calling my 2024 project “Daughter of Presidents.” I like the title, even though the relationships are all much more distant than “daughter.” It should probably be called “distant cousins of Presidents” but that’s not as much fun. I plan to work on these connections week by week, starting with President George Washington on Week 1 of the year and finishing with President Biden in Week 45. (We have had 46 “presidencies” but only 45 individuals who have served in the job, as President Grover Cleveland served two nonconsecutive terms and thus is considered the 22nd and 24th president of the United States.
Just to give you a flavor, here’s my connection to the fourth president, James Madison.
He and I have a common ancestor, Ambrose Madison, who was President Madison’s grandfather and my 9th great-grandfather. I am descended from Catherine Madison, the aunt of President Madison. My lineage goes from Catherine Madison through my Gaines and Botts lines in Virginia and Kentucky, and then through my Ellefritz and Arnold lines in Illinois, Arizona, and Virginia. I have investigated this link before, and I have both documentary and DNA evidence that verifies this connection.
But there’s more to this story; according to Wikitree, I have another connection to James Madison – this one through my mother’s side of the family. This chart shows you that connection.
Here’s how to read this chart:
My 4th great grandfather James Workman was married to Lydia Bilyeu. Lydia’s 3rd great-grandmother was Francoise Du Bois, who had a brother named Louis De Bois. Louis’s great-granddaughter, Eleanor Elting, had a son named Isaac Hite, whose wife, Nelly Madison, was the sister of President Madison. I am certain that the line back to Louis Du Bois is accurate; I am less certain about the link to President Madison, so I’ll be investigating this in the fourth week of this project, on January 22.
Here's my (much) more convoluted connection to Thomas Jefferson.
Here’s how to read this chart:
My 5th great-grandfather Jacob Workman, had a brother named Joseph Workman. His Granddaughter, Mary Muncy, married Henry Davis, whose grandmother was Jemima Jefferson. Jemima Jefferson had a brother, Peter Jefferson, whose son was President Thomas Jefferson. I have not investigated all of these links. I’ll schedule this project for Week 3 of my “Daughter of Presidents” project, on January 15.
I am looking forward to working on this project over the next year. It will take me into all of my family lines and provide me with greater insight into my family connections and the history of family movement over the years. It should be a lot of fun.
Thanks!
I’m looking for to the touching moment when you discover you’re a blood relative to #45!
This looks like fun…I might try the same thing. How do you make the charts?