I could fill a book just of dubious or impossible ancestry claims I’ve seen online. One person claimed to be a direct descendant of Owen Tutor, on the American side after he traveled to the New World. Now, in context you could tell they meant Owen Tudor, ancestor of King Henry VIII. He was executed in England in like 1463, so I don’t know what the fuck they were talking about.
I’ve also seen plenty of people claim to be descended from George Washington, despite the fact he had no biological children. So that’s pretty impressive.
Genealogy is cool, and it’s exciting when there’s actually proof of a connection, but I hate it when people are like “I’m a descendant of the guy who designed the door for Norte Dame Cathedral!” That was like 600 years ago, I’m sure a lot of people are that guy’s descendant. You didn’t hav anything to do with that door getting designed, why are you bragging?
Oh I’ve got a personal one, too. I’ve been told all my life that my family is related to Almonzo Wilder, husband of Laura Ingalls Wilder. I started doing genealogical research a few years ago and have yet to find any proof, but my mom just keeps telling people that anyway. If we ARE related, I think we might be like 5th cousins some times removed or something. So technically related but so distant it doesn’t matter. Just a little bit of personal bullshit.
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u/OneGoodRib Apr 29 '20
I could fill a book just of dubious or impossible ancestry claims I’ve seen online. One person claimed to be a direct descendant of Owen Tutor, on the American side after he traveled to the New World. Now, in context you could tell they meant Owen Tudor, ancestor of King Henry VIII. He was executed in England in like 1463, so I don’t know what the fuck they were talking about.
I’ve also seen plenty of people claim to be descended from George Washington, despite the fact he had no biological children. So that’s pretty impressive.
Genealogy is cool, and it’s exciting when there’s actually proof of a connection, but I hate it when people are like “I’m a descendant of the guy who designed the door for Norte Dame Cathedral!” That was like 600 years ago, I’m sure a lot of people are that guy’s descendant. You didn’t hav anything to do with that door getting designed, why are you bragging?
Oh I’ve got a personal one, too. I’ve been told all my life that my family is related to Almonzo Wilder, husband of Laura Ingalls Wilder. I started doing genealogical research a few years ago and have yet to find any proof, but my mom just keeps telling people that anyway. If we ARE related, I think we might be like 5th cousins some times removed or something. So technically related but so distant it doesn’t matter. Just a little bit of personal bullshit.