Genealogy Will Bring Us All Together!

[Lloyd Danforth]

If  we go back far enough, we are all related!

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=8195564&page=1


Harvard Professor Gates Is Half-Irish, Related to Cop Who Arrested Him
Two Men at Center of Controversy Linked by Irish Heritage
By NIALL O'DOWD
IrishCentral.com Publisher
July 28, 2009

Henry Louis Gates Jr., the black professor at the center of the racial story involving his arrest outside his Harvard University-owned house, has spoken proudly of his Irish roots.
PHOTO Cambridge Police officer James Crowley, left, and Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. are shown in this AP Graphic.
AP graphic of Cambridge Police Officer James Crowley, left, and Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., who share an Irish lineage.
(AP Graphic)

Strangely enough, he and the Cambridge, Mass., police officer who arrested him, Sgt. James Crowley, both trace their ancestry back to the legendary Niall of the Nine Hostages.

In a PBS series on African-American ancestry that he hosted in 2008, Gates discovered his Irish roots when he found he was descended from an Irish immigrant and a slave girl.

He went to Trinity College in Dublin to have his DNA analyzed. There he found that he shared 10 of the 11 DNA matches with offspring of Niall of the Nine Hostages, the fourth century warlord who created one of the dominant strains of Irish genealogy because he had so many offspring.
Related
Ironically, James Crowley, whose name in Gaelic means "hardy warrior," is also descended from the same line as Gates, having very close links to Niall of the Nine Hostages.

So the two men who took part in what is now an infamous confrontation outside the Gates home near Harvard this month are actually related through common Irish lineage -- one of the more extraordinary aspects of the incident that has sparked worldwide headlines.

Gates is one of many famous African-Americans with Irish heritage, including President Barack Obama and award-winning author Alice Walker.

On the PBS series, Gates visits Trinity College to find his roots, and says to the genealogist, "Do I look like an Irishman to you? I'm here to find my roots. I've been looking all over Africa and I couldn't find anybody, so I ended up here.

"I'm descended from a white man, he says. "A white man who slept with a black slave. And we know from the analysis of my DNA that ... goes back to Ireland. So maybe you can help me."

When the genealogist tells him he does indeed have Irish links, Gates says, "I find this oddly moving. It is astonishing," he says, "that I have a kinship with someone (Niall of the Nine Hostages) dating back to the fourth century A.D."

[cynthia]

he he, what I thought was funny was the genetic post and peas post were next to each other... get it?

[Raineyrocks]

Geesh, I hope I'm not related to Rick!

[Lloyd Danforth]

I've been researching my parents genealogy for years.  From  1620 to 1865 when my last Irish Immigrant came to the US, the 3 times any of my ancestors left New England, either they or their children had the good sense to return.
So, along with it meaning that I am one lucky researcher it also means that all of my mother and father's ancestors lived in New England for about 9 generations.  Each of us had 512 ancestors 9 generations ago. Sometimes less if cousins married. Eight Gens ago 256.  7-128. 6-64. 6-32. 5-16. 4-8. 3-4. 2-2.  If you add up just gens 8 thru 5 you have 1008 ancestors in my case all living in tiny New England!
So, I figured that I would find that my parents were related.
When I started this post I thought that I had identified most of my NE ancestors. If my own math is correct I probably have only about 75% of them.  Still, even though my mothers Tiltons lived in Lynn,MA and Hampton, NH and my father's Danforths lived from Ipswich, MA to Newburyport,MA, they do not appear to have any ancestors in common.
I doubt that they will when I find the rest either as Mom's Tiltons moved to Marthas Vineyard and married into South Shore and Cape Cod families and Dad's Danforths moved north through Maine marrying into families who came from north of Boston.
I'm sure you all find this facinating

[KBCraig]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3iEOO9p6Ok

[Lloyd Danforth]

  I love that movie!

[AntonLee]

say it LOUD. . .I'm 43% black and I'm PROUD!  -- Professor Gates

[Raineyrocks]

I love that movie!

Me too! 

I did something really immature when we first moved here.     I saw a Joe Dirt construction company or something in the yellow pages and the kids dared me to kind of prank call him.   So I did and I asked him if he was the Joe Dirt from the movie, he laughed and I asked him a couple of other dumb questions then he started to get perverted so I guess the prank got turned around on me.

Gosh, I can't believe I'm owning up to doing this!      In writing too! 

[Free libertarian]

I've been researching my parents genealogy for years.  From  1620 to 1865 when my last Irish Immigrant came to the US, the 3 times any of my ancestors left New England, either they or their children had the good sense to return.
So, along with it meaning that I am one lucky researcher it also means that all of my mother and father's ancestors lived in New England for about 9 generations.  Each of us had 512 ancestors 9 generations ago. Sometimes less if cousins married. Eight Gens ago 256.  7-128. 6-64. 6-32. 5-16. 4-8. 3-4. 2-2.  If you add up just gens 8 thru 5 you have 1008 ancestors in my case all living in tiny New England!
So, I figured that I would find that my parents were related.
When I started this post I thought that I had identified most of my NE ancestors. If my own math is correct I probably have only about 75% of them.  Still, even though my mothers Tiltons lived in Lynn,MA and Hampton, NH and my father's Danforths lived from Ipswich, MA to Newburyport,MA, they do not appear to have any ancestors in common.
I doubt that they will when I find the rest either as Mom's Tiltons moved to Marthas Vineyard and married into South Shore and Cape Cod families and Dad's Danforths moved north through Maine marrying into families who came from north of Boston.
I'm sure you all find this facinating

I thought you were related to "early Grafton  man"?

[Keyser Soce]

I've been researching my parents genealogy for years.  From  1620 to 1865 when my last Irish Immigrant came to the US, the 3 times any of my ancestors left New England, either they or their children had the good sense to return.
So, along with it meaning that I am one lucky researcher it also means that all of my mother and father's ancestors lived in New England for about 9 generations.  Each of us had 512 ancestors 9 generations ago. Sometimes less if cousins married. Eight Gens ago 256.  7-128. 6-64. 6-32. 5-16. 4-8. 3-4. 2-2.  If you add up just gens 8 thru 5 you have 1008 ancestors in my case all living in tiny New England!
So, I figured that I would find that my parents were related.
When I started this post I thought that I had identified most of my NE ancestors. If my own math is correct I probably have only about 75% of them.  Still, even though my mothers Tiltons lived in Lynn,MA and Hampton, NH and my father's Danforths lived from Ipswich, MA to Newburyport,MA, they do not appear to have any ancestors in common.
I doubt that they will when I find the rest either as Mom's Tiltons moved to Marthas Vineyard and married into South Shore and Cape Cod families and Dad's Danforths moved north through Maine marrying into families who came from north of Boston.
I'm sure you all find this facinating

Shouldn't you have more of clout around here?

[Lloyd Danforth]

Fucking A!  Ten generations of Fighting wars and paying taxes should get me some clout!

Actually, Genealogy is a lot of fun.  I often say that it's like being a Private Eye, but, no car chases and you don't get shot at.  Of course, all of your cases are 'cold'.

Also.  There are probably more than 25 million descendants of the Mayflower Compact signers alive today.  Being descended from one of them and 4 bucks will get you a cup of Cappuccino.