Most famous relative/ancestor

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if im not getting my knowledge confused here, my mom told me that im from the side of Poe's family that changed their name to Poer to be disassociated with him *nod nod* the whole family has had a strange streak, so, so much for disassociating themselves with him

I'm a direct descendant of Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee from his second marriage (his first wife was his cousin).

*shrugs* dont ask me, i wasnt there deciding it, nor do i possess any factual evidence to prove it. i just heard it from my mom. i should probably look into it once i gain the time to do so.

I'd love to hear from people descended from the mass of 'foot soldiers' and peasants and struggling ordinary people. Sad how none of them are being recalled by their descendants.

well, my grandfather as many greats as it takes to get back to 1703 settled among Huguenots refugees in Central Pennsylvania. He was just a regular slob, as far as I know A nice French family that took the Anglicized name of 'Free' were shipwrecked on their voyage across the Atlantic and found my so many greats grandfather as an infant floating along in a basket.
They did not know who's family the child was, probably born on the voyage. They took him in, adopted him and christened him Benjamin Franklin Free. On my mother's side.


Merle


oh, yeah, and another great granpa on my dad's side was hung from a yardarm in 1779 for running slaving ships to America out of Guinea or somewhere. I remember having been fascinated (and schocked!) by this information!

Great Grandfather, recieved George cross for stopping train bomb exploding in Soham, no sense of danger. Remarked "I done my best." Eloquent.

We're Thomson’s from the Campbell’s "Ne obliviscaris" ("Do not forget") Scottish roots, so perhaps something to dig out there, though it’s not a hobby. I suppose going on family humour, scientist and inventor William Thomson "Lord Kelvin." Whether we are relations, I highly doubt. However, upon breif enquiry, I found the following amusing...

"Thomson somehow let the meaning of 'recovery' escape him. Therefrom came his troubles. He seems to have been so obsessed by his initial difficulties that he put the emphasis on irreversibility and on conservation of energy, missing 'all the rest.'

Thomson's ability as a lecturer was less impressive -

As a lecturer he was rather prone to let his subject run away with him. When this happened, limits of time became of small account, and his audience, understanding but little of what he was saying, were feign to content themselves with admiring the restless vivacity of his manner (which was rather emphasized than otherwise by the slight lameness from which he suffered) and the keen zest with which he revelled in the intricacies of the matter in hand."

My great-great-grandmother was Julia Ward Howe, who wrote "The Battle Hymn of the Republic."

On my mother's side, I am descended from (and named for) Edward Winslow, who came over on the Mayflower and was the governor of Plymouth Colony.

There's nothing notesworthy in my immediate family. But my last name, Serrano, comes from a Roman guy, Aulo Atilio Serrano (here Serrano means "sierra dweller"), who was praetor in Spain around 190 BCE.