Fun with Genealogy

Among the many hats that he wore, Benjamin Franklin was the United States’ first Postmaster General. Eighty-five years later, William Hepburn Russell co-founded the Pony Express. That alone is an interesting tidbit, but did you know that Benjamin Franklin and William Russell were actually distant cousins? Here’s how: This is a great example of the benefit of being connected to the world family tree. If you can find a better relationship path, we’d love for… Read the full story

This weekend marks the 151st anniversary of the beginning of the Pony Express. Operating from April 3, 1860 until October 1861, it was the best way to send mail to and from California. Despite it’s extremely short lifespan, it has become a substantial part of American history. Today, I want to showcase the Geni profiles of four influential members of the pony express. Buffalo Bill’s Profile on Geni William Hepburn Russell’s Profile on Geni William… Read the full story

The American Civil War is an incredibly rich part of history. There are countless records, stories, and images available that make genealogical research of this era a true joy. The US Civil War Notables project is the perfect place to start, but there is a lot more information available. For example, you might want to check out the Other People in the American Civil War project or Croatian Soldiers in American CIvil War 1861-1865 project…. Read the full story

Today is the 221st anniversary of President John Tyler‘s birth. Thanks to the birthday paradox, I figured that another US President might also share his birthday. Not quite, but President Jimmy Carter‘s brother Billy Carter does. Former UK Prime Minister John Major does as well. Maybe shared birthdays aren’t as reliable as I’d hoped, but I was able to find some very interesting relationship paths. Take a look: James E. Carter, 39th President of the… Read the full story

William Shakespeare, largely thought of as the greatest English writer of all time, is connected to over 54 million profiles in the world family tree. I’d like to take this opportunity to show off a few interesting paths. Most interestingly, one of the greatest English writers and one of the greatest American writers are cousins. Take a look: Mark Twain is William Shakespeare’s 8th cousin 8 times removed Agatha Christie is William Shakespeare’s fifth cousin… Read the full story

Many, if not most, people in the western world have played the game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon — a game where you try to find a connection between any actor and Kevin Bacon through the movies they have been in. Well, wouldn’t it be nice to play a similar game with genealogy? Now you can. For example, did you know that Kevin Bacon and Brad Pitt are 12th cousins thrice removed? Pretty neat. Here… Read the full story

Jimi Hendrix, legendary rock and roller, has recently made his way onto the world family tree. When we find interesting new tree-members, we like to see how they’re related to other notable figures. Interesting, Jimi and Queen Elizabeth II are 13th cousins. Who knew? There are a few more interesting paths that we found, so take a look: Queen Elizabeth II is Jimi Hendrix’s 13th cousin Bill Gates is Jimi Hendrix’s 8th cousin once removed… Read the full story

One of the best aspects of having the world family tree is that we can find how many, many people are related to each other. With this year being the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War, I think it is a good opportunity to show how people on completely opposite sides of the war were related. Let’s start with General Grant and General Lee. These two Generals went head to head for the fate… Read the full story

Elvis Presley was one of the most well known performers of the 20th century. Thanks to the hard work of many Geni users, The King is part of our World Family Tree. Here are some of The King’s most interesting relationship paths: Elvis and George Washington are 9th cousins 6 times removed. Elvis and Franklin D. Roosevelt are 10th cousins once removed. Elvis and Napoléon are 18th cousins four times removed. Elvis and Benedict Arnold… Read the full story

The fun thing about working at a genealogy company is that we can see how a lot of us are related to each other in the big tree. Today, I want to show you how I’m related to four Geni employees in the big tree. As more of our team works on their family trees, we’ll find how we’re related to even more people. So, how are you related to us?

The best part of having a World Family Tree with over 53 million profiles is the ability to find out how all of those people are related. Last week, we showcased how the US Presidents are related. Today, I want to show how Tony Blair, famed former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, is related to Prince Charles and the royal family. As you can see from the relationship path pictured above, Tony Blair and… Read the full story

The biggest strength of the world family tree is the ability to find out how everyone’s related. Last week, I showed you how Vice President Joe Biden is related to President John Adams. Today, I want to show you how George Washington, the first US President, is related to every other US President. John Adams is George Washington’s 10th cousin once removed Thomas Jefferson is George Washington’s 8th cousin thrice removed James Madison is George… Read the full story

One of the strengths of collaborative genealogy is finding out how we’re all related. Geni has a great tool for Pro members that allows you to find the path through the “Big Tree” from one person to another. This series of posts is designed to show off how cool this is. Today, I want to show how Joe Biden, the current US Vice President, is related to the first US Vice President John Adams. As… Read the full story

Madonna and Sarah Palin are cousins! See how they are related! http://geni.com/5ntzX

Madonna and Hillary Clinton are cousins! See how they are related! http://geni.com/7BBvt

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is related to Sarah L. Palin. Check out their relatives! http://geni.com/XpgRj

President Obama and Sarah Palin are cousins! Who would have thought it? View their relationship here http://geni.com/QPxhF

You've probably seen stories about how President Barack Obama is related to Warren Buffet and other famous people. DId you know that on Geni, not only can actually see how Obama is connected to his famous relatives, but you can even discover how you are related to Obama? That's right, Barack Obama already has 841 blood relatives using Geni. As you build your tree out and use tree matches to add new branches, you could… Read the full story