I was researching the homeschool article from yesterday when I came across some fascinating stuff about Ben Franklin – he’s related to a lot of interesting people. Actually, most of that is because of his relation to the Folger family, but it’s interesting nonetheless. I thought it was perfect fodder for a Quick 10 – hope you guys are as entertained by this as I was!
1. J.A. Folger, the founder of the Folger’s Coffee empire. OK, follow along with me, here. Ben’s uncle Eleazar Folger had a son, Nathan. Nathan had a son, Abishai. Abishai had a son, George. George had a son, George. That George had a son, Samuel, who was the dad of J.A. Folger. I think that makes coffee magnate Ben’s cousin, fives times removed, the same as Ezra Cornell.
2. Abigail Folger, one of the Manson Family’s victims – she was the one that escaped and ran outside, only to be stabbed on the Polanskis’ front lawn. She was the great-great granddaughter of J.A. Folger.
3. Ezra Cornell, the co-founder of Cornell University, was Ben’s first cousin, five times removed. OK, go back to Uncle Eleazar. His other kid, Sarah, is the great-great-great grandmother of Ezra. His cousin, Paul Cornell, was a famous land developer in Chicago. He’s responsible for Hyde Park, Washington Park and Jackson Park, among others.
4. Maria Mitchell, Astronomer. She was a first cousin, four times removed (Ben’s Aunt Joanna’s great-great-great granddaughter), and quite an impressive woman in her own right. She discovered a comet in 1847 (only the second woman to ever do so), was the first professional female astronomer in the U.S., uncovered the true nature of sunspots, was the first woman member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences AND of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She traveled in Europe with Nathaniel Hawthorne, became the first person ever to be appointed to the faculty at Vassar College and was named the Director of the Vassar College Observatory. When she found out that she wasn’t making as much money as males who didn’t have her experience, she demanded a raise. And got it.
5. Mayhew Folger was the captain of the ship that found the Pitcairn Islands after the Bounty mutineers had decided to settle there. Only one of the original mutineers was still alive. Mayhew was Ben Franklin’s first cousin, three times removed.
6. Lucretia Coffin Mott. That Eleazar Folger had some pretty potent genes. In addition to Ezra Cornell and J.A. Folger, he also begat one of the most important suffragists and abolitionists ever. Lucretia was a great inspiration for Elizabeth Cady Stanton, she was the first president of the American Rights Association, was an acclaimed author and helped to incorporate Swarthmore College (among many other accomplishments).
7. Henry Clay Folger was the nephew of J.A. Folger. He was the president and chairman of Standard Oil of New York, but is probably best known for founding the Folger Shakespeare Library.
And here are three questionable descendants: Actress Rachel Miner (also Macaulay Culkin’s ex-wife). I can’t seem to easily trace that. I don’t doubt it, though – the Miners have a very long, documented history.
And I found one site that casually mentioned Samuel Clemens and Will Rogers as descendants, but couldn’t find a single bit of information to prove either one. What do you think, _flossers? Probable? Ridiculous? Share in the comments!
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Maybe the references meant Clemens and Rogers were descended from Poor Richard :)
posted by Deb on 11-18-2008 at 3:37 pm
Ezra Cornell co-founded (with diplomat and educator Andrew Dickson White) Cornell University of Ithaca, New York, not Cornell College of Mt. Vernon, Iowa.
posted by Nate on 11-18-2008 at 4:08 pm
Jack Coleman from Heroes is a great-great-great-great-great-great grandson of Benjamin Franklin
posted by laura on 11-18-2008 at 4:17 pm
No idea… but you have inspired a question I will ask Mental_Floss: “How does the whole cousins once-twice-thrice-whatever removed work?” This may require a diagram.
ReCaptcha: re- sessions
posted by Lindsey on 11-18-2008 at 6:18 pm
@Lindsey Actually, the cousins designation is pretty straight forward. A diagram would help, but let me give it a shot. First cousins you understand. The children of first cousins are second cousins, the grandchildren of first cousins are third cousins and so on. Once, twice, thrice removed is used to explain a difference in generations. So say your grandfather is my first cousin. You would be my first cousin twice removed because you are two generations removed from mine and your grandfather’s relationship as first cousins. If your grandfather and I were second cousins (i.e. his father and my father were first cousins) then you would be my second cousin twice removed.
posted by Adam on 11-18-2008 at 8:02 pm
Actually Lindsey, you have it right but backwards.
My mother and my aunt each have a child. That makes us (the children) first cousins. I have a child of my own. My cousin is now first cousin once removed – the difference of one generation – to my child. My cousin now has a child. Our children are second cousins to each other. And so on…. If you look up BUCE cousin chart on Google (because I can’t add a link here) you’ll get a good answer.
posted by Diane on 11-18-2008 at 10:47 pm
so my grandmother’s sister is my ?? i’ve been going with great aunt..
posted by tiffany on 11-19-2008 at 11:09 am
“Mayhew Folger was the captain of the ship that found the Pitcairn Islands after the Bounty mutineers had decided to settle there. Only one of the original mutineers was still alive. He was Ben Franklin’s first cousin, three times removed.”
The remaining mutineer was Franklin’s first cousin? So, how does Mayhew Folger fit in?
posted by BassMan on 11-19-2008 at 12:06 pm
If you’re having trouble visualizing it, just Google “Table of Consanguinity” and you’ll be able to find a chart explaining how the whole first cousin, second cousin, removed thing works.
posted by Steve on 11-19-2008 at 1:14 pm
Tiffany- you are correct – your grandparents’ siblings are your great aunts/uncles. Your grandmother’s aunt is your great-great-aunt. The “removed” system is only for cousins.
posted by Diana on 11-19-2008 at 2:29 pm
The cousin calculation is pretty simple.
The “cousin” part is the number of generation steps you move down from a common ancestor, minus 1.
Example: If you and a cousin have the same Grandfather, you are 1st cousins, because it takes 2 steps to get to each of you. If you have a daughter (Kim) and your 1st cousin has a son (Johnny), then Kim and Johnny are 2nd cousins, since it is 3 steps from the grandfather to them (3-1=2).
What if the number of steps is not the same? That is the “removed” part.
Example: Let’s compare you and your cousin’s boy … Johnny. You both still have that same common ancestor. From the grandfather down, you count down 2 steps to you, so you and Johnny are 1st cousins…but you have to go an additional step to get to Johnny, so you are 1st cousins, once removed.
Again, for “Xth cousin Y removed” between two people, find the common ancestor, and X is the smallest number of steps down from the ancestor to the first person, minus 1…and Y is the additional steps to get the other person.
Last point in our example is that Johnny is your 1st cousin once removed, and you are also HIS 1st cousin, once removed. The relationship is the same from both sides.
posted by Kevin in Vegas on 11-19-2008 at 2:48 pm
Benjamin’s half sister Anne from Josiah’s first wife Anne Child who died in child birth, married a Doane. He was descended from Deacon John Doane and the preacher for Plymouth Colony. Anne named one of her sons Benjamin Franklin Doane as it was the custom to give the son the mother’s maiden name for the middle name. He named one of his sons Benjamin Franklin Doane Jr. To this day there is a Benjamin in every generation through that Doane line. The name of Benjamin goes back to England.
The Doanes (sometimes spelled as Doan) are related to Ben Franklin through Anne Franklin (sometimes spelled as Ann). Due to Deacon John Doane arriving in Plymouth Colony between 1624-1626 the Doanes are well documented by historians and genealogists.
posted by Bree on 1-6-2012 at 4:02 pm