Famous/Infamous Ancestors

We all have them in our family tree. The individuals who are recognizable either for their names or their deeds. And since I’ve been able to trace my family tree back so many generations I may have more that I’ve been able to document than many. So here is what I believe to be a comprehensive list of the famous/infamous people in my family tree. Most of them will be recognizable to you – sometimes because of their name, but more often because of what they did.

This list does not include a number of my ancestors who may have been well-known at the time – ancient kings of Sweden, individuals who were knighted for their deeds in England, members of parliament, etc. – because these individuals are not known by most people.

I will leave it up to the reader to decide if these individuals are famous or infamous.

Robert de Pierrepont and Hugh de Roussel

Neither of these men is likely recognizable. They were among the first to carry the surnames of my mother (Pierpont) and my father (Russell). But they are known for what they did. Both of them were part of the army of William [the Conqueror] who invaded England in 1066 in what was called the Norman Invasion. Robert was a commander in William’s army and Hugh was an attendant to William himself. Both men settled in England after the conquest.

Sheriff of Nottingham

The Sheriff of Nottingham is an elected position that was held by many men over several centuries. My Pierpont ancestors moved to Nottingham in the late 1200’s and Holme Pierrepont can still be found there today. Some of these ancestors held the title of Sheriff of Nottingham in the 1400s and 1500s. One of my ancestors was even killed in Sherwood Forest. The legend of Robin Hood dates from this same time period and the first recorded Robin Hood song from approximately 1420 states that “Robyn hode in scherewode stod.” Because there are so many versions of the Robin Hood story, it is uncertain if it is based on a real individual or exactly when he would have lived. But since my relatives lived in that area for so many centuries, if he was real, then they would have known him.

John “the Martyr” Rogers

John was a minister and Bible translator. He is well known for two things. He was the first English Protestant martyr to be executed by Mary I of England (a.k.a. “Queen Bloody Mary.”) when he was burned at the stake in 1555.

But of more permanent importance, he was a friend of William Tyndale. When Tyndale died he had not completed the translation of the Bible from Hebrew and Greek into English (he had completed the New Testament and through 2 Chronicles in the Old Testament). John Rogers completed this translation and published this first English translation in 1537 (under the assumed name of “Thomas Matthews” to avoid persecution). This Bible also included the Apocrypha, including the Song of Manasses which John had earlier found in a French Bible. By some estimates 75-80% of the King James Bible (published in 1611) was based on Tyndale’s (and John Rogers’) Bible from 1537. So many of the wordings that I learned as a child in the KJV were words/phrases that had been translated by my great*12 grandfather.

Mayflower Ancestors

Like many people from early New England families, I have ancestors who came to America on the Mayflower in 1620. In my case, these included Thomas Rogers (1572-1621) and his son Joseph Rogers (1603-1696). Most people cannot name the 100 individuals who were passengers on that ship, so these men are not famous for their name (although they were the grandson and great-grandson of the aforementioned John Rogers), but because of the group they were a part of.

James Pierpont

Like my Mayflower ancestors, you may not recognize the name of James Pierpont, but you will instantly recognize him for his deeds. As the pastor of the Congregational Church in New Haven, CT, James was the man who founded Yale University (originally called The Collegiate School of Connecticut) in 1701. James is my 7^th great grandfather. The next several individuals also have James as an ancestor.

Jonathan Edwards

This well-known Puritan preacher married Sarah Pierpont, the daughter of James, and is my great*7 uncle.

Aaron Burr

While also a US Senator and the Vice-president of the US (under Thomas Jefferson) from 1801-1805, he is best known as the man who shot Alexander Hamilton in a duel. He is my 2^nd cousin, 6 times removed.

James Lord Pierpont

The composer of “Jingle Bells” (originally written as the One Horse Open Sleigh) is my 3^rd cousin, 5 times removed. The melody that we sing today is not the way it was originally written as it has been “simplified”.  Listen to it at

http://www.stephen-foster-songs.de/MP3/amsong24.mp3

and see it at http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=sm1820&fileName=sm2/sm1857/620000/620520/mussm620520.db&recNum=0&itemLink=r?ammem/mussm:@filreq(@field(NUMBER+@band(sm1857+620520))+@field(COLLID+sm1820))&linkText=0

J P Morgan

John Pierpont Morgan was a famous banker in the late 1800’s. He is my 4^th cousin, 4 times removed.

Louisa May Alcott

Louisa was the daughter of Amos Bronson Alcott who was born in Wolcott, CT – my hometown. She is my 3^rd cousin, 4 times removed.