My Royal and Famous Relations

I have previously documented (http://ramblinrussells.blogspot.com/2015/05/genealogy-story-scandinavian-roots.html) how my Russell ancestry can be traced back to the origin of the Russell name in Normandy, France, about 1000 years ago. I documented at that same time the connections from that first Russell to his Scandinavian ancestors. One of the more important in that lineage was Ragvnald I Earl of Orkey Eysteinsson (830-894). Besides being the founder of Normandy, he is the direct ancestor to most of the royal families in Europe.

Ragvnald is my 34^th great-grandfather. Here is his biography (https://familysearch.org/photos/stories/26170199). And here is one account of the family line around that time (http://www.ffish.com/family_tree/Descendants_Halfdan_Sveidasson/D1.htm).

But it is through one of his great-grandsons, Hugh Capet (938-996), that most of the European royalty are connected. Here is a webpage that lists some of the famous descendants of Hugh Capet (http://famouskin.com/famous-kin-menu.php?name=4190+hugh+capet). Some of these include:

·         Most of the US presidents, from George Washington (my 26^th cousin), to Thomas Jefferson (my 26^th cousin), FDR (my 29^th cousin), and many others

·         Charles Darwin (my 28^th cousin)

·         Douglas MacArthur (my 29^th cousin), George Patten (my 31^st cousin)

·         Queen Elizabeth II (my 30^th cousin)

While these cousin relations are a little far removed and so I would not feel comfortable calling them “cousin,” that does not change the fact that these relationships exist. But it’s fun to know just the same!