You could have knocked me over with a feather when I discovered 2 years ago that my bloggy friend Sonya Ann and I are related. We are 9th cousins.
She and I are descended from Captain Samuel Snead(my 10th Great Grandfather, her 9th Great Grandfather).
He was our first Snead to immigrate to American. Samuel came to the Virginia Colony with his wife, Alice Gallimore Snead and their son, William, in 1635.
Our most recent shared ancestor is Samuel Sneed's grandson, John Sneed, who married Alice Tinsley.
From there our ancestor's branch off, Sonya's line being the son William Sneed of New Kent, Virginia and mine, the son Samuel Sneed of Hanover, Virginia. Back then, name spellings were quite fluid, Snyd or Snead one time, Sneed the next time. Over the years the spelling of the name got standardized in her line to SNEED, my line to SNEAD, but it's the same family line.
One of the famous cousins we share--Golfer Sam Sneed. My 6th cousin 3x removed.
Anyway, who would have thunk it, that I'd find a long lost cousin in blogland?
So imagine my surprise when I had my last giveaway and the winner, chosen at random, had the same last name as the maiden name of one of my 3rd Great Grandmothers!
I emailed her if she knew anything about her family history and after some back and forth we discovered that we share an ancestor in Abraham Stapp II who married Dorothy Moss 1678. Abraham was 2nd generation of that family born in America. We are 8th cousins 2x removed(I am straight 8th cousins with her grandfather).
One of the famous people we almost share, Scott Stapp of the grunge band Creed. He took his stepfather's surname so genetically we aren't cousins.
But we do share this guy.....
Kentucky legend & frontiersman Moses Stepp. That's his grave in Martin County, KY.
I find this happening every time I turn around. I find ancestral connections to people I meet in my life.
More recently I was talking to another blogger buddy, Jay, and he said he was related to Roy Rogers(Roy's real name was Leonard Franklin Slye).
Well I went to look up Roy's parents and Leonard's mother was named Mattie Womack. Gee, I have a line of Womacks in my family lines. I traced Roy's maternal side Womack line back a bit and wouldn't you know, it flows back to Prince Edward County, Virginia, where my Womack's were too.
I feel confident that once I do some more digging I'll find the actual link to Roy Rogers maternal line of Womacks to mine.
So far on the paternal side of Sly family I haven't done enough research to connect Jay but he says it is there.
So while Jay and I aren't cousins we are both probably each related to Roy Rogers, Jay through the paternal line and me through the maternal line, so we are from allied families.
It sure is a small, small ancestral world we live in.
Have you done any genealogy research that led you back to famous or infamous people in your family tree?
Sluggy
She and I are descended from Captain Samuel Snead(my 10th Great Grandfather, her 9th Great Grandfather).
He was our first Snead to immigrate to American. Samuel came to the Virginia Colony with his wife, Alice Gallimore Snead and their son, William, in 1635.
Our most recent shared ancestor is Samuel Sneed's grandson, John Sneed, who married Alice Tinsley.
From there our ancestor's branch off, Sonya's line being the son William Sneed of New Kent, Virginia and mine, the son Samuel Sneed of Hanover, Virginia. Back then, name spellings were quite fluid, Snyd or Snead one time, Sneed the next time. Over the years the spelling of the name got standardized in her line to SNEED, my line to SNEAD, but it's the same family line.
Anyway, who would have thunk it, that I'd find a long lost cousin in blogland?
So imagine my surprise when I had my last giveaway and the winner, chosen at random, had the same last name as the maiden name of one of my 3rd Great Grandmothers!
I emailed her if she knew anything about her family history and after some back and forth we discovered that we share an ancestor in Abraham Stapp II who married Dorothy Moss 1678. Abraham was 2nd generation of that family born in America. We are 8th cousins 2x removed(I am straight 8th cousins with her grandfather).
But we do share this guy.....
I find this happening every time I turn around. I find ancestral connections to people I meet in my life.
More recently I was talking to another blogger buddy, Jay, and he said he was related to Roy Rogers(Roy's real name was Leonard Franklin Slye).
Well I went to look up Roy's parents and Leonard's mother was named Mattie Womack. Gee, I have a line of Womacks in my family lines. I traced Roy's maternal side Womack line back a bit and wouldn't you know, it flows back to Prince Edward County, Virginia, where my Womack's were too.
I feel confident that once I do some more digging I'll find the actual link to Roy Rogers maternal line of Womacks to mine.
So far on the paternal side of Sly family I haven't done enough research to connect Jay but he says it is there.
So while Jay and I aren't cousins we are both probably each related to Roy Rogers, Jay through the paternal line and me through the maternal line, so we are from allied families.
It sure is a small, small ancestral world we live in.
Have you done any genealogy research that led you back to famous or infamous people in your family tree?
Sluggy
