They said "we are all cousins" and WE ARE!
You may have heard of A.J. Jacobs' global family reunion project, which aims to prove that we are all related to one another. Here is the information about it from his page:
"You are officially invited to..
THE GLOBAL FAMILY REUNION
When: Saturday, June 6, 2015
What: The Global Family Reunion is a free event conceived by bestselling author A.J. Jacobs. It will be a family reunion meets a TED conference meets Burning Man (without the nudity or drugs). There will be presentations by celebrities and famous scientists. There will be music, comedy, games, interactive exhibits and food.
Oscar-nominated filmmaker Morgan Spurlock is making a feature-length documentary about the event.
Even if you can’t come in person, sign up for the live-stream and be a part of history.
Who: The event is open to the public. Every one of my seven billion relatives on planet earth is encouraged to join us. We are all cousins, if you go back far enough. Those cousins who have a proven relationship to A.J. (see below) will get a bracelet and take part in the record-breaking Largest Family Photo.
Where: The amazing New York Hall of Science in Queens, New York, the site of the 1961 World’s Fair. The interior holds 5,000 people and the 11-acres outside hold many more. There are cool science exhibits, a mini-golf course, a science-themed playground and much more. Very kid-friendly. http://nysci.org/
The Cause: Curing Alzheimer’s Disease. The MegaReunion has teamed with the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund (a 501c3 organization with the top rating on Charity Navigator) to help conquer this devastating genetic disease that afflicts 60 million members of the human family. http://curealz.org/
The Hope: Once we realize we’re all related, perhaps we’ll treat each other with more kindness. Only together can we solve the big problems, including Alzheimer’s."
*****
I had no idea of how to go about finding my connection to A.J. until today, when I got a message that WikiTree has a new tool that will find connections between family members of those who have their family trees on the WikiTree website. I tried the tool, and within seconds had the following amazing results!
AJ Jacobs and Clair Zarges have 28 degrees of separation:
AJ Jacobs→
[private person]
(his father) →
Harriet Flug
(his mother) →
Benjamin Flug
(her brother) →- Michael Flug
(his son) → - [private person]
(his wife) → - James Keating
(her father) → - Caroline Anna Hoagland
(his mother) → 
William Hoagland
(her father) →- Elias Hoagland
(his father) → - Eyni Hoagland
(his mother) → 
Abraham Hoagland
(her brother) →- Edward Taylor Hoagland
(his son) → - Mary Taylor Schwartz
(his sister) → 
Joseph Smith
(her husband) →
Hyrum Smith
(his father) →
Joseph Smith
(his father) →- Mary Duty
(his mother) → - Mary Palmer
(her mother) → - Elizabeth Palmer
(her sister) → - Nathan Hood
(her husband) → - Nathaniel Hood
(his brother) → - Susannah Hood
(his daughter) → - Stephen Kinney
(her son) → 
John Shepherd Kinney
(his son) →
Sarah Kinney
(his daughter) →
David Crabb
(her son) →
Elva Crabtree
(his daughter) →
Clair Harris
(her daughter)
Wow, that's trippy! So we could actually go to the reunion and sit at the big kids' table!
ReplyDeleteHi Cousin Clair! That is great news. Can't wait to see you. And Aunti Bucksnort too! I'll save you guys a seat at the big kid's table .
ReplyDelete