Those Who Made A Difference: 2500 Years of Family History

Over the course of twenty years of research, over 27,800 family members spanning over 2500 years were discovered and put into a database. While putting all of them into a family history would be an impossible task, some were of enough historical importance to deserve to be included others had stories of interest though not in the class of an Eleanor of Aquitaine still were noteworthy of inclusion From Xerxes I, King of Persia and married to the Biblical Esther Hadasah to Elizebeth II of England there were links to the same family. Included were George Washington , Thomas Jefferson and Robert E Lee who were all cousins, Their stories and how they related to maternal and paternal family of the author make for both fascinating reading as well as good cause to believe in the idea of six degrees of separation as it relates to genealogy. Among some of the more fascinating facts included are: George Washington and King George III were related. Washington is often described as “first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen”, any idea where that came from and who said it? One of the most iconic lines in the Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson was in fact changed from what Jefferson wrote to something Benjamin Franklin thought was more appropriate (Jefferson was not happy about the change). Anotherwas that just weeks before resigning from the US Army to lead the Army of Northern Virginia, Robert E. Lee was offered the position as head of the Union forces (and a rank of Major General) by Abraham Lincoln