TEDDY ROOSEVELT
became the Republican vice president of William McKinley in 1900. Several months later McKinley was assassinated making Roosevelt the 26th president of the US -- and the youngest at age 42. Teddy Roosevelt is probably best remembered (1) for leading the RoughRiders in the Spanish-American War, (2) for "taking" Panama to build the Panama Canal, (3) as an avid outdoorsman and conservationist who encouraged wise use of natural resources, (4) as one of the greater presidents deserving of a spot on Mt. Rushmore, and (5) for sparing the life of a bear cub on a hunting trip such that stuffed-toy bears are now called "Teddy bears."
Relationship -- Dennis is Teddy's 8th cousin twice removed (via Rosecrans line)
Certainty Factor -- 95%
Check out the Ancestry Chart of Dennis and the Roosevelts
WILLIAM S. ROSECRANS
was a Union General in the Civil War and Commander of the Army of the Cumberland. Also known as "old Rosy", Rosecrans was considered a brilliant military strategist who in 1863 took most of Tennessee and marched into Chattanooga virtually unopposed. But the glory was short-lived when he was severely defeated at the battle of Chickamauga in northern Georgia whereupon he was reassigned to Missouri. Some accounts say that General Grant disliked Rosecrans ever since their West Point days and undermined him at almost every opportunity. Fact or not, it is interesting that after the war Rosecrans was appointed ambassador to Mexico by President Johnson, but when Grant became president the appointment was cancelled. Rosecrans eventually moved west, got involved in various business ventures in California, and also served as a US congressman for that state.
Relationship -- Dennis is the General's 3rd cousin thrice removed (via Rosecrans line)
Certainty Factor -- 100%
Check out the Ancestry Chart of Dennis and the General
JONATHAN EDWARDS
is considered one of the greatest theologians of the early 1700s (and even now) and was a primary figure in the Great Awakening revival of the 1730s and 1740s. He was born in 1703 in CT and by age 13 was already quite proficient at Latin, Greek and Hebrew. He attended Yale for four years and graduated before his 17th birthday. In 1727 he became a co-pastor with his grandfather at a church in MA and then pastor when his grandfather died two years later. In 1741 he gave one of his more famous sermons entitled "Sinner's in the Hands of an Angry God." Although this title suggests Edwards was a pulpit-pounding hell-fire-and-damnation-preacher, in fact he was a calm speaker who mostly viewed God as loving and gracious, not wanting any to perish. In 1750 he left his church of many years (he was voted out) and became a missionary to the Indians. Then in 1758 he reluctantly became president of Princeton College. Unfortunately he died just weeks later, ironically from an inoculation for smallpox.
Relationship -- Holly is Jonathan's 2nd cousin 7 times removed via Tuttle line. It is also rumored in the family that there is another connection with Jonathan Edwards via Holly's great-grandmother Harriet Edwards. To be researched...
Certainty Factor -- 85%
Check out the Ancestry Chart of Holly and Jonathan
THOMAS EDISON
is probably the most famous of all American inventors, holding 1,093 US patents for his various inventions. He is best known of course for his incandescent light bulb, but his inventions also include the phonograph, motion picture equipment (including the first with sound) as well as improvements to the stock ticker, telegraph, batteries and the telephone. Edison is credited with saying "Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration."
Relationship -- Dennis is Edison's 7th cousin thrice removed (via Rosecrans line)
Certainty Factor -- 95%
Check out the Ancestry Chart of Dennis and Edison
LARRY McMURTRY
is a novelist, and rare book collector and dealer. A number of his fictional works have been made into movies for theater or television. In 1986 he won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for "Lonesome Dove." He also wrote "Terms of Endearment" which as a 1983 movie won 5 Academy awards (we didn't care for this film). Other better known Westerns include "Streets of Laredo" and more recently "Comanche Moon." One of Larry's uncles presumably said that Larry's parents were worried he would never amount to much since he spent most of his time reading. This uncle also said that for someone who never really embraced ranch life, Larry still writes about it pretty well.
Relationship -- Dennis is Larry's 3rd cousin once removed (via Dawson line). Larry's grandfather and Dennis' great-grandfather were 1st cousins, had both lost their fathers to the Civil War, and were probably close friends. One of Larry's uncles is Edward Dawson McMurtry, named after Dennis' great-grandfather Edward Dawson.
Certainty Factor -- 100%
Check out the Ancestry Chart of Dennis and Larry
FRANKLIN PIERCE
was elected 14th president of the United States in 1852. Two years prior to that election Democrats had pushed through the Compromise of 1850 that for the most part favored slavery. And the election of Democrat Pierce in 1852 seemed to validate this change of direction in policy. In the middle of Pierce's term, along with the organization of the Nebraska and Kansas territories, Congress repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820 -- slavery was now to be permitted in any new state if the people so voted. This action added new fuel to the anti-slavery fires which would contribute to the Civil War breaking out in just a few years. Not much else of major significance happened while Pierce was president.
Relationship -- Uncertain. Holly's great-great-grandmother Brown's maiden name was Pierce which is the basis of this rumored connection. To be researched...
Certainty Factor -- 1%, hence no ancestry chart for this one
FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT
became the 32nd US president in 1933 during the Great Depression. He was re-elected 3 more times (a record) but died while still in office in 1945 shortly before the end of World War II. Although popular, he was also controversial. Some felt he undermined states' and peoples' rights, others felt he was ignorant about economics. Some of his programs were great successes, others not. He worked hard to help end the Depression but it was defense spending more than his policies that brought back prosperity. Although he contracted polio in 1921 which put him into braces and wheelchair, he remained a charismatic optimist which encouraged people during the Depression and World War II. It is he who said "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself..." Overall, he was a great president.
Relationship -- Dennis is FDR's 9th cousin once removed (via Rosecrans line)
Certainty Factor -- 95%
Check out the Ancestry Chart of Dennis and the Roosevelts