Help me out, readers. Give me a name. The name of someone alive today, sharing the name of a historical figure, who is also a descendant of that figure. The more distant the descent, the more genealogy points I award you.1
The modern person should be a relatively public figure as well. They don’t have to be Wikipedia-level famous. But public enough that I’m not doxxing anyone (especially from behind a pseudonym! The nerve of this guy). We genealogists sometimes become so fascinated by a particular connection or descent that we forget that, to many people, ancestry is a private matter. I don’t think that will be a sustainable position in the world to come, but that’s an argument for another day.
I came up with Tench Coxe, on the board of directors at NVIDIA. And I award myself 6000 bonus genealogy points plus stock options for the AI connection.
His ancestor, though not terribly well-known anymore, was the American founding father of the same name. The modern Tench is a solid six generations removed from his founding forefather.
Descendants of presidents, especially recent ones, are low-hanging fruit (Theodore Roosevelt, V; Franklin Delano Roosevelt, III). I award myself no genealogy points for them. But as a special thank you for participating, I award myself a limited edition The Genealogian commemorative cup. Sorry readers: that was the only one.
There’s whatever you want to call this (they’ve been naming every boy Heinrich for 800 years).
You might say any person of partial or full European descent named Charles, Carlos, Carlo, Karol, Karl, etc. is named for his illustrious ancestor Charlemagne. No points for that, either.
Winston Churchill’s grandson of the same name died a few years back. But his own son Randolph, an investment manager (of course), is the president of the International Churchill Society. Randolph is named for his grandfather, the PM’s son, who was in turn named for his grandfather, Lord Randolph, the PM’s father.
Five generations. Not bad.
But no points. The English nobility and their commoner descendants are too easy.
By the by, am I the only one who thought Winston Churchill’s mother’s ancestors were Huguenots? That’s certainly what the Churchills themselves believed, and the canard has sneaked into their biographies.
But it turns out the first Jerome in America, Timothy, was from the Isle of Wight. And it was a common name there, occurring as early as 1562, when the will of one Cicely Jerome of Brightstone was proved. The St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre wasn’t until 1572. Maybe the Jeromes came from France in the distant past—the Isle of Wight is certainly near enough to make it plausible. But I rather doubt they were Huguenots. Seems to be a classic case of nineteenth century genealogical reasoning:
(1) Name sounds French.
(2) We are French.
QED.
There are actually three hidden steps in there. Implied, but not spoken aloud:
(1)(a): My ancestors have names like Jehiel Murray, Lebbeus Ball, and Thankful Stow.
(1)(b): That is super uncool.
(1)(c): French people are cool.
(2) We are French.
Anyway, what were we talking about?
Genealogy points have no cash value and cannot be redeemed for actual ancestors. Offer valid only for living participants. Points accumulate at the rate of one per confirmed relative, excluding pets and imaginary friends. DNA test results may invalidate previously earned points. Side effects may include unexpected family reunions, awkward holiday dinners, and the sudden urge to wear plaid. Genealogy points are non-transferable and void where prohibited by family feuds. Must be 13 or older and very nerdy to participate. Or 65 or older and very retired. Batteries not included. Some assembly of family tree required (but not very much if you’re ok with it being completely, irretrievably wrong). Past performance does not guarantee future discoveries. Genealogian.substack.com is not responsible for any skeletons found in your family closet.
But they WERE very serious religious Zealots when they arrived in America in the 1650s, and then became Quakers, so maybe the Jaques family really were Huguenots. Then of course there's the datapoint that the name is pronounced "JAY-qweez" in the American Midwest, that kinda proves it, right? 😉