For almost 2 years now I've been into doing genealogy. My grandma gave me some basic information on her family and I ran with it. I now have about 8 notebooks full of information that I've gathered off the internet and it's not stopping anytime soon. This is a never-ending job but at least it's enjoyable.

My mom told me once that everyone has at least one famous person in their family tree. For years and years I thought the only famous person we had came from my grandfather's Swedish ancestry...Jenny Lind, The Swedish Nightingale is a cousin of some sort. I always that was cool considering I love to sing...not well but I like to do it. I'm sure Jenny rolls over in her grave sometimes when her ancestor belts out "I Will Survive" at karaoke.

When I got married, my mother-in-law informed me that through her husband, we're related to Doc Holliday of OK Corral fame. THAT was even cooler, I thought! He's also a cousin. Jeff & I were watching Unsolved History one day and they were using forensic scientists to try and discover how the whole shootout at the OK Corral began. It turned out that Doc Holliday started it all by cocking both levers on his double barreled shotgun. When the second one clicked, Wyatt Earp (I think) thought it was a Clanton gun being cocked and he started shooting. Way to go, Doc!

When I started actively researching genealogy, I found out that we're related to General George Washington Littlefield whom Littlefield, Texas is named after. He apparently was a major cattle barron back in the late 1800's. We're also related to the guy that wrote the first biography of George Washington and made up the story about chopping down the cherry tree.

Jeff is a descendant of Priscilla Mullens & John Alden, the two famous pilgrims from the Mayflower for those of you who didn't pay attention in history class. One of their daughters married the son of Miles Standish so he's in our tree as well. Through one of the Alden daughters we're cousins with author Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. I didn't think we could fit more famous people on this tree until 2 weeks ago. I found a direct link between Priscilla Mullens and William The Conqueror & Charlemagne! So now there's all these kings and lords and counts and princes in the tree. I was thrilled until I opened my big mouth and told Jeff who he was related to.

Now he's convinced that he has a claim to the English & Scottish thrones and that I should feel grateful that he married a peasant way below his class. I tried to tell him that somewhere in my dad's family was a knight...they were important...he didn't buy it.

He now calls himself King Tars I.

All I ask is that I'm considered co-regent. It's all a peasant like me can expect, I guess.

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