Author Topic: World's biggest family tree?  (Read 9928 times)

Offline Marmalady

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World's biggest family tree?
« on: Thursday 03 September 15 17:49 BST (UK) »
 Someone is claiming to have the world's biggest family tree, having traced 22.000 ancestors

http://metro.co.uk/2015/09/02/does-this-man-have-the-worlds-biggest-family-tree-5373192/

Unfortunately the actual article does not give much detail on exactly who has been included -- is it all direct ancestors or lots of mere connection - instead latches onto "royal" connections such as being the Queen's 22nd cousin once removed and that William the Conqueror & Alfred the Great are also amongst his lineage

I am fairly selective about who I add to my trees -- rarely going more than one or teo generations down from siblings of direct ancestors -- but i have over 11,400 names when combining my maternal, paternal and husband's trees

How many names do you have and how selective are you ?
Wainwright - Yorkshire
Whitney - Herefordshire
Watson -  Northamptonshire
Trant - Yorkshire
Helps - all
Needham - Derbyshire
Waterhouse - Derbyshire
Northing - all

Offline Lisajb

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Re: World's biggest family tree?
« Reply #1 on: Thursday 03 September 15 19:03 BST (UK) »
Just over 1800 - that's maternal, paternal and husbands, although he is of Irish descent so that's been something of a struggle (had some wonderful help on here though.)

I do add all the children of a marriage, but don't tend to trace their individual families unless they are particularly interesting for some reason.

No royals and so far I've not found myself to be related to Her Majesty! Although my maternal great grandfather was the Duke of Beauforts gamekeeper.
Mullingar, Westmeath Ireland: Gilligan/Wall/Meagher/Maher/Gray/O'Hara/Corroon (various spellings)
Bristol: Woodman/James/Derrick
Bristol/Somerset: Saunders/Wilmot
Gloucestershire:Woodman/Mathews/Tandy/Stinchcombe/Marten/Thompson
Wiltshire: Mathews
Carmarthen: Thomas, Lewis
Australia: Mary Lewis, transportee, married Henry Brown - what happened to her?

Offline smudwhisk

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Re: World's biggest family tree?
« Reply #2 on: Thursday 03 September 15 19:11 BST (UK) »
Someone is claiming to have the world's biggest family tree, having traced 22.000 ancestors

http://metro.co.uk/2015/09/02/does-this-man-have-the-worlds-biggest-family-tree-5373192/

He's claiming 10,000 not 22,000 so Marmalady your 11,400 is larger than his anyway. ;D

Now if he had 10,000 direct ancestors, without any siblings and their descendants, that may be something to shout about but I would imagine that would be a bit difficult to do.  Mine is larger than that with all the sidelines we've followed forward. ;)  And yes it is properly documented and sourced.
(KENT) Lingwell, Rayment (BUCKS) Read, Hutchins (SRY) Costin, Westbrook (DOR) Gibbs, Goreing (DUR) Green (ESX) Rudland, Malden, Rouse, Boosey (FIFE) Foulis, Russell (NFK) Johnson, Farthing, Purdy, Barsham (GLOS) Collett, Morris, Freebury, May, Kirkman (HERTS) Winchester, Linford (NORTHANTS) Bird, Brimley, Chater, Wilford, Read, Chapman, Jeys, Marston, Lumley (WILTS) Arden, Whatley, Batson, Gleed, Greenhill (SOM) Coombs, Watkins (RUT) Stafford (BERKS) Sansom, Angel, Young, Stratton, Weeks, Day

Offline Marmalady

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Re: World's biggest family tree?
« Reply #3 on: Thursday 03 September 15 19:48 BST (UK) »
Yes the link is somewhat confusing

The link as it showed up on Facebook said 22,000 ancestors, but the article itself said 10,000

Wonder if Guinness Book of Records would really be interested?
After all, don't we all have a similar number of direct ancestors (2 parents, 4 grandparents, 8 great grandparents etc etc) even if we don't actually know who they are?
Wainwright - Yorkshire
Whitney - Herefordshire
Watson -  Northamptonshire
Trant - Yorkshire
Helps - all
Needham - Derbyshire
Waterhouse - Derbyshire
Northing - all


Offline pinefamily

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Re: World's biggest family tree?
« Reply #4 on: Friday 04 September 15 10:39 BST (UK) »
Marmalady,
That number changes when you take intermarriage into account. In my wife's tree, her parents are 4th cousins. It was when I discovered this that they didn't want to learn anymore!  ::)
I am Australian, from all the lands I come (my ancestors, at least!)

Pine/Pyne, Dowdeswell, Kempster, Sando/Sandoe/Sandow, Nancarrow, Hounslow, Youatt, Richardson, Jarmyn, Oxlade, Coad, Kelsey, Crampton, Lindner, Pittaway, and too many others to name.
Devon, Dorset, Gloucs, Cornwall, Warwickshire, Bucks, Oxfordshire, Wilts, Germany, Sweden, and of course London, to name a few.

Offline Marmalady

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Re: World's biggest family tree?
« Reply #5 on: Friday 04 September 15 12:03 BST (UK) »
Oh yes, I know that, Pine
But on average, I should think that we all have a very similar number -- and the further back you go, the more likely it is there are ancestors that appear at least twice in the direct line

My husband's Waterhouse line in particular is very convoluted - there are families where both parents and 3 out of 4 grandparents are all Waterhouse cousins - so that must cut down the number of his direct line ancestors considerably!
Wainwright - Yorkshire
Whitney - Herefordshire
Watson -  Northamptonshire
Trant - Yorkshire
Helps - all
Needham - Derbyshire
Waterhouse - Derbyshire
Northing - all

Offline pinefamily

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Re: World's biggest family tree?
« Reply #6 on: Friday 04 September 15 12:08 BST (UK) »
Oh yes indeed! My father-in-law's maternal grandparents were first cousins.
I am Australian, from all the lands I come (my ancestors, at least!)

Pine/Pyne, Dowdeswell, Kempster, Sando/Sandoe/Sandow, Nancarrow, Hounslow, Youatt, Richardson, Jarmyn, Oxlade, Coad, Kelsey, Crampton, Lindner, Pittaway, and too many others to name.
Devon, Dorset, Gloucs, Cornwall, Warwickshire, Bucks, Oxfordshire, Wilts, Germany, Sweden, and of course London, to name a few.

Online Treetotal

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Re: World's biggest family tree?
« Reply #7 on: Friday 04 September 15 12:09 BST (UK) »
That's not a tree it's a forest  ;D ;D ;D

Carol
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Offline Ayashi

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Re: World's biggest family tree?
« Reply #8 on: Friday 04 September 15 12:13 BST (UK) »
I suppose the other question is, how much of it is right? It's easy to get "world's biggest tree" if you name collect. Hell, I could just make up names and dates if I wanted to get a world record. On the other hand, if they verify it for you, that sure is one way of getting a second opinion lol