| So, why did you start researching your ancestry? | | | | of the people living 20-30 generations ago had |
| Have you always been a history buff? A lot of | | | | descendants survive. Of course the odds of |
| people start off their research just curious about | | | | someone having surviving descendants were |
| their great grandparents and those that came | | | | much better if the person in question was tied to |
| before them. Many people have conjured | | | | royal families. |
| romantic images of Presidents, Kings, Princes, | | | | What's the population of the world today? Around |
| Queens, Knights and other notables in the distant | | | | 7 billion. So when we look 20 generations or so |
| past. There is a joke about some people that | | | | back in time we see around 500 years give or |
| claim their family are direct descendants of | | | | take (assuming a shade over 25 years per |
| George Washington. The real joke here is that | | | | generation, of course this can vary wildly.) So |
| George Washington had no direct descendants. | | | | around the year 1500 what was the worlds |
| (Nephews, nieces and cousins are a completely | | | | estimated population? It's estimated that there |
| different story.) | | | | were 450 Million people alive in the year 1500. |
| Let me give you something for you to chew on | | | | What's really interesting here is that it only takes |
| for a while: we are all descended from royalty. | | | | a total of 30 generations back to be researching 1 |
| What is that you say? You haven't received the | | | | BILLION ancestors and that's just taking us back |
| family greeting cards from Her Majesty? Well, let | | | | to around the year 1250. This is approximately |
| me tell you how I've come to that conclusion | | | | the time of Edward the First King of England. (To |
| after many years of research and countless | | | | whom I've found more purported links in my |
| times having stumbled across supposed "gateway | | | | research than I can count.) |
| ancestors" and a little bit of math. To start let's | | | | Now, in my own research and research of my |
| look at just pure math. | | | | wifes' family it seems that for each of our |
| One person has two parents, that's the way it's | | | | grandparents family tree there is at least one |
| been so we can assume that for each generation | | | | so-called gateway ancestor that has been |
| we trace backwards we will double the number of | | | | thoroughly researched and is a connection or |
| people we're researching. So, after 4 generations | | | | "gateway" into medieval genealogy. More often |
| back we're researching 16 people (2nd great | | | | than not, these gateway ancestors trace their |
| grandparents.) Now, by the time we research 10 | | | | way into royal families due to the notorious |
| generations into the past we now have 1024 | | | | interconnections between royals and nobility in |
| people to research. (Even if our chart isn't | | | | western Europe. Now, are you not of western |
| completely "filled in" at that level that's how many | | | | descent? Even those that don't have a drop of |
| blank spaces there should be if you assume | | | | Western European blood likely are descendants of |
| there's no duplication.) Some families of course | | | | other royals in their culture. In any case proving it |
| have more duplication than others this all depends | | | | is the trick. |
| on how isolated the area your ancestors lived | | | | When you think through the math of it all, it's |
| was, or coincidence, or even customs of the | | | | hard to escape that we are all descendants of |
| time, but assuming no duplicate ancestors we | | | | royalty. I doubt many of us will be invited over to |
| have the arduous task or researching 1,048,576 | | | | tea at Her Majesty's' winter palace, but when you |
| different ancestors by the time we get back 20 | | | | read history and the story of our fallible ancestors |
| generations. Those are our 18th great | | | | remember they, in many ways are the same as |
| grandparents. It only takes going back a total of | | | | you. Before I finish, let me point out that we're |
| 30 generations for us to pass 1 billion. Yes, 1 | | | | also descendants of hundreds of thousands of |
| BILLION! Since the world population has just | | | | nameless faceless peasants that worked and |
| passed a billion people for the first time in the last | | | | toiled hard in obscurity as well. We would do well |
| century (the 1900s) you can be sure there is | | | | to keep in mind all of our ancestry. |
| some duplication. Let me point out though, not all | | | | |