Root Stock                  

(Author's note: This is straight up genealogy, so if you have no interest in the subject, you should bail out now. And yes, I know I am long-winded and rambling. Hang in there to the end. I think you'll be glad you did.)

As always, dramatically unedited.

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A genealogist far wiser once told me that he and I were related to each other at least seven times over. (Likely through multiple intermarriages in the past) At the time, his statement was incredible. I remember thinking, Seriously? How can that be? As the years have passed, though, and as I have observed various trees and learned the patterns of the "immigrants," and as their names have become etched in my mind, I realized that what he said is pretty darn true. It doesn't mean that any of these relationships are readily apparent; on the contrary, they are usually well hidden among the dust of the ages. Still, as you go along, you begin to see that the melody of that Disney cliche is actually quite true. 

Gee, it's a small world after all.

Now I'd be wasting my time telling you to go out and purchase a set of Anderson's Great Migration series. For the most part, my set gathers dust on the bookshelf while my kids poke fun at me for having such a particular selection of books. (Eh, kids, go figure, right?)  It's a set of roughly ten volumes of profiles, or "sketches" if you will, of some of the first settlers who came to New England between 1620 -1640. Think of these sketches of immigrants as the "root stock" of who many (and certainly not all of us) in these United States you may find yourself somehow "connected" to. If you have even the remotest connection to New England, there's a good chance one of your ancestors will be in the series.           

                

The reason I bring this up is, well, basically, to tell you where I get my "root stock" from in looking for genealogical lines. Let's face it, too, I love to piggyback off of Anderson's work as it connects to so many others, like those who have researched well "celebrity genealogy." In fact, my kids will often chide me by saying, "Dad, you say we are related to everyone!" As ridiculous as that sounds, like my kinship seven times over to the genealogist mentioned above, it's true. However, being related to everyone or to anyone doesn't mean anything if you can't prove it. Anderson's Great Migration series is, in my opinion, the best start for proving your connection to anyone - a common man, a president, or a movie star. It isn't "100%", or all-encompassing, but it's a great well-researched starting point. (And no, I am not writing this to hawk Anderson's works)

However, referring back to those dust-gathering tomes on the shelf is the easy part. The next part involves remembering the names in your family tree from those earliest of colonial days. This part I can't help you with, other than to say that, like anything, practice makes perfect. There is one easy part to this, though; if you happen to be looking for your connection to some celebrity, say, John Wayne or Marilyn Monroe, the good news is that their ancestries, indeed their pedigrees, have already been researched ad nauseam. 

What this means is that if you comb through Marilyn Monroe's family tree and focus on her ancestors from, say, 1620 or so, you will begin to recognize the names. From there, you might notice that you see the name Alden in her tree. From here, you remember that you, too, have Aldens in yours; there is a good chance you will both descend from Mayflower passenger John Alden.         

I don't mean to oversimplify any of this. True too is that I rely heavily on all research in New England and the mid-Atlantic states. This week, I was pleased to once again rely on this process when I noticed the name of Christopher Hussey in the family tree I've been working on with Paige Dunham. 

The lines I have been researching for Paige are largely Southern, but I shouldn't have been too surprised when I saw that Paige's Southern Babb lines connected to the Northern ones and further to the lines of immigrant Christopher Hussey. This was a windfall for me as a researcher, as I was able to once again piggyback off Anderson's Great Migration series to the immigrant Christopher Hussey. Christopher Hussey is well documented and peppered with many famous or notable kin. It was a pleasant experience to be able to share connections with the family of James Dean, Megan Markle, and several others.

But that wasn't all there was. There are other interesting connections too. However to get there, from Christopher Hussey, I needed to "branch out."

I wanted to show what connections there might be for that same family tree, but not necessarily through immigrant Christopher Hussey. As redundant as it is to say this, "Hussey" and "Babb" are not the only lines here. As I was looking through the connecting lines between Paige's family (and as they connected to "Hussey" and "Babb), I noticed another family line that connected to actor James Dean and, indirectly, back to those darn Babbs. The family name was "Perkins," and it's a name that appears in the pedigrees for both Paige's and the family of James Dean. It is also a name (like that of Hussey) that will supply a whole lot more notable or celebrity kin. Remember, this means I may only have to prove out "half the tree." Yes! The celebrity portion has already been done. (Insert smiling emoji about here...)

I was lucky. I'd already connected Paige's family back to Hussey. I'd connected her to James Dean. I had also connected both Paige's family and James Dean to Thomas Perkins, the ancestor of the immigrant John Perkins. The rest was a little bit like shooting fish in a barrel.     

And there it was. That interesting connection I was looking for: Miss Bette Davis. I mean, does it get much better than that?

Above: An Ancestor in common with James Dean, Bette Davis, and Paige Dunham

                     

Note: The above four Images show the ancestry of Actress Bette Davis from Thomas Perkins via his son Henry and through Sarah Sargeant, who married Orlando Bagley. Citing: Paula Perkins Mortensen, English Origin of Six Early Colonists by the name of Perkins, Gateway Press, Baltimore, 1998

Yes, the first one that caught my eye was the lovely lady above. Bette Davis, a relative of both actor James Dean and Paige Dunham. Remember, this may sound like a big deal - it isn't. We're all a lot more closely related than we might otherwise suspect.

Now, onto how Paige Dunham and James Dean (and indeed Bette Davis) connect to Thomas Perkins. I've already looked at James Dean's connection to Paige through Christopher Hussey, so these excerpts will concentrate on her shared Perkins lineage to Thomas Perkins as it follows through to Bathseba Hussey, who married Thomas Babb.

                   

  

Above two images: Perkins family line of actor James Dean and Paige Dunham

There are other celeb connections too, but let's face it, I'm picky. I need to put in a disclaimer here that I am not related to Betty Davis or to James Dean (not in this instance), nor am I related to Christopher Hussey, Thomas, John Perkins, or any of the really cool members of the Babb family. However, we all share common roots in the colonial United States, making each of us reasonably well-connected and somewhat easy to research.

Paige's "Perkins" connections follow below:    

    

     

    

 Citing: Paula Perkins Mortensen, English Origin of Six Early Colonists by the name of Perkins, Gateway Press, Baltimore, 1998

As you can see in the superscript denoting the generation for "Thomas Perkins" shows by the superscript number "9" in the images for both Paige Dunham and actress Bette Davis.

 

Above: Gotta love that look. 

Now I believe that Mortensen's work on the Perkins clan needs more source citations, but on the surface, and in combination with other sources, it looks like the author has done one heck of a job. The nuts and bolts of it are that Thomas Perkins of Hillmorton, Warwickshire, had two sons, Henry (Bette Davis) and Isaac (James Dean, Paige Dunham) from whom some fairly notable folks descend. 

So I will leave you with Ms. Davis and Thomas Perkins, and the way I got there was through the Babb's and even through James Dean.  I hope to discover another line here, at least an interesting one beyond those that will likely show up like Richard Nixon (also a Perkins/Hussey) or serial killer Dr. H.H. Holmes. (Yikes!)

As they say, Live long, and prosper?

✌

PS: So say what you will about all this... but isn't it serendipitous that Paige's ancestors and those of Bette Davis appear in the same tome?

I rest my case.