Cousin A. J.'s Get-Together

A. J. Jacobs, "editor at large at Esquire magazine and author of four New York Times bestsellers" according to his website, is hosting what he hopes will be the world's biggest family reunion. News of his upcoming party has been shared widely, with notices on the WikiTree, Geni, and My Heritage blogs, and in the New York Times. Jacobs has also been a guest on Boston's NPR program On Point, for a discussion of "Crowdsourcing And The New Genealogy Boom."

I looked him up on Geni, to see what our connection is, but that was a bust. Geni just couldn't find the connection. Which is strange, because I know there is one, as explained in the email I just sent to A.J.:

Hi A.J.,

Although Geni tells me it can't find a path between us, I know there has to be one. Here's why:

You say that Albert Einstein is your second great-uncle’s third cousin’s wife’s first cousin. Well, Geni reports that he's my 6th great aunt's brother's wife's fourth great niece's husband's aunt's husband's great grandson. This is a distant, some might even say tenuous, connection, but it is a connection none-the-less.

I'm on Geni at http://www.geni.com/people/Pamela-D-Lloyd/6000000007818456107. I'm also on WikiTree at http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Lloyd-1428, but my ancestry is much less developed there, mostly because the entry process is much more time-consuming.

Your website requests that I submit the names of my four great grandparents. My paternal grandparents are Elmer Bruce Lloyd and Inez Minerva "Sissy" Herrington. My maternal grandparents are Galen Weiker Rote and Lulu P. Craun.

My Lloyd lineage goes directly back to Thomas Lloyd, my 8th great grandfather, who served for a time as lieutenant governor of provincial Pennsylvania under William Penn.

I hope I've provided you with sufficient information for you to discover our connection. I'm sure there is one, since I hold to the firm conviction that all humans on the planet are related and it's only through a lack of knowledge of the connections that we don't all call each other cousin.

Best wishes,

Pamela D. Lloyd

What I didn't tell A. J. is that I'm unlikely to attend in person. Not only would travel to the party pinch my pocketbook, but I really don't like big crowds. But, that's okay because I can attend virtually, via a Google Hangout.

For more information about the MegaReunion, as it's sometimes called, check out WikiTree's Global Family Reunion project and then join WikiTree's Global Family Reunion Project.

What about you? Ready to join the party?  Do you think you might be related to A. J.? Or to me? I'd love to hear from you.