Update: Shorter Connection to A.J. Jacobs and the Global Family Reunion

Earlier this month I posted about my relationship to A.J. Jacobs, who came up with the idea of a Global Family Reunion (GFR) to include everyone to whom he is related.

The first connection route between us, calculated by Geni, showed 200 degrees of separation, with some Greek gods and goddesses along the way. Humorous, and A.J. and I were willing to accept it as showing a connection between us (mostly because we already recognize that as human beings, there is a connection, even if unknown), but we now have a much more satisfactory connection route, this time courtesy of WikiTree's Global Family Reunion project.

AJ Jacobs and Pamela Lloyd have 31 degrees of separation:

0. 
   AJ Jacobs →
1. 
   Ellen Kheel
   (his mother) →
2. 
   Theodore Kheel
   (her father) →
3. 
   Julian Kheel
   (his brother) →
4. 
   Victoria Kheel
   (his daughter) →
5. 
   James Spader
   (her husband) →
6. 
   Jean Fraser
   (his mother) →
7. 
   Elizabeth Bowditch
   (her mother) →
8. 
   Frederick Bowditch
   (her father) →
9. 
   Sarah Higginson
   (his mother) →
10. 
    James Higginson
    (her father) →
11. 
    Stephen Higginson
    (his father) →
12. 
    Stephen Higginson
    (his father) →
13. 
    Elizabeth Higginson
    (his sister) →
14. 
    Benjamin Prescott
    (her son) →
15. 
    Rebecca Minot
    (his wife) →
16. 
    
    James Minot
    (her father) →
17. 
    
    Timothy Minott
    (his brother) →
18. 
    Mary Brooks
    (his wife) →
19. 
    Noah Brooks
    (her father) →
20. 
    Hannah Mason
    (his mother) →
21. 
    John Mason
    (her brother) →
22. 
    Sarah Mason
    (his daughter) →
23. 
    Thomas Harrington
    (her son) →
24. 
    John Harrington
    (his son) →
25. 
    Charles William Herrington
    (his son) →
26. 
    William Herrington
    (his son) →
27. 
    John A Herrington
    (his son) →
28. 
    Isaac Newton Herrington
    (his son) →
29. 
    Inez Minerva Herrington
    (his daughter) →
30. 
    Winston Lloyd
    (her son) →
31. 
    Pamela Lloyd
    (his daughter)

Note: The color changes indicate where the connection is through a spouse, rather than a direct relative.

For more about my efforts on WikiTree, visit my profile there. If you'd like to join me on WikiTree, you can do so for free, just by signing up. Or, if you prefer, ask me to invite you.

Cousin A.J.'s Relationship to Me

Okay, I'll admit it. I was just a bit disappointed when Geni's relationship calculator couldn't find a connection between me and A.J. Luckily, however, it worked from A.J.'s end, so I now know that he is (in a fuzzy, I don't claim there are any valid genealogical proofs, way) my 87th cousin 24 times removed.

The short path includes myself, my father, 197 relatives, A.J.'s mother, and A.J.

The long path… well, as A.J. put it, "it goes so far back that I'm not sure it's 100 percent trustworthy. I'm sure there's a cleaner and shorter route." A.J., I discover, has a knack for understatement. But, he's ready to call me cousin and I am now officially invited to the Global Family Reunion.

For your amusement—for this surely tickles me!—I present the long path below the cut:

Resources for Genealogists and Family Historians

Over on Genea-Musings, Randy Seaver has posted Comments on the 1940 U.S. Census RFQ and SOW.* What this means is that the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is looking for bids on the work of indexing the 1940 U.S. Census.

Near the bottom of the post, Randy Seaver offers his opinion regarding free access to these records, and the agreements between the NARA and various commercial sites. In this context, he stated, 

I think that NARA will eventually host the census on its own site, with one of the name indexes available from some provider for use in a NARA facility.  That's the type of agreement they made with Ancestry.com, Footnote.com, FamilySearch.org, etc. to permit indexing of other NARA databases they are free to access in a NARA facility.

It was this mention that made me realize that I may not be taking full advantage of the NARA's free resources. A quick check of the NARA's site turned up Resources for Genealogists and Family Historians, which provides a wealth of online resources.

While on the NARA site, I also learned that my belief that I'd have to go to Washington, DC to access these records may have been incorrect, since they have a number of regional sites around the country; not all of these sites offer the same resources, so if you are planning a visit to one of the regional centers, make sure the records you need are available there.

I live in Tucson, so the nearest NARA site for me is the National Archives at Riverside, CA (Pacific Region), approximately 440 miles from my home. The NARA reports:

We hold historically valuable materials created and collected by Federal agencies and courts in Arizona, southern California, and Clark County, Nevada. These records constitute a major resource for the study of Native American history, Naval history, westward migration, Asian immigration, civil rights, and other subjects.

Since most of my recent ancestors are from the eastern half of the US (my dad was born in Florida, and my mom in Ohio), this doesn't help me much. However, my husband does have some ancestors who lived in these areas. So, if I plan a trip to this location, I'll be focusing on my husband's family.

Like my parents, my dad's parents are from distinctly different regions. For my dad's mother's line (Herrington), the National Archives at Atlanta will be most useful, as most of her close ancestors were from the South. My dad's father was born in Pennsylvania, so to follow his line, I'll have to head north to the NARA's Mid Atlantic Region (Center City Philadelphia), where records for Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia are maintained. My mother's father (Rote) was also born in Pennsylvania, so while I'm there I can try to track down more information about him. Her mother (Craun), however, was born in Indiana, so to track down this branch, I'll have to head over to the Regional Archives for NARA's Great Lakes Region, which are housed in Chicago, Illinois.** Great! Although I was born in Chicago, my parents left when I was a baby and I've wanted to visit for as long as I can remember.

---

Notes
* RFQ = Request for quote; SOW = Statement of Work
** Lines referenced: LLOYD, HERRINGTON, ROTE, CRAUN