I left out a small group of historical figures that were a bit of a reach, even for me. Here the are:
The Earp Brothers: [Virgil, Wyatt and Morgan] The link to the so-called "Gunfight at the OK Corral" is the farthest reach. If you aren't familiar with the Earps, their greatest claim to fame came in Tombstone, Arizona Territory. Political and personal grudges led to a showdown on 26 October 1881 in a vacant lot next to Fly's Photographic Studio. Lawmen Virgil, Wyatt and Morgan Earp, along with gambler-dentist Doc Holiday faced off against Ike and Billy Clanton and Frank and Tom McLaury.Ike fled the scene, while Billy and the McLaurys were killed. Virgil and Morgan received serious wounds. Doc was grazed. Over the ensuing months the Earp faction was tried and acquitted on murder charges, Virgil was ambushed and crippled. Morgan was ambushed and murdered. Earp allies went on a vendetta ride, thinning out the ranks of those who ambushed Morgan and Virgil. Ike Clanton was killed while cattle rustling. Doc died of tuberculosis. Wyatt and Virgil lived into the 20th century. connection? One of the brothers of Martin Cawby married an Earp. The common ancestor was the immigrant Earp.
George Washington: OK, technically all of our Revolutionary War ancestors served under Washington. Inn-keeper Hans Casper Rinker played host to Washington when he was on a surveying job. My Simmons family lived across the street from Federal Hall in NYC and had the opportunity to witness the Presidential Inauguration. connection? The Rinker and Simmons families were direct line.
Al Capone: The Chicago crime boss was taken down by the Treasury Department. My grandmother, Bess Crail McHugh, had a cousin who worked as an investigator in that department. Agent David Nolan helped collect evidence used to convict the gangster. connection? collateral on my mother's side.
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