Tag Archives: Notable Mayflower descendants

A Kingdom of No Ends

Famous Figures, , ,

Photograph of Philipp Prinz Von HessenThe truth is, I’ve rewritten this post about five times. Who really wants to lead with an image of a German royal in official Nazi dress? What could a guy like this possibly have to say? Lately, though, I have been looking for something bigger in the “unusual connections” department. I’ve been wanting one of those Paul Harvey moments, in which a family connection leads you to a broader perspective on the world—something that reveals “the rest of the story.”1

Recently, while watching a randomly stumbled-upon TV program, I learned about diamonds stolen during World War II. These particular diamonds were purloined by American service personnel from members of German royalty with Nazi connections. The story piqued my interest, and I had to wonder—could I have any genealogical connection to this fairly recent history of stolen diamonds, some “likely Nazis,” and the German royal family? Continue reading A Kingdom of No Ends →

A Murdaugh Mayflower Mystery

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Statue of WIlliam Bradford next to photo of Alex MurdaughThis post is a collaboration between myself and Vita-Brevis contributor Jeff Record , as we were both watching Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal on Netflix, as well as news coverage of the recent murder trial of Alex Murdaugh . Jeff alerted me to a possible Mayflower descent for the family, and similar to my post on Jeffrey Dahmer and Other Infamous Mayflower Descendants , we sought to verify the proposed lineage.

Jeff found a lineage of Alex Murdaugh’s mother Elizabeth “Libby” (Alexander) Murdaugh (b. 1939) on FamilySearch (this profile, which had repeated the hoax of her death, has since been deleted , but we will summarize the sources below, and the profiles of her parents remain). Jeff found Libby’s great-great-grandparents: Stephen/Stevens and Nancy (Ripley) Simmons were a couple that married at Swansea, Massachusetts in 1810 and moved to Charleston, South Carolina, with purported descents to the Alden, Bradford, Brewster, Mullins, and Warren families on the Mayflower! Continue reading A Murdaugh Mayflower Mystery →

Jeffrey Dahmer and Other Infamous Mayflower Descendants

Mayflower,

A friend relayed to me this episode: an older individual was leaving a research facility when security, per policy, asked to inspect their bag. The individual declared to my friend working at the reception desk: “I find it insulting that security asked to check my bag, because I’m a Mayflower descendant!”

Aware that one’s ancestry has very little to do with one’s potential to commit a crime, my friend wanted to know if there were any Mayflower descendants with a well-known criminal record who they could have brought up in response. Indeed, there are plenty! Continue reading Jeffrey Dahmer and Other Infamous Mayflower Descendants →