Gateway Ancestry

One way to make a connection to the World Family Tree is through what are called “Gateway Ancestors.” These are famous or semi-famous people from various fields who have had their ancestry well documented. Which usually means they are linked to the world tree, which means they are linked to me. So if you have any linkage to them – however distant – then you are officially linked to me.

At this point, most prominent people have been linked to the family tree. So if you have a semi-famous ancestor, please email the name or names to info@globalfamily.us so that we can figure out the connection.

So far, all 44 presidents have been linked to the tree. Also, every member of the British royalty. But thousands of others as well.

Here is just a small sampling of those who are linked to A.J. Jacobs. If you don’t see the name of your semi-famous ancestor on here, please still email the name. We will likely find a connection.

Aaron Copland
Adiel Stein
Adria Brody
Albert Brooks
Albert Einstein
Alisan Porter
Allen Ginsberg
Alvin E Roth
Amelia Earhart
Andrew Schally
Angelina Jolie
Arthur Lehman Goodhart
Artie Shaw
Ava Gardner
Barack Obama
Barbara Streisand
Barbara W. Tuchman
Barbara Walters
Barrie Karp
Baruch Bloomberg
Ben Franklin
Benjamin Cardozo
Ben Shahn
Bill and Hillary Clinton
Bill Gates
Robert Kennedy Jr.
Bob Einstein
Brad Pitt
Brian Schatz
Camilla Duchess
Chelsea Clinton
Cher
Christina Aguilera
David Brooks
David Chrales George Jessel
David Cross
David Gerald Stern
David Halberstain
David Schwimmer
Diane Sawyer
Edna Ferber
Elie Wiesel
Elizabeth Taylor
Ella Reva Sudin
Ellen Barkin
Ellen DeGeneres
Emil Hans Lederer *
Esther Lederberg
Eva Hesse
Felix Bloch
Franklin Roosevelt
Frank Sinatra
Fran Lebowitz
Gabrielle Giffords
George Clooney
George H.W. Bush
George Oppen, Jr.
George Stephanapoulis
Gideon Yago
Gilbert Gottfried
Glenn Close
Gwyneth Paltrow
Henry Kissinger
Henry Waxman
Hillary and Bill Clinton
Horace Stern
Howard Nemerov
Howard Stern
Irene Lieblich (painter)
Isaac Bashevis Singer
James Spader –
Jason Sudeikis
Jerry Sheindlin
Joe Dimaggio
John Bahcall
John McEnroe
John Quincy Adams
John Travolta
Jonathan Safran Foer
Jon Stewart
Joshua Lederberg
Judah Friedlander
Judge Judy
Judge Judy Sheindlin
Julian Mack
Julian Schnabel
Julian Schnabel
Karl Marx
Katey Sagal
Ken Perlin
Kevin Bacon
Kim Novak
Larry Rivers
Laura Prepon
Lauren Bacall
Lee Krasner
Leo Garel
Leonard Nemoy –
Liev Schreiber
Lionel Richie
Lisa Edelstein
Lisa Kudrow
Live Schreiber
Logan Lerman
Louis Brandeis
Louis Schanker
Louis Untermeyer
Lucille Ball
Lynn Margulis
Madeline Albright
Madonna
Mageina Tovah Begtrap
Mandy Patinkin
Mara Wilson
Marilyn Monroe
Martin Karplus
Martin Pope
Marvin Hamlish
Matisyahu Treves of Paris
Mayim Bialik
Mayim H. Bialik
Meghan McCain
Menachem Mendel Schneerson
Mia Farrow
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Heidelberg
Michael Jackson
Mike Birbiglia
Mitchell Feigenbaum
Mitt Romney
Morgan Spurlock
Mortimer Adler
Moses Louis Annenberg
Ned Block
Nick Offerman
Nicole Kidman
Nita Lowey
Noah Emmerich
Norman Cantor
Norman Mailer
Norman Rosten
NPR host Ophira Eisenberg
Olivia Wilde
Paddy Chayetsky
Paul McCartney
Peter Sellers
Peyton Manning
Piper Kerman (the real-life Orange is the New Black)
President George HW Bush and Barbara Bush
Prince Charles
Prince William and Harry
Quincy Jones
Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchick
Rain Pryor
Rashida Jones
Richard Feynman
Richard Michelson
Rihanna
Ringo Starr
Rob Lowe
Roger Lee Kamenetz
Roland Emmerich
Ronan Farrow
Roy Glauber
Samuel H.Adler
Sarah Palin
Saul Bellow
Scarlett Johansson
Sidney Hook
Sigmund Freud
Sir Moses Jacob Ezekiel
Stanislaw Ulam
Stephen Colbert
Steven Pinker
Supreme Court
Tom Cruise
Tony Kushner
Tori Spelling
Uriah Levy, USN
Vanessa Redgrave
Walter Gilbert
Whoopi Goldberg
Winston Churchill
Woody Allen
Zellig Harris

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