Mutineers, Rebels, and More: Who Are You Most Closely Connected To?

+23 votes
2.4k views

This week's Example Profile of the Week is Vice Admiral William Bligh, protagonist in both the Rum Rebellion and the Mutiny on the Bounty, born 9 September 1754. Featured alongside him are these other key players in the incidents:

Who are you most closely connected to? If you're one of the 20,317,000 of us who are connected to each other on our big tree you can check with the Connection Finder.

You can also check for shared ancestors with the Relationship Finder. Are you a cousin to any of them?

Let us know below!

WikiTree profile: William Bligh
in The Tree House by Abby Glann G2G6 Pilot (733k points)
edited by Chris Whitten
Colour me confused -- but what does Nelson have to do with either mutiny?

me too  

Samuel Hood here https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Hood-766

"Hood presided at the court-martial of some of surviving instigators of the Mutiny on the Bounty, beginning on 12 September 1792."

from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Hood,_1st_Viscount_Hood

ans also from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Hood,_1st_Viscount_Hood

Hood became acquainted with, and later became a mentor to Horatio Nelson"

that is the only connection i can find for Horatio Nelson to  the bounty and its a distant one.

Horatio Nelson knew the officer  presiding over the court-martial 

and Neslon and Hood are 5 degrees apart 

see https://www.wikitree.com/index.php?title=Special:Connection&action=connect&person1Name=Nelson-39&person2Name=Hood-766

Samuel's grandson married Horatio's Niece

And I am 14 degrees from Nelson

and I am 14 degrees from Hood,

I'm 14 degrees from Thomas Laycock, and 13 degrees from Nelson. 15 degrees from William Bligh, and 16 from John Macarthur.
and you are  also 14 degrees from Hood
William Bligh - I am 2nd cousin 6 times removed through his father Francis Bligh (11 degrees apart). William Bligh and I are both descendants of Reginald Cock (Cock-1554)

I am connected to each, but at a distant.  Three are distant cousins. I visited Pitcairn Island in 2006 and met many of the descendants that returned to Pitcairn Island after being removed, the eldest being the 7th generation - Betty Christian and Tom Christian.  Here are my connections: 

  1. 25 degrees from William Bligh 
  2. 21 degrees from Fletcher Christian13th cousins five times removed
  3. 27 degrees from Peter Heywood
  4. 26 degrees from Thomas Jamison
  5. 23 degrees from George Johnston
  6. 20 degrees from Thomas Laycock
  7. 25 degrees from John Macarthur
  8. 25 degrees from D'Arcy Wentworth - 18th cousins four times removed
  9. 20 degrees from Horatio Nelson - 10th cousins 6 times removed
I am 22 degrees from William Bligh, 23 degrees from Thomas Laycock,  27 Degrees from Thomas Jamison, 26 John Mc Arthur, 24 D'Arcy Wentworth, 27 Peter Heywood, 22 Horatio Nelson. All are distant and most branch out from the same side of the family with one exception.
Almost as much as George Washington's little hatchet does, Melanie.

33 Answers

+18 votes
Fletcher Christian for me.  Not terribly close at 18 degrees, but closer than the rest.

Leader of the mutiny, but less than successful as leader of the resulting colony on Pitcairn Island.
by Steve Ryan G2G6 Mach 8 (82.6k points)
That's closer than me. I'm 20 degrees from both Thomas Laycock and Horatio Nelson.
I'm 18 degrees from Fletcher also.
+17 votes
16 degrees to William Bligh and George Johnston. 18 degrees to Fletcher Christian and Horatio Nelson.
by Fiona McMichael G2G6 Pilot (209k points)
+19 votes
Thomas Jamison at only 15 degrees! And others at 16, 17.

I think that's a record for me for one of these things.

I'm also only 15 degrees from the member of the week. Another record!
by Mark Dorney G2G6 Mach 6 (65.1k points)
+15 votes
I am most closely connected to William Bligh at 24 degrees.
by Samantha Thomson G2G6 Pilot (260k points)
+14 votes

Surprisingly, my shortest connection path is to the Australian, Thomas Laycock. The unexpected link in our 18-step path is a young man from Rhode Island who is supposed to have been one of the earliest settlers in Tasmania.

by Ellen Smith G2G Astronaut (1.5m points)
+15 votes
Closest to Fletcher Christian at 17 degrees. According to the relationship finder we're 10th cousins 5 generations removed with some uncertainty on his part. My Pendleton ancestry connects to him through the Curwens. William Bligh is next at 18 degrees. No known blood connection.
by Frank Blankenship G2G6 Pilot (130k points)
edited by Frank Blankenship
At 19 degrees of separation, Horatio Nelson is next. Seems we're 7th cousins 6 times removed if existing genealogies hold up. Gregory married Nance who descends from a Nance who married a Harry (Harris).Seems Horatio has Harris's in his tree, too.
+14 votes
It's a tie at 23 degrees: Thomas Laycock & Horatio Nelson.
by Susan Keil G2G6 Mach 6 (67.4k points)
+12 votes

I am most closely connected to Horatio Nelson at 21 degrees of separaton.

by Tommy Buch G2G Astronaut (1.9m points)
edited by Tommy Buch

Note to self. See this question as a followup on the connection path to William Bligh.

See Answer No. 1

+13 votes
No close connections, but Horatio Nelson & Thomas Laycock are both 17 degrees from me.
by Brad Cunningham G2G6 Pilot (190k points)
+11 votes

Fletcher Christian is a 15th cousin 4X removed through Edmund FitzAlan.

D'Arcy Wentworth is an 18th cousin 3X removed through Ida (Odingsells) de Clinton.

Horatio Nelson is a 13th cousin 5X removed through Henry Greene

and Mary Gorman is a 20th cousin 2X removed through John Comyn. 

by Carol Baldwin G2G Astronaut (1.2m points)
William Bligh - I am 2nd Cousin 6 times removed (11 degrees) through his father Francis Bligh. We are both descended from Reginald Cock (Cock-1554)
+13 votes
18 degrees from Fletcher Christian. And the path goes through George Washington of all things.
by Eric Weddington G2G6 Pilot (519k points)
+13 votes
19 from Bligh and 17 from Mary our member of the week.

They range between 13 degrees from D'Arcy Wentworth to 30 degrees to Peter Heywood. (though only 2 were more distant than Bligh)
by Rosalie Neve G2G6 Pilot (174k points)
+12 votes

Another fun one!  Laylock was closest for me at 18 degrees. Thank you.  

Best, Janet

by Janet Clifton G2G6 Mach 6 (62.8k points)
+12 votes
A three-way tie at 18 for William Bligh, Christian Fletcher and Horatio Nelson.  They all go thru the Abel Smith banking family to the drug-enriched Wigrams, who are my in-laws a few times removed (if an out-of-wedlock person can have in-laws).
by Shirlea Smith G2G6 Pilot (284k points)
+12 votes
John MacArthur 11 degrees.....Horatio Nelson 12 degrees and 10th cousin 4 times removed......William Bligh 14 degrees.
by John Thompson G2G6 Pilot (352k points)
edited by John Thompson
+11 votes
I'm related to all of them!  in order of degrees: 14 for Christian Fletcher, 19 for Horatio Nelson, 20 for Thomas Laycock, 21 for Bligh, 23 for Thomas Jamison, 24 for D'Arcy Wentworth and George Johnston, and 25 for John McArthur and Peter Haywood.  Comes right down to the Carrolls to Nowland to Semnacher to me.

As for blood relations, only Christian Fletcher - 9th cousins 7x removed thru Henry Clifford, D'Arcy Wentworth - 12th cousins 7 x removed thru Thomas Markenfield, and Horation Nelson - 10th cousin 5 x removed thru Richard Neville.  All three come down to me through Pond and then to Brown.
by Cindy Shephard G2G6 Mach 1 (14.3k points)
edited by Cindy Shephard
When you say 'related to all of them' you really mean 'connected to all of them' , right?
Aye true that..... got a little carried away I was so excited!  I'm connected to all.
+11 votes

Mary Gorman is 22 Degrees from Sharon Centanne.

Fletcher Christian is 24 Degrees from Sharon Centanne

by Living Troy G2G6 Pilot (175k points)
+11 votes
William Bligh 24 degrees.

 William Bligh RN  Bligh-45; his wife, Elizabeth (Betham) Bligh  Betham-7,  15th cousins four times removed, we are both descendants of Robert (Bruce) de Brus  Bruce-517.

Fletcher Christian 22 degrees, 14th cousins three times removed, descendants of William VIII  Gascoigne  Gascoigne-24.

Peter Heywood 24 degrees.

Thomas Jamison 25 degrees.

George Johnston 24 degrees.

Thomas Laycock 20 degrees.

John Macarthur 24 degrees.

D'Arcy Wentworth 26 degrees, 12th cousins five times removed, descendants of John Wentworth  Wentworth-11.

Horatio Nelson 20 degrees, 11th cousins five times removed, descendants of Roger Wentworth  Wentworth-8.

 Elsie Gorman 28 degrees, 17th cousins once removed, descendants of John Savage III  Savage-23.
by Mildred Wheeler G2G6 Mach 8 (84.5k points)
edited by Mildred Wheeler
+11 votes
I'm 20 degrees from John McArthur. That's the closest, but I am connected to all of them.
by Nan Hewitt G2G6 Mach 1 (11.7k points)

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