Every year on the last Monday of May the U.S. citizens celebrate one of the most important holidays in their history. Memorial Day is celebrated to remember, honor, and mourn men and women who died while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. To pay our tribute to every single person who gave their lives for the country, we’ve decided to tell you more about the history of this holiday and one man in particular who stood at its origins.
What Do We Know About the Holiday History?
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has discovered at least 25 different versions and places of the holiday origins. Many researchers claim that it all has started with the end of the Civil War. The American Civil War was one of the greatest shocks for the U.S. nation. In U.S. history, this war is known as one of the biggest conflicts that have taken more lives than any other battle. According to some records, the war officially ended on May 9th, 1865 leaving behind over 1 million people dead. The U.S. government had to establish numerous national cemeteries and, by the end of the 1860s, people across the country had begun decorating graves, thus paying tributes to the fallen soldiers.
On May 5th, 1866, an American soldier, politician General John Alexander Logan called for the creation of a national public holiday called Decoration Day. Logan issued a proclamation that led to further holiday adoption across the country.
Even though it’s still unclear where the holiday originated, Waterloo, a village in the state of New York, was declared as the official place of origin of Memorial Day by the U.S. federal government.
Memorial Day Traditions
Each year, numerous cities across the country celebrate Memorial Day and hold holiday parades. During that day, people visit memorials, cemeteries, and hold family gatherings to honor fallen military personnel.
To symbolize those who have fallen, some people wear or hold red field poppies. The idea of wearing red poppies was inspired by Moina Michael’s poem “In Flanders Fields”. Moina has even used to sell poppies to raise money and give them to the servicemen in need.
General John A. Logan Family Tree
John Alexander Logan is known as one of the most important figures in the movement dedicated to recognizing Memorial Day as an official national holiday in the U.S. He was born to Dr. John Logan and his wife Elizabeth Logan (née Jenkins) on February 9th, 1826, Illinois in the city that is now known as Murphysboro. Before going to Shiloh College, John studied at home with a private tutor and his father. He later served in the Mexican–American War.
John Logan attended the Law Department of the University of Louisville, from which he graduated in 1851. He also attended law practice at his uncle’s office. John’s uncle Alexander M. Jenkins, an American politician who served as Lieutenant Governor of Illinois from 1834 to 1836.
During the American Civil War, John Logan served as a general of the Union Army. After the end of the war, he served as commander-in-chief of the Civil War veterans organization called Grand Army of the Republic (GAR).
John’s wife, Mary Simmerson Cunningham, was born to Captain John M. Cunningham and Miss Elizabeth Fontaine on August 15th, 1838, in the village of Sturgeon, MO. She was a writer and editor of American, Irish, and French descent. John and Mary married on November 27th, 1855. Their daughter Mary Elizabeth Logan was born on June 20th, 1858. She later became a political activist. John’s only son, Manning Alexander Logan, was born on July 24tah, 1865. He later changed his name to John Alexander Logan Jr. while serving as a U.S. Army officer. During the Philippine–American War, he was mortally wounded and at the age of 34 on November 11th, 1899. In 1866, General John A. Logan adopted a girl named Kate, the daughter of his relative, an actor Cornelius Ambrosius Logan who died in 1853. Take a look at John Logan’s family tree made with the Treemily family tree template with pictures.
Memorial Day is the day when we honor people who put their lives into defending the U.S. nation. These people will never be forgotten and will always be remembered by their relatives, friends, and a great number of American citizens.
Mother’s Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of May every year. This year Mother’s Day will be celebrated on May 14th, 2023. While many of us cannot visit our mothers due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, it’s important to find other ways to celebrate this special holiday and honor our beloved moms. We’ve come up with six brilliant gift ideas to give our mothers the recognition they deserve.
The Holiday History
The history of Mother’s Day goes back to ancient times when people held various festivals to honor the mother figure itself. Most of these festivals were usually tied to honoring goddesses. For instance, the Greeks honored Hera, the goddess of family and marriage, and the wife of Zeus, who was also a divine representation of a mother.
With time, the tradition has spread into other cultures. In the 16th century, the English were celebrating Mothering Sunday. During that day, those who served as domestic servants would be given a day off to reunite with their families and spend a special day with their mothers.
In the US, the first modern Mother’s Day was celebrated in 1907. Anna Maria Jarvis who held a memorial service for her mother is now officially known as the founder of this holiday. Only in 1924, it was declared a national holiday in the US and is now held every year on the second Sunday in May.
Six Exceptional Gift Ideas for Mother’s Day
We’ve come up with the six sweetest and very personal gift ideas for your moms to make this mother’s day even more special and memorable.
Homemade videos
Be creative and make your own video filled with memorable moments spent with your family members. Simply take all of the videos you’ve ever taken with your smartphone and put them together with the help of free editing tools and apps. If you have any recordings left from your childhood, add them as well to make a whole story about your family.
Your mother’s favorite flowers or plants
Your mom’s favorite flowers and plants are always a great gift. If you are local, be the one to deliver a bunch of flowers to your mom’s door. If you don’t have a chance to visit your family in person, use one of the local flower shop delivery services. Mother’s Day is one of the busiest times of the year so make sure to order ahead of time.
DIY family tree
Family tree gifts are the most special ones. You can spend time with your mom learning more about your family history and then create a stunning family tree visualization. Create your own traditional family tree in a matter of minutes and add pictures of your family members to make it even more special.
Create a presentation with your childhood or your kids’ photos, and other pictures of happy moments spent with your mother. Use Canva, Prezi, or any other tool to create a unique presentation and remind your mom of how special she is.
A long phone call
While it’s still not safe to visit your family during the COVID-19 pandemic, most people don’t get a chance to congratulate their mothers on this amazing holiday in person. A good idea will be to give your mom a phone call and spend hours chatting about everything in the world. These moments may become even more precious and special than any other gift.
A virtual talent show
Skype and Zoom calls have become a common thing over the past few years. If you live far away from your mom or simply don’t have a chance to visit her, you can always give her a video call and have some fun together. If you have kids, you can plan a talent show together and make a great performance for your mother.
The Treemily team hopes this holiday will be very special both for you and your beloved moms. Happy Mother’s Day!
On April 9th, 2021, Buckingham Palace announced the death of Prince Philip, the husband of Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom at the time. He passed away peacefully at Windsor Castle at the age of 99. Prince Philip was the longest-serving consort in British history but there are many other things His Royal Highness will be remembered for. Today, the Treemily team wants to pay tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh and with the help of Family Tree Maker tell you more about his family’s past and future generations.
Prince Philip – Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark was born on June 10th, 1921, in Mon Repos villa on the island of Corfu, Kingdom of Greece at that time. Philip was the youngest child and the only son of Princess Alice of Battenberg and Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark. The prince was born during the Greco-Turkish War and his very first years of childhood were not the calmest ones. His uncle Constantine I, the King of Greece at that time, was forced to abdicate when the war was over in 1922. Constantine I and Philip’s father were arrested, while Princess Alice and her entire family had to live under constant surveillance.
Prince Philip’s History and Early Years
In December 1922, Prince Andrew was banished from Greece for life by a revolutionary court, thus forcing his family to evacuate to France. It is known that Prince Philip was carried in a fruit box all the way from Greece to France to be kept safe.
Philip began his education at The Elms school in Paris and was sent to his maternal grandmother, Victoria Mountbatten, to attend Cheam School in the UK at the age of 9. By the year 1933, all of Philip’s sisters married German princes and moved to Germany while his mother was placed in an asylum due to schizophrenia. The same year he was sent to Germany to attend a boarding school but left for Scotland after two terms.
In 1939, Philip attended the Royal Naval College in the port of Dartmouth where he later met his wife, the future Queen of the United Kingdom. He served as a member of the British forces during the Second World War. It is a well-known fact that Philip’s sister Cecille and her husband were members of the Nazi Party before the war and that his two other brothers-in-law were German SS officers. At the age of 21, Prince Philip became the youngest first lieutenant of HMS Wallace, one of the Revenge-class super-dreadnought battleships.
Ancestors of Prince Philip
Parents
Prince Andrew and Princess Alice (Parents of Prince Philip)
Philip’s father, Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark was born on February 2nd, 1882, in Athens and was the seventh child in the family. In 1902, he met his future wife Prince Alice while staying in London and the two got married only a year after. Princess Alice of Battenberg was born on February 25th, 1885, in Berkshire, UK. Besides Philip, the couple had four daughters Princess Margarita(1905-1981), Princess Theodora(1906–1969), Princess Cecilie (1911-1937), and Princess Sophie (1914-2001). In 1939, Prince Andrew was estranged from his wife and saw neither of his kids. He died of heart failure at the age of 62 in Monte Carlo, Monaco. In 1967, Princess Alice lived at Buckingham Palace in London where she died two years later.
Paternal Line
Philip’s grandfather George I of Greece was born on December 24th, 1845 in Copenhagen, the Kingdom of Denmark. He was the King of Greece for 40 years from 1863 to 1913. Philip’s grandmother Olga Constantinovna of Russia was born on September 3rd, 1851 in Pavlovsk, Russian Empire and was a member of the Romanov dynasty. The two first met when Olga was only 12 years old and got married four years later. Together they had eight children: five sons and three daughters. On March 18th, 1913, George I of Greece was assassinated and Olga Constantinovna decided to return to Russia. After the Russian Revolution, Olga had to escape to Switzerland. She spent her final years with her youngest son, Prince Christopher, and died at the age of 74.
Maternal Line
Prince Louis and Princess Victoria (Grandparents of Prince Philip)
Prince Philip is related to Queen Victoria through his maternal line. His grandmother, Princess Victoria of Hesse and Rhine was born to Princess Alice, the daughter of Queen Victoria, and Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine on April 5th, 1863, at Windsor Castle in Berkshire. Philip’s grandfather, Prince Louis of Battenberg was born on May 24th, 1854in Graz, Austria. Prince Louis and Princess Victoria got married in 1882. Including Princess Alice, the couple had four children. Prince Louis died of heart failure in 1921. 29 years later, his wife Princess Victoria died at the age of 87 in London.
Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth Family Tree
Queen Elizabeth II (Wife)
Young Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II
Philip’s future wife Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was born on April 21st, 1926, to George VI, the future King of the United Kingdom, and his wife Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon, later known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. Philip and Elizabeth’s engagement was announced on July 9th, 1947, and the couple got married the same year on November 20th.
King George VI and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (Parents of Queen Elizabeth II)
Prince Philip’s Children
Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II had four children together: Prince Charles (born 1948), Princess Anne (born 1950), Prince Andrew (born 1960), and Prince Edward (born 1964).
King Charles (born 1948)
King Charles III, the oldest son of the Queen and Prince Philip, was crowned heir to the British throne on November 14, 1948, at Buckingham Palace, where he was born. He was also given the titles Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester when he was nine years old.
King Charles was the first royal heir to graduate from college – University of Cambridge, where he studied history, anthropology, and archaeology. Like his father before him, he then served in the British Royal Navy in his 20s before going on to become a helicopter pilot.
In the summer of 1980, he started dating Diana Spencer, and in February of the following year, they got engaged. On July 29, 1981, they got married, and the following year, they had their first child, Prince William, whereas Prince Harry, the couple’s second child, was born in 1984.
King Charles III and Princess Diana
However, overtime Charles’ marriage with Diana deteriorated as both acknowledged having an affair – they later separated in 1992 and divorced in 1996. Just one year later, Diana tragically perished in an infamous car accident.
After Queen Elizabeth passed away, Charles succeeded her as King Charles III and instantly took on the duties and rights of a crowned monarch. On May 6, 2023, he was installed as monarch during a ceremony held at Westminster Abbey in London.
Princess Anne (born 1950)
Princess Anne was born in London on August 15, 1950. Princess Anna is known for being a passionate equestrian as well as for recycling her wardrobe to the point where she would have been wearing the same clothes for decades. She became the first British royal to ever become an Olympian when she competed in horse riding in the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal. She. delivered a steady performance, finishing 24th overall
Continuing the theme of the Olympics, in 1973, Princess Anne married Olympic gold winner Captain Mark Phillips, with whom she has 2 children. Princess Anne formally assumed the role of Counsellor of State for King Charles III on December 7, 2022, enabling her to perform constitutional obligations for their elder brother in his absence.
Prince Andrew (born 1960)
Prince Andrew, the second son and third child of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, was born on February 19, 1960. Like his brother Charles, after finishing his studies, Prince Andrew joined the British Royal Navy. Prince Andrew married Sarah “Fergie” Ferguson in 1986, and since then the couple had 2 children – Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie. Prince Andrew and Sarah separated in 1992 and divorced in 1996, yet they continue to be close friends.
Prince Andrew gained notoriety when it was discovered that he had strong connections with the late convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Because of that, Prince Andrew resigned in 2011 from his position as the United Kingdom’s Special Representative for International Trade and Investment. He’s also no longer permitted to use the title “His Royal Highness”, however, he still continues to actively participate in royal family events.
Prince Edward (born 1964)
Prince Edward and his wife Sophie Rhys-Jones
The youngest child of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, Prince Edward was born in Buckingham Palace on March 10, 1964.
He was quoted as the “most charming and sensitive son” of the royal couple and he prefers to stay out of the public eye, rarely making headlines. His first big one, however, came in 1987 when he infamously left the Royal Marines during basic training, much to his father’s disapproval, which caused a scandal.
Prince Edward also allegedly was in brief contention for the throne in Estonia, no matter how absurd that sounds. In 1994, the Estonian Royalist party apparently approached him about becoming the country’s leader once the Soviet Union fell – an opportunity he respectfully declined.
On June 19, 1999, Prince Edward married Sophie Rhys-Jones, and the pair later took the titles of Earl and Countess of Wessex, with whom they have 2 children.
Prince Philip’s Grandchildren
Prince Philip had eight grandchildren in total, with the oldest being Peter Phillips, 45, and the youngest – James, Viscount Severn, 15.
Peter Philips and Zara (Philips) Tindall
Peter Philips (born November 15th, 1977) and his sister Zara Tindall (born May 15th, 1981) are children of Princess Anne and Captain Mark Philips. They both don’t have an official royal title but are still frequent guests at many important events such as Trooping the Colour.
Prince William and Prince Harry
Prince William (born June 21st, 1982) and Prince Harry (born September 15th, 1984) are the two sons of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana.
Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie
Princess Beatrice (born August 8th, 1988) and Princess Eugenie (born March 23rd, 1990) are the two daughters of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson.
Lady Louise and James Viscount Severn
Lady Louise Windsor (born November 8th, 2003) and James, Viscount Severn (born December 18th, 2007) are the daughter and son of Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex.
Prince Philip’s Great-Grandchildren
As of September 2023, Prince Philip had 13 great-grandchildren, 10 of which he lived to see the birth of.
Peter Phillips and his partner Autumn Kelly gave birth to the two oldest great-grandchildren – Savannah Phillips, 12 and Isla Phillips, 11.
Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales have 3 children – Prince George, 9; Princess Charlotte, 8; and Prince Louis, 5.
Zara Phillips and her partner Mike Tindall add 3 more Prince Philip’s great-grandchildren to our list – Mia Tindall, 9; Lena Tindall, 4 and Lucas Philip Tindall, 2.
Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex have a son and a daughter – Prince Archie Harrison, 3, and Princess Lilibet “Lili” Diana, 2.
Princess Beatrice has a daughter from Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi – Sienna Elizabeth Mapelli Mozzi, 1.
And the couple of Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank complete our list with two more entries – August Philip Hawke Brooksbank, 2; and the youngest Prince Philip’s great-grandchild, Ernest George Ronnie Brooksbank, a newborn.
Find Out Whether You Are Related to the British Royal Family
Research your own family history to find out whether you have any connection with the British Royal Family. Create your own family visualizations with the Treemily Ancestry family tree maker to trace back your past generations.
We live in the information age which makes it convenient to conduct genealogy research without the need to leave your home. Most of the records and data are stored online and can be accessed whenever you need them. No matter how easy it may be to find information about your family, you are probably thinking about visiting your ancestors’ birthplaces once in a while. In this article, we will share some useful tips to help you plan your first genealogy research vacation.
What Is Genealogy Travelling?
Before we get down to the tips that help you plan your next trip more efficiently, let’s figure out what genealogy traveling is and what types of genealogy vacations are there. Genealogy traveling usually refers to a trip you make to visit your ancestors’ homeland and conduct your family history research. There are two main types of such trips:
Genealogy tours
If you are planning to visit the land of your ancestors where you have never been before or don’t speak the local language, it might be better to book a genealogy tour organized by the locals. Such trips are usually focused on visiting local libraries, archives, and even cemeteries where you can find information about your ancestors. These types of tours can be group or individual ones.
Independent genealogy trips
If you are not a fan of working with tour operators, you can plan a trip of your own. You are free to visit any places you want without following a strict tour plan. However, it is still important to plan your trip in advance to make sure you have everything you need to feel comfortable during your vacation.
Tips for Planning Genealogy Research Trips
Even though genealogy vacations have a lot in common with regular trips, there are some things you should think through before you get on a plane. These tips will help you get started.
Plan your genealogy trip ahead of time
All of the genealogy research trips should be planned in advance. There are so many things to think of: from getting proper travel documents to booking a place to stay. With the COVID-19 pandemic still affecting our lives, make sure to check whether you need to get a vaccine or be tested for infection before your trip according to the specific restrictions of the country you are planning to visit. You also need to decide what places you want to visit and what genealogical goals you pursue.
Conduct research before the trip
Doing research while being in the place you’re visiting for the first time is not the best idea. We recommend learning as much as you can about your family before you go on a trip. For example, ask some of these family history questions to your family members to find out more about your ancestors’ past or any other information you can use during your trip.
Make copies of your family history documents
Don’t take original documents related to your family histories such as records or family pictures. Make copies to take with you, especially if you want to show them to local researchers.
Find a guide
Get some help from local researchers and guides to show you around the area or drive you to the place you need. Guides can also help you with the translation, especially in small villages where people don’t speak a word of English. Try contacting genealogical societies in the area to find a local guide.
Pack your luggage wisely
Besides clothes and toiletries, make sure you take all the necessary research materials such as a laptop, camera, maps, and a notebook to make notes along the way. Pack only stuff you will need and leave extra space in your luggage to bring back mementos.
Have fun
Even though you are taking this trip to do research and learn more about your family’s past, you should still take it like a real vacation. Relax and be opened up to every opportunity this road trip can offer you.
Once your trip is over, use all of the data discovered and pictures were taken to create a unique family tree with the Treemily builder. Share your findings with the entire family like if they were on vacation with you.
The Peaky Blinders series went out with a bang in 2022, concluding the thrilling story about England’s most feared crime syndicate of the early 20th century. If you’re keen on rewatching the series and would like to refresh your memory on all the prominent characters – you’re on the right webpage. Let’s take a closer look at the Shelby family tree (and more), with a spoiler alert, of course. Also, for your own family tree visualizations, don’t forget to sign up for our Family Tree Builder and try it for free.
What Is the Show About?
Peaky Blinders is a British crime drama series released in 2013. The show tells the story of the Shelby gangster family of Irish descent who lives in Birmingham, England. Their story begins in 1919 just after the First World War ends. The leader of the gang and the main character Thomas “Tommy” Shelby is portrayed by an Irish actor Cillian Murphy. Throughout the seasons, viewers watch how the family is working on expanding their business and influence not only in their hometown but also internationally.
Shelby Family Tree
The Shelbys family line begins with Mr. Shelby whose name is unknown and his wife Birdie Boswell. Birdie was a Gypsy Princess and a member of the largest and most powerful gypsy families in England at that time. Together with Mr. Shelby Birdie had two children, a son Arthur Shelby Sr. and a daughter Elizabeth “Polly” Gray (née Shelby). Take a look at the Shelby family tree created with the Treemily family tree chart maker.
Thomas (Tommy) Shelby
Thomas Michael Shelby was born in 1890 in Birmingham, England, and was a second child of Arthur Shelby Sr. He is the leader of the Peaky Blinder criminal gang, ahead of the Shelby family and Shelby Company Limited. During the First World War, Thomas received drastic experience while serving as a sapper and it has changed his life forever. As awful as it sounds, it was the war that gave rise to the Shelby family’s success and made Thomas a strong and fearless leader. His leadership qualities, as well as his strategic and commanding abilities, made him the head of the family instead of his elder brother Arthur who is too hot-headed and impulsive to make important decisions.
Grace Shelby (Late ex-wife)
Tommy’s wife Grace Helen Shelby (née Burgess) worked as an Irish barmaid when she met her future husband. Graсe was born in Galway, Ireland in 1894. Before marrying Thomas Shelby, she was married to an American banker Clive Macmillan. Grace and Tommy’s son Charles Shelby was born in 1922. Tommy Shelby also has a daughter named Ruby. Her mother, a former prostitute Lizzie Stark, was previously engaged to John Shelby but the engagement was called off.
Lizzie Shelby (Wife)
Elizabeth “Lizzie” Shelby (née Stark) is the second wife of Thomas Shelby. She was initially engaged to Thomas’ brother John, but the latter called off the wedding upon finding out that she wasn’t faithful to him. Soon afterwards Thomas made Lizzie his secretary and they developed a connection. Lizzie married Thomas, although they always had a very tense and complicated relationship – Lizzie often fell victim to abuse and unfair treatment by not only Thomas, but other Shelby family members. Towards the end of the show, not able to bear the abuse any longer, Lizzie left Thomas for good, cutting him out of her life.
Arthur Shelby Jr
Arthur William Shelby Jr. is the eldest son of Arthur Shelby Sr. born in 1887 and is a Deputy Vice President at Shelby Company Limited. Arthur is married to Linda Shelby (born in 1895). The couple has a son named Billy.
Linda Shelby (Wife)
Linda Shelby is the ex-wife of Arthur Shelby Jr.. As a devout Quaker, Linda made a lot of effort to change her husband for the better, often criticizing his illegal activities. Linda is highly intelligent, determined and confident, however, she also has her weaknesses – for instance, she is shown to be addicted to cocaine. Over the course of the show, their relationship aggravated more and more, which resulted in Linda trying to kill Arthur; however, the attempt failed. Soon thereafter, Linda divorced Arthur and left the Shelby family for good.
John Shelby
John Michael Shelby is the 3rd son of Arthur Shelby Sr. Also known as John Boy, he served as a soldier of the Warwickshire Yeomanry during the First World War alongside his brothers Arthur and Thomas. His first wife Martha Shelby died of unknown causes leaving John widowed with 4 kids to raise. His second wife Esme Martha Shelby (née Lee) is a member of the Lee gypsy family also from Birmingham. Together they have 3 kids.
Esme Shelby
Esme Martha Shelby (née Lee) is the wife of John Shelby. The marriage between her and John was supposed to be a sign of truce between the Shelby and the Lee families. Still, the two grew really close and eventually had 4 children. After John’s tragic death, Esme was absolutely devastated and made a decision to leave the Shelby family for good, taking all the children with her.
Finn Shelby
Finn Shelby is the youngest of the Shelby brothers born in 1908. Even though Finn is involved with Peaky Blinders and their business, his brothers always try to keep him away from any dangerous and illegal actions.
Ada Thorne (née Shelby)
Ada Thorne (née Shelby) is the only daughter of Arthur Shelby Sr. and his wife born in 1897. She is the only member of the family who is not involved with Shelby’s family business. Her husband Freddie Thorne is a communist and a former best friend of Thomas Shelby. Ada and Freddie have a son Karl Thorne named after Karl Marx.
Freddie Thorne (Husband)
Freddie Thorne is the husband of Ada Thorne, with whom he also has one son, Karl Thorne. Freddie is a street-smart, tough war veteran who spent his later years as a communist agitator (even his son was named after Karl Marx). At school, he was a close friend to Thomas Shelby, however, the two grew distant as years went by. Regardless, they both had respect for each other and may have grown closer again, but Freddie met an unfortunate end off-screen – he died during the Spanish Influenza pandemic.
The Gray Family
Polly Gray (née Shelby)
Elizabeth Pollyanna “Polly” Gray (née Shelby) is the matriarch of the Shelby Family and sister to Arthur Shelby Sr. She is also the mother of Michael and Anna Gray, and aunt of Thomas, Arthur, John, Finn and Ada Shelby. She is a highly intelligent woman who is both a great leader and a skilled accountant, taking charge of the Peaky Blinders while Thomas is away and being the treasurer of Shelby Company Limited.
Michael Gray
Michael Gray is the son of Polly Gray and Mr. Gray as well as the adopted son of Rosemary Johnson. When Michael was a young boy, his father died as a result of an accident involving excessive drinking; he was later taken away from his mother Polly and adopted by the Johnson family. When Michael first gets involved in the Peaky Blinders business, he’s shown to be very diligent and responsible, however, overtime his ambitions to take charge grow massively. This results in a confrontation with Thomas, leading to many deaths, including his own.
Gina Gray (Wife)
Gina Gray (née Nelson) is the wife of Michael Gray and the mother of Laurence Gray. Gina is a highly intelligent and manipulative character who always craves for more power and money. Throughout the later seasons of the show, Gina persistently pushes Michael to overthrow Thomas as the head of the Peaky Blinders, and the couple eventually plots the murder of the gang leader. The plot fails, however, with Michael getting shot in head, and Gina getting banished from the family for good.
Other Shelby Members
Arthur Shelby Sr
Arthur Shelby Sr. was married to a woman from the Strong family. The couple had five children together, four sons and one daughter. Arthur abandoned his kids after their mother’s death. All of the children were raised by Arthur’s sister Polly.
Uncle Charlie
Charles “Charlie” Strong (Uncle Charlie) is not a blood relative to the Shelby family, acting more like a father figure. He works for the Shelby Company Limited, often seen helping with stock and preparing shipments, as well as tending to horses.
Discover other famous people’s family trees both real and fiction by checking out the rest of the Treemily blog articles. Share them with your friends and family or order a printed version of a tree to make a great gift for your loved ones.
Every February the US citizens pay tribute to the past generations of African Americans who have struggled for their citizenship rights while contributing so much to society. It is known as African-American History Month (Black History Month) which also celebrates the contributions made to American history. We’ve decided to pay our own tribute to all African-American generations, future, and past, and tell you more about one of the most outstanding women in African-American history.
Michelle Obama Early Life
The future first lady of the US back then named Michelle LaVaughn Robinson was born on January 17, 1964, in Chicago, IL where she has spent her entire childhood. Besides African-American, Michelle has Irish, English, and Native American ancestry. She attended Whitney Young High School and entered Princeton University where she studied sociology and African-American studies in 1981.
While growing up, Michelle faced gender and racial discrimination. It was important to her to prove and show the rest of the world that women, regardless of race, do have rights and the ability to speak up and succeed. Her final university thesis covered the topic of the black community at Princeton University and how African-American students felt while attending one of the most prestigious educational institutions in the country. In 1988, Michelle also earned a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School.
Contributions to the American Society
Michelle Obama has become a role model for millions of African-American women and girls. She always knew that her true destiny is to serve people and help them lead happy and active lives. Michelle previously worked as an assistant commissioner in Chicago’s City Hall, and later founded and directed an AmeriCorps program aimed to prepare young people for work in public service.
As a first lady, Michelle introduced numerous initiatives, from Let’s Move! and Joining Forces to Reach Higher and Let Girls Learn supporting education and a healthy lifestyle. She also raised the awareness of poverty and the importance of fighting unemployment and hunger. Michelle still encourages millions of young people to be braver and work harder on the way to their dreams.
Michelle Obama Family Tree
Parents
Michelle’s father Fraser C. Robinson III was born on August 1, 1935. He was a Democratic precinct captain and worked as a city water plant employee back in town. Michelle’s mother Marian Shields Robinson was born on July 30, 1937. Marian worked as a secretary for mail-order retailer, an executive assistant in a bank and currently helps her son as a basketball executive. Both Michelle’s parents were from Chicago, IL.
On October 27, 1960, the two got married in Cook County, IL. Their first child Craig Malcolm was born on April 21, 1962. He currently works as a basketball coach at Oregon State University. Michelle was the second and the last child in the family. On March 6, 1991, Fraser C. Robinson III died from complications of multiple sclerosis.
Grandparents
The roots of Shields and Robinsons families trace back to pre-Civil War African-Americans in the American South.
Paternal Line
The Robinson family is descended from Gullah, African-American people who lived in the Lowcountry region of the South Carolina state. Michelle’s grandparents on her father’s side Fraser C. Robinson II and LeVaugh Delores Johnson were born on August 24, 1921, and February 6, 1915, respectively. Fraser’s grandfather Jim was born to a family of slaves in 1850 and was the first member of the family to become a freedman in 1865 right after the Civil War had ended.
Maternal Line
Some of Michelle’s maternal ancestors were also born into slavery in South Carolina. Based on the latest research and DNA test, Dolphus T. Shields, the son of Michelle’s great-great-great-grandmother Melvinia was of a mixed-race and was a result of supposedly a continuing relationship between Melvinia and her master’s son who was a white man.
Michelle’s grandfather Purnell Shields was born on December 19, 1910, and was a painter. His wife and Michelle’s grandmotherRebecca Jumper was born on April 5, 1909. Purnell and Rebecca had only one child together and died of unspecified causes in 1983 and 1988, respectively.
Marriage and Kids
Michelle Robinson met her future husband Barack Obama born on August 4, 1961, while working for a Chicago-based law firm. The two got married in 1992 and had two daughters Malia Ann and Natasha born in 1998 and 2001, respectively. To learn more about Michelle’s family, check out the Barack Obama family tree article we’ve previously published on our blog.
Final Thoughts
If you want to read more stories about the most outstanding women in US history, check out our article about Kamala Harris family tree and other posts on our blog. Join the Treemily community to create stunning family tree visualizations with our family tree generator for free and share them with your loved ones.
In August 2020, we celebrated the 100th anniversary of women getting their right to vote in the US. Today, we would like to tell you more about this exceptional women’s rights movement and let you meet the women who made this all happen.
Women’s Suffrage History
The question for women’s suffrage was first raised back in the 1840s when the first women’s right convention called the Seneca Falls Convention passed a resolution defending the concept of women getting their right to vote and affect future legislation.
In 1869, the very first two US suffrage organizations were established by women’s rights activists. One organization was founded by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the other was led by Frances E.W. Harper and Lucy Stone. While both organizations were fighting for the same beliefs, the two couldn’t find the right way to unite. Finally, more than 20 years later, they were merged to create the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). Susan B. Anthony became the head of the association. By the time the women’s suffrage amendment was passed, the number of associate members exceeded 2 million people.
Similar organizations and parties related to the topic were appearing across the country over the next decades. For instance, another activist Alice Paul formed the National Woman’s Party (NWP) in 1916 whose actions were mainly focused on passing a national suffrage amendment for women. Supporters and members of the NWP organized numbers of pickets, hunger strikes, and other protests. During one of such pickets near the White House, over 200 people were arrested, most of them were women.
Finally, on August 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution passed in the U.S. Congress. Since then, the US states and federal government were prohibited from denying the right of the US citizens to vote based on their sex.
Most Famous Women to Take Part in the Suffrage Movement
Susan B. Anthony born on February 15, 1820, was one of the most famous and influential figures in the history of the women’s suffrage movement. Susan was born in a family of Quakers and since childhood has not tolerated social inequality and slavery. Together with her friend Elizabeth Cady Stanton they founded the New York Women’s State Temperance Society, the Women’s Loyal National League, and initiated the American Equal Rights Association before founding the NAWSA in 1890.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton is another great leader of the women’s rights movement. Besides the foundation of numerous organizations, together with Susan B. Anthony, Matilda Joslyn Gage, and Ida Husted Harper, Elizabeth created the History of Woman Suffrage book that was published in 6 volumes between 1881 and 1922. The book contains over 5700 pages telling the entire story of the women’s suffrage movement.
Alice Stokes Paul was an American suffragist, women’s rights activist, and feminist. Together with Lucy Burns, Alice was the one who organized the first suffragist parade called the Woman Suffrage Procession in Washington D.C. According to some records, the number of participants exceeded 10,000 people. For over 50 years, Alice was the leader of the NWP fighting for the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment aimed to provide equal rights to all US citizens regardless of their sex.
100 years ago, these and many other women made it possible to secure for women political, legal, and social equality. If you want to know whether any member of your family has helped women to fight for their right to vote, use Treemily to do research. You can later use our family tree generator for free to create a chart including all of your ancestors who have participated in this and other women’s rights movements.
As we celebrate Martin Luther King Day every third Monday of January, this year we will honour the life of the leader of the civil rights movement on January 16. We decided to make quick genealogical research to tell you more about one of the greatest activists in the history of the US.
Early Life
Michael King Jr. was born in Atlanta, GA on January 15, 1929, to a reverend and a teacher and was the second child in a family. Later, Michael changed his name to Martin Luther. Martin was raised in a religious environment and was reading the Bible and told stories by his grandmother.
In 1935, Martin started attending Younge Street Elementary School, a school for black children only, and changed his school for the Atlanta University Laboratory School 5 years later. At the time, the problem of racism in the US was not that widely raised and discussed as it is now. It is also known that Martin became friends with a white boy but the boy’s parents forbidden their son to play with Martin due to his skin color. King’s father was always against segregation and any type of discrimination and Martin has learned a lot from him.
By the age of 13, King got a job in the Atlanta Journal newspaper delivery station and became an assistant manager. At the time, he studied at the only high school for African American students in Atlanta that was created by the city government only due to the activism of King’s father and other local leaders of the African American community. This is when Martin began improving his orator and public speaking skills. In 1948, he graduated from Morehouse College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology. He also later attended Boston University and Harvard University
Martin’s activism began from his membership in the Birmingham African-American community when he was selected as one of the representatives for the committee on the “Montgomery bus boycott” case. As a result, King became one of the best-known spokespersons of the civil rights movement. By that time, he also became pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.
In 1957, King became the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and for the next 11 years has been attending thousands of demonstrations and giving over two hundred speeches across the US. He also published five books and numerous articles related to civil rights and the problem of racism. According to the records, King was arrested at least 25 times and assaulted 4 times for his actions. In 1963, Time magazine named King the Man of the Year and on October 14, 1964, he won the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality. Four years later, on April 4, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated by James Earl Ray who was then sentenced to 99 years in prison.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day (MLK Day)
Also officially known as the Birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., MLK Day is celebrated every third Monday of January. The idea of accepting MLK Day as a holiday was introduced by labor unions in 1979 when the first bull related to this question was introduced to Congress. However, at the time the bill didn’t pass. The holiday was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan and became an official federal holiday only in 1983. However, not all of the states have accepted this holiday in the beginning. All 50 states observed MLK Day 17 years later, in 2000.
Parents
Martin’s father, Michael King (later known as Martin Luther King Sr.) was born in Stockbridge, GA on December 19, 1899. He was a Baptist pastor and met his future wife Alberta while attending the Ebenezer Baptist Church. King’s mother, Alberta Christine Williams King was born in Atlanta, GA on September 13, 1904. She worked as a teacher before getting married in 1926. Together the couple had three children including Martin’s older sister Willie Christine King Farris and a younger brother Alfred Daniel “A.D.” King. Alberta helped her husband with the affairs in the Ebenezer Baptist Church when he became the leader of the church. In 1974, Alberta was shot and killed by the extremist Marcus Wayne Chenault during Sunday service. You may have a look at the Martin Luther King Jr. family tree that was created with the Treemily family tree generator.
Grandparents
Paternal Line
King’s grandfather, James Albert King was born in Ohio in December 1864 and was of African and Irish descent. He married King’s grandmother Delia Linsey (born in Henry County, GA in July 1875) in 1895. They both were sharecroppers and later moved together to Stockbridge, GA where their son Michael and their other eight kids were born. James and Delia died in 1933 and 1924, respectively.
Maternal Line
King’s grandfather, Reverend Adam Daniel Williams was born in Penfield, GA on January 2, 1863. He was a preacher at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlantawhere his future son-in-law replaced him after Adam’s death in 1931. King’s grandmother, Jennie Celeste Williams (née Parks) was born in Atlanta, GA in April 1873. The couple got married in 1899. Adam and Jennie both died in Atlanta in 1931 and 1941, respectively.
Marriage and Kids
Martin met his future wife Coretta Scott while attending Boston University. Coretta was born in Marion, Alabama on April 27, 1927, to Obadiah and Bernice McMurry Scott. Martin and Coretta got married in Coretta’s parents’ house on June 18, 1953. Together they had 4 children: Yolanda King, Martin Luther King III, Dexter Scott King, and Bernice King. King’s only granddaughter, Yolanda Renee King was born to Martin Luther King III and his wife Arndrea Waters on May 25, 2008.
Final Thoughts
Without a doubt, Martin Luther King Jr. will always be remembered as one of the greatest leaders of the Civil Right Movement who put his life for making African-Americans lives better. His tactics of nonviolent protests proved that every community’s goals and success can be reached without the use of weapons or through pain and deaths. The Treemily team hopes that no violence will be used against any people and the entire world can live in peace.
It’s not always possible to keep your kids playing outside when winter weather can go bad in a matter of seconds. None of the parents want their children to catch a cold and get sick . We’ve come up with a list of indoor activities that can help your little ones stay entertained and active throughout the day. If you haven’t tried them yet, now is the best time to start.
Crafting
You can start a craft project with your kids no matter what age they are. From DIY Christmas ornaments to simple photo frames and wall decorations. Teach your little ones how to draw, use colored paper and glitter, and get creative! This will help you to keep your children entertained and develop their imagination.
Board Games
Toy stores currently offer a great variety of board games and puzzles that are interesting to play and can help your kids to practice logic, creativity, and simply let them spend time doing something fun. Figure out what your children love the most and find games related to this particular topic (whether it’s a card game like Uno or a board game like Scrabble that can teach your kids new words).
Family Tree
Involve your kids in the family research to help them learn more about your ancestors’ past. Create a family chart with the names of your closest relatives. Use our premade family tree template to fill in the information together with your kids. Or you may also try our online family tree generator to create unique family history visualizations and share them with your loved ones.
Family Performance
Does your kid love movies or want to be an actor/actress sometime? Put on a short family play and divide roles between your family members. Or plan a family karaoke evening singing your kids’ favorite songs and making your home look like a real stage for performances.
Cooking
Cooking can be very entertaining both for adults and their children. Let your kids mix the dough, shape cookies, or pour the batter in a tin to make a cake, and enjoy the final dish together with your family. Don’t forget to keep an eye on your youngest kids if you’re planning to bake something or cook with a stove.
Take a Moment to Spend a Great Time With Your Family!
Spend this time strengthening family bonds with your loved ones. Check with the family members to whom you haven’t talked for a while and bring up the best memories of your family’s past to teach your children about their origin. Keep safe and make sure to spend today’s evening with your family doing something fun!
Watching the Home Alone movie became one of the most popular family traditions for Christmas in the 1990s when the first movie of the series was released. The music, sets and the overall festive picture made this movie a Christmas classic and you’re likely to meet a person who’s never heard of it.
In case you haven’t seen the movie or don’t remember what it’s all about, let us briefly remind you about the plot. The McCallister family members are the main characters of the film. Peter and Kate McCallister together with their five kids Buzz, Jeff, Megan, Linnie, and Kevin are planning their Christmas trip to Paris. They were going to have a trip together with the family of Peter’s brother Frank. Together they were planning to visit their other brother Rob who lives in Paris with his own family. However, on the day of departure, the entire family overslept and, while in the rush to get to the airport in time, accidentally left their youngest son Kevin behind. Kevin stays home alone all by himself.
If you look at the McCallister family tree you’ll see how big their family is. Peter’s brother Frank has five kids together with his wife Leslie. Rob and Georgette McCallister have a daughter named Heather, a son named Steffan, and two twin daughters. So the main character of the movie, Kevin, has four siblings and nine cousins.
Christmas is one of the busiest times of the year and no surprise everyone stays in a holiday rush the entire season. Especially when your family is as big as McCallister’s one, it happens sometimes that you might forget (not on purpose) to wish your aunt or cousins a Happy Christmas. To make sure you don’t leave any of your relatives behind, making a family tree including all of your relatives will be a great idea. Besides, you can also give this tree as a gift to your family members to make this holiday even more memorable.
Use the Treemily family tree maker to create stunning visualizations and send them to all of your relatives as a nice Christmas gift. It will remind them how important a family is and that such a holiday is a wonderful time for the entire family to get together and celebrate.
It’s impossible to count the exact number of family trees that have been assembled over the years. From popular public figures and celebrities to individuals, people have been creating family visualizations to help them trace back the family lineage to past generations. In this article, we will share the largest, oldest, and most famous family trees of all time.
The Largest Family Trees
According to the Guinness World Record Book, the largest family tree ever assembled belongs to a famous Chinese philosopher and politician Confucius. One of the very first tree editions published in 1837 covered 80 generations and contained over 600,000 descendants. The tree currently contains more than 2 million names. It is now known that the descendants of Confucius live all over the globe, most of them reside in China and Taiwan.
The Oldest Family Trees
While the Confucius family tree carries the title of the biggest one, the Lurie family is known as the oldest one in the world. Its history traces back to 1037 BC. According to the records, the family lineage starts from the 3rd king of the United Monarchy of Israel and Judah called King David. The information about King David is mainly described in the Hebrew Bible, and largely confirmed by archeological discoveries.
The Most Popular Family Trees
Some events in our lives make people want to search for more details on their favorite movie characters or public figures. For example, when the Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban movie was released, everyone wanted to know more about Harry’s godfather Sirius Black and his family history. Here is a family tree of the house of Black hand-drawn by J. K. Rowling.
You might have seen the tree before in the ancestral home of the Black family in the movie. You may also remember that several members of this family were removed from the tree by Walburga Black, the mother of Sirius. According to her beliefs, Sirius was also no longer honored to be a member of this family when he decided to run away.
Another event that makes people want to find out more about someone’s family past is the US Presidential Election. We’ve already compared the family trees of the two previous US presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump. This year we’ve also decided to help you learn more about the recently elected President and the VP of the US Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. If you are interested in the past of the previous US Presidents, you can also check out the article on the Kennedy family tree.
With the recent release of the Crown series 4th season, the royal family tree has become extremely popular, especially the one that covered the family history of Princess Diana. Diana, Princess of Wales belongs to the Spencer aristocratic family that was founded by Sir John Spencer in the 15th century.
Diana was born on July 1st, 1961 to Edward John Spencer and Frances Ruth Spencer (née Roche) and was the 4th child in a family. In 1981, Diana became officially engaged to Charles, Prince of Wales. The couple got married the same year on July 29th. Together they had two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry. Diana and Charles got divorced after 15 years of marriage in 1996. A year later, Diana died in a car crash in Paris. She still remains one of the most popular members of the British royal family.
Stay tuned with Treemily and be the first to know interesting facts about the most popular family trees. Try our family tree maker online to create your own visualizations and trace back your family’s past.
To make it easier for the Treemily community to choose one of the Treemily products, we’ve decided to make a simple guide describing the key features and differences between them. In this article, we’ll tell you more about the Ancestor, Descendant, and Dynasty family trees to help you pick the one for creating your own stunning family history visualizations.
Descendant Treemily
As it’s clear from the title, the Descendant tree features up to 5 generations of your descendants. You can create a Descendant family tree for an individual or a couple to include their kids, grandchildren, and further generations all the way to their great-great-grandchildren. One tree can include up to 11,222 names but if you have more members of your family, our team will be glad to work on a custom visualization just for you. We also believe that such a tree can become a great holiday present for your grandparents. Check out our walkthrough video to see how to make a Descendant tree with Treemily.
Ancestor Treemily
Our Ancestor family tree maker can be used for creating a tree that describes your family heritage all the way up to 10 generations. Just like the Descendant one, this tree can be made for an individual or a couple to describe their ancestors’ history. If you want to trace back your generation’s past, this is the best choice for you. You can also watch the walkthrough video to see how easy it is to make such a tree with the Treemily builder.
Dynasty Treemily
Dynasty family tree was primarily designed for people willing to show their connection with famous people. No matter how far the connection goes, the tree will show exactly how you are related to a scientist, an artist, or any other luminary. The tree features your lineage of up to 150 generations.
What Do They Have in Common?
All of the above-mentioned trees allow placing pictures of your ancestors directly on the tree. You can also order any of your family history visualizations as a poster, a framed picture, or a canvas wrap, or download its digital version.
What Product Should I Choose?
Your choice of the Treemily tree depends on your major purposes. If you want to show your connection to a world-known celebrity, go for our Dynasty family tree. If you want to trace back your family history, try out our Ancestor family tree maker. Or create a Descendant family tree to describe your family’s descendants known to date.
Join the Treemily community now and create your own dazzling family trees to keep the memories of your loved ones alive!
The holiday season is the best time to bond with your family and spend a great time with the people you love the most. To make your next Thanksgiving or Christmas even more special, try out one of these family traditions and engage the entire family in the process.
Make your advent calendar
Advent calendars are the all-time favorite gift both for kids and their parents. So why not make your calendar? For instance, you can add small pieces of paper containing interesting facts about your family’s history to let your kids learn more about their ancestors. Instead of candy or chocolate, you can also fill your calendar up with small LEGO figures, tiny toys, pieces of a puzzle, and much more.
Create a family tree
There is no better way to educate your children about their family’s past than making a family tree from start to finish together. Use an online family tree chart maker to design your family tree and share it with your closest relatives so they could participate in the creation process and add more info on your ancestors. The final tree can be downloaded from the website or you can order a printable version of any size and type you like.
Collect family signature recipes
Every family should have a great number of recipes that their grandparents or parents used to make every holiday. Try collecting all of these recipes together to make a family cookbook. Moreover, every other holiday you can pick one or several recipes from the book and cook these dishes together with the members of your family and enjoy them together.
Make personalized ornaments and decorations
Make ornaments or special holiday theme decorations with your family every year to make a whole collection at the end. For example, you can try making snow globes with your family’s picture inside for Christmas or craft a Thanksgiving garland made of maple leaves with your family members’ names on it.
Create a short movie about your family
There is nothing more exciting than watching your family change and grow throughout the years. Make it your new family tradition to make short movies about your family every time you gather together and rewatch them during the next holiday season. No professional cameras are needed, you can simply use your smartphone to record 1-minute videos and compile them together.
Hopefully, some of the above-mentioned ideas can become a new tradition for your next holiday season and make your family get even closer to one another than before. Stay tuned with Treemily. Happy holidays!
The Treeamily team aims to make it easier for its community members to create diverse visualizations of their family trees and let them enjoy the process to the fullest. After months of developing and testing the beta version with our users, we are happy to introduce our first major update. In this article, we will guide you through the new features and enhanced functionality of the Treemily family tree online builder.
What’s New?
Besides the enhanced User Experience-focused layout and redesign, we’ve introduced a richer and cleaner interface for our family tree online builder. Our major goal was to provide the Treemily community with seamless user experience and let our users create family history visualizations easier and faster than ever. These are the key updates you’ll get with the new builder:
Demo Tour for New and Existing Users
Both new and existing users can now try out our family tree builder for free. If you already have a Treemily account, simply click on the Treemily Demo button on the top bar of your profile. If you are a new user, try our demo for free now. New accounts will be automatically assigned to the Treemily Basic plan. Our demo is a fully-featured interactive family tree builder that allows you to design your own stunning family visualizations in only a few steps. As soon as you are finished with the creation process, you can proceed to the next step and order one of the available products. Choose a poster or a framed picture to place your family tree at home or share a digital version with your friends and relatives on Facebook.
New designs
When generating a descendants tree from a family chart, users can now pick out of three types of design including a newly introduced Traditional Photo Tree template.
Suggested sizes
As soon as your ancestor or descendant tree is ready, you can pick one of the three types of products: posters, framed, and digital versions. When choosing any of the following options, the builder will offer the most preferred sizes for your tree. However, you can still pick any other size available on the size list.
Improved performance for the Family Charts & Treemily editors
Our family tree online builder is fast and easy to use. You can play with various designs and sizes of your family charts and trees to make them look exactly as you want them to be. Create visualizations of your family history in a few clicks and get back to your project to add new family members any time you want!
Visualize your family history now!
If you are a member of the Treemily community, go ahead and check out the Treemily demo now and enjoy all the new features at once. New users can create an account and will be offered to try out a demo version as soon as the registration is complete.
Join Treemily now and create the most stunning family tree visualizations. Invite friends and family members to help you with your project and share it on Facebook. Try our family tree builder free of charge and keep the memory of your loved ones for future generations!
As the US election approaches, we wanted to learn more about the family trees of the Democratic Ticket. Last time, we compared the family lines of Donal Trump and Barack Obama to find out who’s more American. Today, we’ve decided to trace back the origin of the candidates for the President and VP of 2020, Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Kamala Harris, respectively, to find out more about their family backgrounds.
Candidate for President of the US Joe Biden’s family Tree
Joe Biden’s family has English, French, and Irish ancestry. So the new candidate for the US President might not have as much of American descent as you’ve expected.
Parents
Biden’s father, Joseph Robinette Biden Sr., was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1915. His parents originated from Success, England. As a child, he later moved to Wilmington, Delaware where he was raised. Joseph Biden graduated from the St. Thomas Academy in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and worked as a used car salesman. He passed away due to failing health in 2002.
Joe’s mother, Catherine Eugenia “Jean” Biden (née Finnegan), was of Irish descent and was born in Pennsylvania in 1917. She married Joseph Biden Sr. in 1941 and their son Joe was born November 20, 1942. The family had three more kids named Valerie, James, and Frank. They resided in Baltimore, MD but later had to move to Claymont, Delaware due to financial problems. Jean played a very important role in Joe’s political future and has been quoted in his son’s political speeches. Jean Biden died 8 years after her husband’s death in 2010. At that time US President Barack Obama attended her funeral in Wilmington.
Grandparents
Paternal Line
Biden’s grandparents on his father’s side were of English, Irish and French descent. Joe’s grandmother, Mary Elizabeth (née Robinette) Biden, was born in 1894 and had French ancestry. His grandfather, Joseph Harry Biden, was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1893 and was a successful oil businessman. His third great-grandfather, William Biden, was the first of the family to immigrate from England to the US.
Maternal Line
On the mother’s side, Joe’s grandparents had Irish ancestry. Biden’s grandfather Ambrose J. Finnegan was born in Olyphant, PA 1884. His family’s roots trace back to County Louth in Ireland. Ambrose’s mother died when he was only 2 years old and his father passed away 8 years later, so he moved with his uncle’s family. In 1909 Ambrose married Geraldine C.Blewitt.
Joe’s grandmother, Geraldine C. Blewitt, was born to Edward Francis Blewitt and his wife Mary Ellen Stanton in Scranton, Lackawanna Co., PA in 1887. Edward was born in New Orleans and served for the Pennsylvania State Senate. Biden’s great-great-great-grandfather, also named Edward, was the first of the family who immigrated to the US from County Mayo, Ireland in 1851.
Marriages and Kids
Joe Biden has been married twice. He met his first wife, Neila Hunter, during his spring break in Nassau, Bahamas. Joe was studying at the Syracuse University College of Law when the two got married in Skaneateles, New York in 1966. Shortly after the wedding, the family moved to Wilmington, Delaware where Joe’s parents resided at the time. From 1969 to 1971, Neila gave birth to Joe’s three children Joseph R. “Beau” Biden III, Robert Hunter, and Naomi Christina. In 1972, Neila along with her three kids got into a car accident. Only Joe’s sons Beau and Robert survived the crash. Beau has followed in his father’s footsteps and currently serves as Attorney General of Delaware, while Hunter Biden became a lawyer.
Joe met his second wife Jill Tracy Jacobs Biden (née Jacobs) on a blind date set up by Biden’s brother Frank in 1975. The two got married in New York City two years later. This was also the second marriage for Jill, as she was previously married to a former college football player Bill Stevensons from 1970 to 1974. In 1981, Jill gave birth to her and Joe’s daughter Ashley Blazer Biden who currently serves as a social worker and activist.
Candidate for Vice President of the US Kamala Harris’s Family Tree
The family of the candidate for the US Vice-President of 2020, Kamala Davi Harris, has Indian and Jamaican ancestry. Let’s have a look at Kamala’s ancestors to see how much of American descent she is.
Parents
Kamala’s father, Donald Jasper Harris, was born in St.Ann Parish, Jamaica in 1938 to Oscar Joseph Harris and Beryl Christie. Donald graduated from the University of London in 1960 and three years later moved to the US to get a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. Since then, he has been building his career as an economist and a professor in a great number of universities including the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Stanford University, etc. Donald is also a member of the American Economic Association and an author of several books related to the Jamaican economy published in 1997 and 2012.
Harris’s mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was of Indian origin and was born to P. V. Gopalan and Rajam Ramanathan in Madras, British India in 1938. Her family moved several times across different cities in India due to her father’s job as a civil servant. At the age of 19, Shamala was accepted to the University of California, Berkeley. In 1964, she graduated from the Ph.D. program in nutrition and endocrinology.
Shyamala met Donald J. Harris during the meeting at the Afro American Association where Donald was a speaker in 1962. The two got married a year later and had two daughters, Kamala and Maya, born in 1964 and 1967, respectively. Kamala’s sister, Maya Lakshmi Harris, graduated from Stanford Law School and currently serves as a public policy lawyer and a political analyst for MSNBC. The family resided in Oakland, California but later moved to Berkeley, California. Kamala’s parents got divorced in 1971. In 2009, Shyamala Gopalan passed away from colon cancer.
Grandparents
Paternal Line
Kamala’s grandparents on her father’s side are of Jamaican descent. Her grandfather, Oscar Joseph Harris, was born to an agricultural exporter Joseph Alexander Harris and a seamstress Christiana Brown in 1914. Harris’s grandmother, Beryl Christie Harris (née Finegan), has Jamaican ancestry; her exact date of birth is unknown.
Maternal Line
P.V. Gopalan, Kamala’s grandfather on her mother’s side, was born in Painganadu, India in 1911. He had a successful career as a civil servant and served as a Joint Secretary to the Government of India for several years, as well as the Director of Relief Measures and Refugees in the Government of Zambia.
Kamala’s great-grandparents have arranged a marriage for her grandmother, Rajam Gopalan (née Ramanathan), and P.V. Gopalan. Together they had four children named Shyamala, Balachandran, Sarala, and Mahalakshmi.
Marriages and Kids
Kamala Harris married Douglas Emhoff in 2014 in Santa Barbara, CA. The two don’t have children together. This is the second marriage for Douglas. Before, he was married to Kerstin Emhoff with whom he had two kids named Cole and Ella.
Final Thoughts
Biden’s parents, grandparents, and ancestors of several generations back were born in the US, while Harris’s parents were both immigrants from Jamaica and India. Both families have their own stories and unmatched backgrounds which affected who Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have become. We believe that their families have passed on all the experience they had to make them worthy candidates for the 2020 US presidential election. As long as the future President and VP care about their country and the people, their origin doesn’t play much of a role.
In the very beginning, researching your heritage can be overwhelming and daunting. Fortunately, there are many genealogical blogs providing helpful tips, tools, and insights. We are sharing good genealogy blogs that you can keep an eye on. See our list below!
Lisa Louise Clarke’s blog shares a lot of interesting and insightful tidbits on all things genealogy. You can listen to pre-recorded podcasts, navigate over to a YouTube page filled with even more information. Lisa Louise Clarke’s blog gives you tips on how to use the Wiki family search, solve issues you might encounter during your family history research, like conflicting birthdate evidence for example. An extensive collection of articles will tell you all you need to know about genealogy research, with advice on which websites are good resources, and even things like how to create an immigration story on Google Earth. Definitely worth checking out.
Geni has the stated objective of bringing the world together to build the ultimate family. The blog offers a free service in which you can invite family members to join your family tree and share pictures, documents, and other media. For an additional fee, you can join your family tree to the global, which, at the time of writing, is already over a whopping 100 million strong. Quite impressive. The blog also shares fun facts and interesting profiles of historical figures like Nelson Mandela and Queen Victoria. In the many articles on the site, Geni also offers suggestions on interesting genealogical activities you can do, and much more.
Kitty Cooper’s website has a lot of useful information both for those who are just starting out, and those that want to take a deeper dive into some of the science behind genealogy. Kitty Cooper is a genetic genealogist and retired programmer, so it perhaps no surprise that her blog doesn’t shy away from topics like the science of chromosomes, haplogroups, and more advanced subjects like how to find common ancestors in family trees using automation. You also get links to various tools, some of which she has written herself, for genealogy.
This blog offers tips and tricks that might come in handy when researching your family history. You’ll find information on how to proceed once you have Ancestry DNA matches, how to remove identifying details and facts before adding people to your family tree, writing tricks to liven up your family history, and other topics. If you’re interested in writing your family history, there are some helpful articles that will help you outline your book, things to include, where to find images, and more. There are plenty of little nuggets of information anyone going about their research will no doubt find useful.
A collection of different resources for both those who are new to genealogy and the seasons experts. Ancestral Findings features a podcast covering topics on everything from the history of Father’s Day, to suggestions of genealogy projects you can take up, and everything in between. There are eBooks you can dive into for more ideas on how you can investigate your history. Newsletters to stay up to date with the latest, and even genealogy cartoons for a bit of a chuckle at some of the common problems almost everyone faces as they hunt down their past..
Genealogy Just Ask has a very simple website. It may not seem like much at first glance, but as anyone who’s experienced some of the frustration that comes with genealogical research will tell you, you take your information anywhere you find it. Genealogy Just Ask features some very powerful stories narrating how people have found out about their past. In one article, the writer talks about how their third great grandparents and their family, African Americans, were released from slavery upon the death of their enslaver in the 1800s. Following these stories, you get valuable insight into how you too can go about your search.
Genealogy’s Star is a collection of blog posts and articles featuring informational articles, and YouTube videos that take you along as the hosts work through a genealogy problem with no prior preparation to give the audience an opportunity to witness unscripted research as it progresses. Lots of useful information and interesting research strategies come to light as the team chases clues, interviews people and verifies information. There are other more tutorial-like posts on things like using internet resources in your search, and discussions of various case studies.
Judith Batchelor created her blog, named The Door to Your Past, to share her love for family history, and use the platform to share stories that might ignite a similar passion in others as well. These are stories that offer a window into the lives of people from the past. Thomas Maton, for example, who was born in 1842 near Hampshire, started as a shepherd and ended up with a career in the police. Genealogy Jude walks us through some of the steps she took to piece together the information for this and other stories.
Cheri Hudson Passey is a professional genealogist who, among other things, has taken part in the effort to repatriate soldiers who have died in the line of duty. Using her skills, she helps identify the remains of the fallen soldiers, locate next of kin, and return their loved ones home. Her website, Carolina Girl Genealogy, is focused on offering online courses with self-paced video lessons, assignments, and written examples and instructions.
In her blog, Lisa Lisson shares her experience and publishes articles on how to efficiently research your family roots. If you’re looking for actionable insights on new ways to search for your ancestors, check out her blog.
Amy Johnson Crow is a professional genealogist with her own blog on ancestry research. She shares many actionable tips and covers rarely discussed issues (such as finding ancestors with disabilities).
A professional genealogist and lecturer, Denise May Levenick has created this blog to share her experience and help people to uncover their family secrets. In her blog, she shows the different techniques that you can use for searching information in archives and family collections.
The Family Curator blog has already grown into two books with even more ideas on creating and maintaining family archives.
Not all people are professional genealogists. For some people, this is just a hobby, so they can’t afford to spend days and nights at archives looking through records. If you have limited time for genealogy, you may want to check out The Occasional Genealogist blog. In her blog, Jennifer Dondero shares bite-sized ways to do genealogy research even when you’re extremely busy.
Elizabeth O’Neal provides a ton of great ideas in her blog. Being a professional genealogist, writer, and lecturer, Elizabeth shares advice on how to find your ancestors in a variety of resources without spending a ton of money. Besides that, there you will find many DIY crafts and ideas for displaying family history in your home.
If you’re not only looking for tips on doing genealogy but want to stay up-to-date with the latest news in the genealogy world, subscribe to The Genealogy Reporter. Besides that, they have a YouTube channel in case you prefer visual content.
The Sunburned Penguin run by Rebekah Zobel covers various topics on genealogy. Besides articles that are very interesting to read, you can find there a Genealogy Sources Checklist that may be helpful in your research.
This blog covers everything related to genealogy, from genealogy basics to what you can do with outdated hardware. It was started as a weekly email in January 1996 by Dick Eastman – a fount of knowledge for any genealogist!
If you or your relatives have taken a DNA test you may want to check out this blog. Blaine Bettinger, the creator of the blog, is a recognized expert in genetic genealogy. If you want to stay up-to-date with genetic genealogy news, add The Genetic Genealogist’s RSS feed to your feed reader.
What if you test with MyHeritage and your relative tests with Ancestry? Is it possible to transfer your DNA among different services? Issues like this are covered in The DNA Geek. So, if you have questions related to genetic genealogy, chances are you will find answers to them in this blog.
The blog is run by Roberta Estes, a professional scientist, and obsessed genealogist. She writes about various aspects of DNA testing – she even covers historic figures in her blog! Her articles are a great way to begin learning about genetic genealogy.
A lawyer and a genealogist, Judy G. Russell covers the legal aspects of genealogy, from dealing with documents to claiming copyright to old letters. If there are some legal issues to worry about, check out her blog.
This website has everything you may need: weekly highlights, news updates about genealogy databases, events reviews. The blog is run by Randy Seaver – he teaches computer genealogy classes, so his expertise may help you in your research.
Lorine McGinnis Schulze is the author of several books. She is on a mission to bring free genealogy data online for genealogists. In her blog, you can find many tips on using technology and other tools to find records and track your ancestry along with tutorials, genealogy news, and more.
In his blog, Kenneth R Marks covers hundreds of valuable techniques and tools that you can use to overcome stumbling blocks and make progress in your genealogical research. The blog is focused on helping primarily hobbyist genealogy and family history researchers
Diana Elder, Accredited Genealogist, and her daughter Nicole share their ideas for ancestry researching, preserving memories, and involving all ages in genealogical research. They aim to help people with different backgrounds be successful in researching their family heritage.
The blog features articles and e-book guides on genealogy research in the United States and Europe. There you can find a host of useful posts about doing family history research and organizing records and photos.
The blog will let you travel back in time and explore the lives of your ancestors. Being an experienced Genealogist, Natalie Pithers uses social history to bring their stories to life in her blog.
The Legacy Tree Genealogists blog is created by a team of professional genealogists, researchers, and genealogy enthusiasts who help people find their family roots and history. The blog covers a great number of topics and shares data gathered from one of the world’s largest family history libraries in Salt Lake City.
No matter whether you’ve just begun your family history research, or have been doing it for years, these blogs can help you discover the stories of the people you’re researching. Use Treemily to record important information and visualize your family tree, and share it with your loved ones. It’s collaborative, so you can make a family project out of it.
