An ancestor links Elvis to Jimmy Carter
Reprinted column by Lloyd DeWitt Bockstruck: 22 February 1992
Genealogy can be approached in a variety of ways. Some seek to identify as many of their fore-bears as possible. Others select a set of ancestors and try to identify all of their descendants. Both methods can lead to a number of revelations.
John Anderson Brayton has been exploring kinships in the Piedmont South, including one of the families established by Valentine Preslar. Mr. Preslar was one of the German colonists from the Palatinate who came to New York in 1709. He moved to Cecil County, Maryland, by the 1720’s, lived in Brunswick and Lunenburg counties, Virginia, in the 1740’s and settled in Anson County, North Carolina, in 1751.
Among Mr. Preslar’s descendants, Mr. Brayton says, are former President Jimmy Carter, U.S. Senator Jesse Helms, and the late singer, Elvis Presley. Mr. Brayton says that, because Mr. Helms is the only one of the trio born in the Piedmont, it is not surprising to find numerous marriages between cousins in areas where a limited number of families have lived for 200 years. Mr. Helms descends in three different ways from Valentin Preslar, Mr. Brayton says. This means Elvis Presley is a sixth cousin once removed to Mr. Carter and a seventh cousin twice removed to Mr. Helms (to whom he is also a seventh cousin once removed).
Another example of the diversity of descendants is the genealogy of the Katzenellenbogen family. According to Neil Rosenstein, the progenitor of the family was Maharam of Padua, Rabbi Meir Katzenellenbogen. Among his offspring, says Mr. Rosenstein, are social scientist Karl Marx, cosmetician Helena Rubinstein, philosopher Martin Buber, and composer Felix Mendelssohn.
If William Almy, who died in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, in 1677, is in your ancestry, your cousins include Warren G. Harding, Richard M. Nixon, and Jimmy Carter.
If you had ancestors who lived in the Province of West Florida between 1763 and December 7, 1810, you may be interested in becoming a member of the Sons and Daughters of the Province and Republic of West Florida 1763-1810. The Province of West Florida lay south of the 31st parallel, east of the Mississippi River, north of the Gulf of Mexico, Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Borgne and Lake Maurepas, and west of the Apalachicola River. Information and applications my be obtained by writing Charles Owen Johnson.
The National Institute on Genealogical Research will be held in Washington, D.C., July 13-17, 1992. The program will focus on federal records of genealogical value located primarily in the Washington area. It is geared to experienced researchers who are genealogists, historians, librarians, and archivists. Tuition is $195 and housing is available at the Hotel Washington with rates from $83.64 for a single to $116.94 for a quad. Enrollment is limited to 40. For applications, write to the National Institute on Genealogical Research.
The Index to Pennsylvania’s Colonial Records Series by Dr. Mary Dunn has been released by Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc. In 1838 the state of Pennsylvania began publishing the data about its early residents. By the end of the Depression, 138 volumes had been issued. What has frustrated genealogists and historians has been the lack of complete indexes to that data. Now the first 16 volumes, known as the Colonial Series, have been made accessible. Included are the first 10 volumes of the Minutes of the Provincial Council 1683-1775, the Minutes of the Supreme Executive Council 1777-1790, the Committee of Safety 1775-1776, and the Council of Safety 1776-1777. It is available for $20 plus $2.50 handling from Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc.
Source:
Copyright 1998 by Dallas Genealogical Society, from “Family Tree” Weekly Newspaper Columns from The Dallas Morning News 1991-1996 by Lloyd DeWitt Bockstruck
Image Credit:
Original image 1957, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. Public domain (license not renewed). From Wikipedia, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Elvis_Presley_Jailhouse_Rock.jpg
