Ben - My 4th Cousin

Remember Alfred and Julia Burnett?  Julia Jane Seaman, the matriarch of our Louisiana Burnett family, is the daughter of William Christopher Seaman.  The Seaman line is fairly well documented and I have input these ancestors into my online FamilySearch.org family tree.

In conjunction with the Family Search tree, there is a free online utility named Relative Finder.  This utility, developed by Brigham Young University, lets one search their family tree and determine if they are related to famous folks.

I used the Relative Finder tool to generate the below chart which shows how we are supposedly related to Benjamin Franklin!  For those that are counting, Ben would be my 4^th cousin 6 times removed.  Apparently, we are also related to President Calvin Coolidge - 10^th cousins once removed.   

The further back in time you go the more dubious the Relative Finder tool becomes.  Through my paternal grandmothers family, Relative Finder shows I am a sixth cousin 16 times removed to King Henry VIII.  Who would have thought?