Famous Cousins #4: John Cena!? WrestleMania 34 Special

...an update? Wow!

Hey Everybody!

To celebrate WrestleMania, which aired this past weekend, I will put a quick post here, linking to some information that I found. It's about my newly discovered cousin, John Cena!

More after the break!

Baldwin Landing at Ticonderoga - Lake George NY

Hello, Blog-friends. Though I began this post in good old Torrington where I live, I will likely see it polished and posted tonight from the cottage where I am making my latest stay here in Lake George, New York, on a family vacation. If all has gone to plan, my grandmother is here with us and we expect to see my brother and his family tomorrow for a second day of vacation fun.

The 17th Century - Historical Facts and Baldwins, #1

I've been wondering lately. Who in our family tree was alive during such-and-such? During events in human history? That is, we know Mozart was a big deal during this or that period, and Shogun (the movie) was set around this or that time, and it seems like a LONG time ago so it just becomes abstract data. But since we can fortunately trace our family back so far, surely one or more generations of Baldwins was alive to see or maybe have heard about all of these events, and these things would have been current news stories for them.

Of course, when you think about it, at least one member of your family has always been alive, for the entirety of human history. Whee!

I thought it might be fun to once in a while make posts about which Baldwin was alive during this or that famous occurrence, and to see what exactly happened during their lifetimes. Genealogy, for me, becomes far more interesting when you can place a person in context of world events. So I'll start writing up these posts in order to show these things. I'll jump around in time with this series of posts. But I will start by talking about-

Famous Cousins #3 - All of the American Presidents

Ooo-wee! Look's like I'm gonna be the guest host of this post, oh me, oh my!

It's about all your American Presidents!

Famous Cousins #2 - Alec Baldwin + Baldwin Brothers

Alec Baldwin

And the Other Ones

And now its time to look at another famous cousin!

This guy's name is Alec Baldwin. Finally, when people see that your last name is Baldwin on a form or medical sheet and inevitably, incessantly, invariably ask you, "Are you related to Alec Baldwin!?!?" you can say "YES, we are related. Now go away!" before you lamely tip over a plastic picture frame on their desk and awkwardly stumble away, only to return sheepishly, because remember, you still have an appointment there.

Not only that, but now you can also know exactly HOW this family relationship came to be...

Alec Baldwin

Fraud Baldwins: Fraudwins? "Mercy Baldwin, of Waramaug: All this, Franklin Bearce's Fraud?"

The Mystery of Fidelia Thompson

I have heard that Fidelia Thompson (or Thomson) may have been part Indian. Finding information on great-grandma Fidelia has been very difficult. Aside from her marriage to William H. Baldwin (1816), the fact that she died young at 23, her father's name Gideon Thompson, and that she was buried in New Preston, I know nothing more about her. If I could find her mother's name it would be of great value to my research, but I have not come across any records.

Noble Ancestors #1 - Charlemagne (742 - 814)

I'm going to get this one written up and out of the way, first.

Charlemagne.

This guy!

"Hey, everybody! I'm yo' grandad!"