TIPS FROM GARY BOYD ROBERTS ON HOW TO SEARCH ROYAL DESCENTS OF 900 IMMIGRANTS

You may be a satisfied owner of The Royal Descents of 900 Immigrants to the American Colonies, Quebec, or the United States (RD 900), or you may be considering acquiring a set of these marvelous books.   Either way, you may appreciate the following suggestions from author and expert genealogist Gary Boyd Roberts on how to use the volumes. 

• Check the surnames in your existing family tree against the index. It could turn up some surprising connections.
• Mr. Roberts’ Introduction is 192 pages long, and it is the definitive summary of current royal and noble genealogy scholarship. Consult Appendix II of the Introduction, and compare your immigrant ancestors against those named in the Appendix.  You may discover an entire line you never dreamed of.
• Look through the sources, especially for immigrants to the areas in which your family, or its branches, lived. You may wish to consult one or more publication you were unfamiliar with.
• Go through any 50 or 100 pages in the text, and see some of the fascinating world figures you are/may be related to. If you have a favorite notable president, first lady, other politician, literary figure, statesman, or other popular figure you admire, be aware of them and see what surprises you can find.  See how much you have in common; one of them might be as close as a 9^th or 10^th cousin.  You might find a second or third cousin of someone you never heard of.  George Orwell, PG Wodehouse, Aldos Huxley are all there, and English people are as likely to find a cousin as Americans.

Which KINGS ARE LINKED TO IN ROYAL DESCENTS OF 900 IMMIGRANTS

Among the many achievements made by Gary Boyd Roberts in his compilation of more than 900 lines of descent to Americans and Canadians in the two-volume RD 900 is the identification of 84 different monarchs who figure in those descendancies. In case you were wondering who they are, here is a verbatim listing of the first 17 and the last 15 of those kings, with mentions of their kinships.

1. Juliana, Queen of The Netherlands, d. 2004 (p. 1)

2. Ferdinand I, King of Roumania, d. 1927 (p. 2)

3. George I, King of Greece, d. 1913 (pp. 3-4)

4. Alexander II, Czar of Russia, d. 1881 (p. 5), son of #6, grandson of #7

5. Ferdinand II, King of the Two Sicilies, d. 1859 (p. 6)

6. Nicholas I, Czar of Russia, d. 1855 (p. 7), grandson of #12, father of #4, son-in-law of #7, grandson-in-law of #11

7. Frederick William III, King of Prussia, d. 1840 (p. 8), son of #11, father-in-law of #6, grandfather of #4

8. William IV, King of Great Britain, d. 1837 (pp. 9-10)

9. Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor and Emperor of Austria,

d. 1835 (p. 11), grandson of #13

10. Frederick I, King ofWiirttemberg, d. 1816 (p. 12)

11. Frederick William II, King of Prussia, d. 1797 (p. 13), grandson of #l4, father of #7, grandfather-in-law of #6

12. Catherine II, Empress of Russia, d. 1796 (p. 14), grandmother of #6

13. Francis I (of Lorraine), Holy Roman Emperor, d. 1765, husband of Maria Theresa, Empress of Austria, d. 1780 (p. 15) (grandparents of #9)

14. Frederick William I, King of Prussia, d. 1740 (pp. 16-17), grandfather of #11

15. Victor Amadeus II, King of Sardinia, d. 1730 (pp. 18-19)

16. Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor, d. 1711 (p. 20-21), uncle of Maria Theresa, Empress of Austria, #13

17. James II, King of England (reigned 1685-1688), d. 1701 (pp. 22-24), grandson of #20, brother of #18

67. Louis VII, King of France, d. 1180 (pp. 774-77) (#66 and #67 both married the famed Eleanor of Aquitaine), son of #70

68. David I, King of Scotland, d. 1153 (pp. 778-90, pp. 778-90 via sisters of Robert I, King of Scotland, 780-82 via a sister of John Baliol, King of Scotland, d. 1313), grandfather of #64

69. Boleslaw Ill, King of Poland, d. 1138 (pp. 791-803, pp. 791-96 via a Romanov aunt of Michael Ill, Czar of Russia, d. 1645, and pp. 797-801 via a great-aunt of lvan III, first Czar of Russia, d. 1505)

70. Louis VI, King of France, d. 1137 (pp. 804-5), grandson of#75, father of #67

71. Henry I, King of England, d. 1135 (pp. 806-27), son of #73, grandfather of #66 (all via one of two illegitimate sons, earls of Cornwall and Gloucester)

72. Donald III Bane, King of Scotland, d. 1099 (pp. 828-29)

73. William I, the Conqueror, King of England, d. 1087 (pp. 830-31, 911-13), father of #71, grandson-in-law of#77

74. Bela I, King of Hungary, d. 1063 (pp. 832-34)

75. Henry I, King of France, d. 1060 (pp. 835-48), son of #77, grandson of #79, grandfather of 70 (all via a granddaughter, Isabel of Vermandois, successively Countess of Leicester and Countess of Surrey in England)

76. Mieszko II Lambert, King of Poland, d. 1034 (pp. 849-50)

77. Robert II, King of France, d. 1031 (pp. 851-56), son of #79, father of #75, grandfather-in-law of #73

78. Ethelred II the Unready, King of England, d. 1016 (pp. 857-65, with Mrs. Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte, daughter-in-law of Jerome Bonaparte, King of Westphalia, on p. 858)

79. Hugh Capet, King of France, d. 996 (pp. 866-73), grandson of #81, father of #77, grandfather of #75

80. Louis IV, King of France, d. 954 (pp. 874-78)

81. Robert I, King of France, d. 923 (pp. 879-84), grandfather of #79 (all also from a sister of #73 and possibly #79 or #80)

82. Turlough O’Conor Don, King of Connaught, d. 1406 (p. 885)

83. Angharad II, Queen of Powys (whose son Rhywallon, Prince of Powys, d 1070)
(pp.886- 87–only Thomas Lewis of Maine, whose wife was descended from #53)
84. Sigismund I, King of Poland, d. 1548 (pp. 895-96), son of #34