One of the reasons millions of Americans—and especially descendants of New England colonists—have royal ancestry has to do with inheritance practices of western European nations. As Gary Boyd Roberts explained in the Volume 19:3 (2018) issue of American Ancestors Magazine, “Younger sons or daughters of kings (who are entitled to nothing) become or marry nobles,[…]Read more
The new Second Edition of The Royal Descents of 900 Immigrants to the American Colonies, Quebec, or the United States abounds with movie and stage actors (and a few director/actors) who are descended from royal forebears. Most, but not all, are of British provenance. Could you be related to one of them? Here’s the list:[…]Read more
(Read Part One | Part Two of this Article) IV. In addition to the descents outlined in the Coda for Garfield and Mrs. Arthur, several immigrants first treated in the Coda are also ancestors of presidents or First Ladies. Among those whose lines are “improved” (even if placed in the main text), are also ancestors[…]Read more
The new three-volume, Second Edition of The Royal Descents of 900 Immigrants to the American Colonies, Quebec, or the United States is remarkable in a number of respects. As we have noted previously, Mr. Roberts has added twenty-three new immigrants to the opus, revised the lines of twelve others, and made improvements to about half[…]Read more
The following review appears in the Massachusetts Society of Genealogists journal, MASSOG, Volume 48 (2023-2024), No. 2 The Royal Descents of 900 Immigrants to the American Colonies, Quebec, or the United States, Second Edition in Three Volumes, by Gary Boyd Roberts (Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2022. cxciii + 1,725 pp. Index. Softcover $190.00). Order[…]Read more
The new Second Edition of The Royal Descents of 900 Immigrants to the American Colonies, Quebec, or to the United States, by Gary Boyd Roberts, identifies 615 major historical figures who have royal ancestry. Does your family talk about an as yet unproven relationship to the English playwright Noel Coward? If you want to authenticate[…]Read more
(Part One of this article can be found HERE) In early November 2022, various scholars learned of and purchased Weston Pedigree Reconsidered: A Review of Documentation Provided by the College of Arms (2022) by Shawn Henry Potter and Lois Carol Potter. In a much earlier form, parts of this monograph were submitted to the New[…]Read more
The Royal Descents of 900 Immigrants to the American Colonies, Quebec, or the United States (RD 900), 2nd Ed. (2022), genealogist Gary Boyd Roberts’ magnum opus, identifies an awe-inspiring number of historical figures from Continental Europe, the British Isles, or the United States who are related to millions of living Americans. Anyone descended from an[…]Read more
If you were looking for a royal (or noble) ancestor in the First Edition of Gary Boyd Roberts’ signature work, the two-volume Royal Descents of 900 Immigrants to the American Colonies, Quebec, or the United States, but came up empty, don’t despair. In compiling the new Second Edition of RD 900, Mr. Roberts has identified[…]Read more
The Royal Descents of 900 Immigrants to the American Colonies, Quebec or the United States. Second Edition, by Gary Boyd Roberts is remarkable in a number of ways. Obviously, it documents nearly 1,000 lines of North Americans who can claim royal ancestors—more than any other publication. The Introduction to this new three-volume edition is nearly[…]Read more
After the new edition of The Royal Descents of 900 Immigrants went to press, HM Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain (see pp. 3, 4, 41, 321, 323, 546, 930, 1058, 1067, 1081, 1723) died 8 September 2022, aged 96. Her eldest son, HRH Prince Charles Philip Arthur George (now 73), previously Prince of Wales, became HM[…]Read more
The system of primogeniture, the medieval practice of passing down a title and its holdings to one’s eldest son (or daughter), accounts for the fact that many Americans have royal or noble ancestors. For example, the millions of descendants of the 970 immigrant ancestors discussed in the 2018 edition of Gary Boyd Roberts’ book, The[…]Read more
