The New England Historic Genealogical Society has figured out that actress Amy Poehler is related to several other famous people. I always find it interesting to hear that a certain celebrity happens to have other well known people in her family tree. It is quite amazing sometimes what a genealogist can discover through research.
Amy Poehler is someone you may recognize from her years preforming on “Saturday Night Live”. She stars on the television show “Parks and Recreation”, and had a leading role in the movie “Baby Mama” (with actress Tina Fey). Amy Poehler is married to actor Will Arnett, whom you may recognize from his role on the popular television show “Arrested Development”.
The New England Historical Genealogy Society has been working on mapping the family trees of people who are from New England, and who are well-known, or famous. New England includes six states: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. Amy Poehler was born and raised in Massachusetts.
It turns out that Amy Poehler is related to Benjamin Franklin. Benjamin Franklin, of course, was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America, and the author of “Poor Richard’s Almanac”, (among many other notable contributions). The two are related through a common ancestor named Jethro Folger. This connection makes Poehler a first cousin, ten times removed, to Franklin. Jethro Folger is from the family famous for Folger’s coffee.
Poehler is also related to famous best selling author Stephen King. Stephen King has written many titles you will recognize, including “The Stand”, “Carrie”, “Cujo”, “Misery”, and the recent book “Under the Dome”, to name just a few of his works. Poehler and King share a common ancestor named Edward Starbuck, who lived in Nantucket, and died in 1690. Edward Starbuck is related to the family famous for Starbuck’s coffee. This connection makes Amy Poehler and Stephen King 10th cousins. Edward Starbuck is also a common relative between Amy Poehler and Senator Scott Brown. The two of them are 11th cousins. Poehler is also related an ancestor named Richard Kimball, who is also an ancestor of former Vice President of the United States, Dick Cheney. Which means that Poehler and Cheney are related to each other.
How is this possible? It helps that all of these famous people are from New England. Once you find that you have an ancestor who was from early colonial New England, it becomes possible to find all kinds of interesting connections between yourself, and famous people who are from New England. If your genealogy research has revealed that you are a descendant of a person from colonial New England, the possibility may exist that you, too, are related to some of the same famous people who are related to Amy Poehler.
Image by cliff1066 on Flickr