Gateway profiles

And continuing Nat Taylor's thought:

"Simply put, the more ‘gateways’ of all types that one can find in one’s ancestry, the more diverse and multilayered will be one’s discernible tree."

This, to me, is the point of building a family tree, and finding our connections to others in the World Family Tree.

I can envision future boasting about pedigrees -

A: "I descend from Charlesmagne!"
B: "I descend from 18 different populations!"

You can use the http://www.geni.com/projects/HistoryLink/14021 application to identify "descendants of a gateway ancestor."

But I'm also interested in learning who the NEW gateway ancestors, created by the mathematics of the Geni world family tree, might be.

So far I can think of two surprising and interesting profiles - one I just learned about:

Unknown Profile
Unknown Profile

Can you add to this list?

I've started a separate project to continue this thought

http://www.geni.com/projects/Gateway-Ancestors/23377

When we have defined Gateways connected to A.J. Jacobs, perhaps "share that path" in "this" discussion.

Fascinating, Erica

Elizabeth Hemings is your 7th great uncle's partner.

No connection to Yese

Unknown Profile is my 41st great grandfather.

Erica, is it about ancestors only or links to other cultures?
If it the later - I can add to it

Linking profiles (culture to culture); direct ancestors; and "notable kin." They are all kinds of gateway profiles, as defined by Nat Taylor.

Unknown Profile we can build a path from Betty Heming to Yese through pushpins and walking the path.

already working on it, he is mine, http://www.geni.com/path/William-Owen-Bill-Irwin+is+related+to+Yese..., and mine to David http://www.geni.com/path/William-Owen-Bill-Irwin+is+related+to+Davi...

Dr Gates to Betty Heming: http://www.geni.com/path/Henry-Gates+is+related+to+Elizabeth-Betty-...

Betty Heming to David: http://www.geni.com/path/David-Howerton+is+related+to+Elizabeth-Bet...

David to Sharon: http://www.geni.com/path/David-Howerton+is+related+to+Sharon-Doubel...

Sharon to Yese: http://www.geni.com/path/Sharon-Doubell+is+related+to+Yese?from=600...

Yese to Nelson Mandela: http://www.geni.com/path/Yese+is+related+to+Nelson-Mandela?from=600...

You go!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Unknown Profile

http://www.geni.com/path/William-Owen-Bill-Irwin+is+related+to+Henr...
To me

Unknown Profile is Erica Isabel Howton, (c)'s 45th great grandfather. http://www.geni.com/path/Erica-Howton+is+related+to+Niall-of-the-Ni...

Unknown Profile

Unknown Profile

http://www.geni.com/path/Charlemagne-Emperor-of-the-West+is+related...

Erica Isabel Howton, (c)
http://www.geni.com/path/Charlemagne-Emperor-of-the-West+is+related...

Unknown Profile
http://www.geni.com/path/Charlemagne-Emperor-of-the-West+is+related...

Unknown Profile
http://www.geni.com/path/Charlemagne-Emperor-of-the-West+is+related...

Unknown Profile
http://www.geni.com/path/Charlemagne-Emperor-of-the-West+is+related...

A lot of Fictitious Persons thanks to Unknown Profile you are the man

http://www.geni.com/path/Pam-Karp+is+related+to+Nelson-Mandela?from...

Unknown Profile gate way to aj thru his daugther

Very interesting. I'll have to think a bit more about gateway ancestors. Especially the crossing endogamous boundaries and being notable.

When you think about it in computer net working terms it is amazing how much the tree resembles the network - or rather it's the other way around, of course. They say disease works in the same way, by following the pathways. And birds in flight (air currents). So you need targets that link populations: a connector. But the connector actually comes in different flavors. Your colonial ancestor with the 23 children is certainly a "gateway." :)

Unknown Profile I have more then one mormon ancestor with several wives and kids so i see what you mean about flavors.. ha ha

and thanks for the link to catch up on aj's chat..
Had to miss it because I was doing my civic duty at the voting booth :(

The records for "nobility" like Mormans are so well worked and recorded, going back to times when there was not a huge population. I would like to see "key" gateways fully DNA tested to assist us further. What is NOT recorded is often truth hidden in those times. Just a thought.

Thanks for connecting me to Yese!!!!!

Unknown Profile is a gateway ancestor then. She's connected with old New England and with the West (Salt Lake City).

Here's her immigrant ancestor, who is apparently connected to ancestors in England.

Unknown Profile

Excellent, Hatte, I've added to the project.

By the way - we share the characteristic of being "gateway profiles" ourselves, as for both of us, our parents originate from distinctly different American populations. And my nephews represent yet another gateway, as their mother is from a (different again) origination.

Thomas Lacy/Lacey/DeLa(n)cy son of William born in England.
m 1682 VA prob Hanover Co Pheobe Rice b 1660 dau Thomas.
Quite a line recorded in Registered and Qualified Huguenots book.
Need to see if he is on the tree.

Unknown Profile sais Possibly son of William, but here is Thomas father. I shall invite him to the project.

Isn't a "gateway profile" simply a function of how much (credible) work has been put in, plus how many children who survived, married, and had children the gateway profile had, and how long ago he or she lived? If you want to add in ethnic mixtures to the definition, fine. But all of these factors seem to me to favour the rich and the notable (the same thing, of course).

Mark