448 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



Suppose the average man or woman to have as many as twenty close 

 relatives — as near as an uncle or a grandson. There can be then only 

 about one person in five hundred who can claim close relationship to 

 an "eminent" man. Those whose names are in the above dictionaries 

 are, on the contrary, related to each other to the extent of about one in 

 five. If the more celebrated among these be alone considered, it will 

 be found that the percentage increases so that about one in three is 

 related to some one within the group. This ratio increases to more than 

 one in two when the families of the forty-six Americans in the Hall of 

 Fame are made the basis of study. If all the eminent relations of those 

 in the Hall of Fame are counted, they average more than one apiece. 

 Therefore, they are from five hundred to a thousand times as much re- 

 lated to distinguished people as the ordinary mortal is. 



The following great Americans whose names adorn the Hall of 

 Fame show eminent relationships according to the test. 



George Washington was the uncle of Bushrod Washington, justice 

 of the Supreme Court of the United States. 



Thomas Jefferson came from plain people on his father's side, but 

 his mother was of the old and distinguished Eandolph family. The 

 great orator John Randolph, of Roanoke, was his second cousin, but is 

 too far removed to be counted as a " close " relation. Jefferson's daugh- 

 ter Martha married Thomas M. Randolph, governor of Virginia, and 

 their son, Gen. George Wythe Randolph, counts one "close" relation 

 mentioned in the dictionaries of history. 



John Marshall, the greatest American jurist and one of the great 

 jurists of all time, is connected with one of those in the second (or 

 3,500) group. His nephew, Thomas F. Marshall, reached eminence as 

 a judge and member of Congress. "As a political orator and wit he 

 had great fame." 



Abraham Lincoln was the father of Robert T. Lincoln, secretary of 

 war, minister to Great Britain and president of the Pullman Company. 



Daniel Webster was the son of Judge Ebenezer Webster, prominent 

 during the Revolution. Daniel's brother " Ezekial acquired a high 

 reputation as a lawyer." 



Benjamin Franklin had no great ancestors, but his talents were 

 well transmitted to his descendants. His illegitimate son, William 

 Franklin, became a man of prominence and was the last royal governor 

 of New Jersey. But the more brilliant qualities appeared especially 

 in the Baches of Philadelphia, descendants of Franklin's daughter. 

 Alexander D. Bache was one of the foremost of American scientists. 



Alexander Hamilton came of aristocratic lineage on his mother's 

 side; on his father's side, his people were merchants. He married a 

 daughter of General Philip Schuyler, whose mother was a Van Rens- 

 selaer. Many of his descendants have become distinguished. John 



