Famous Relatives & Notable Ancestors

Through the Coffin, Folger, and other colonial lines, the family connects to a remarkable number of historical figures — from Founding Fathers and U.S. Presidents to abolitionists and British nobility.

A. Verified

Direct ancestors and close cousins with probed descent chains and primary-source documentation.

NameBornPIDRelationship
Benjamin Franklin1706LJLQ-WRC1st cousin, 10 times removed through Peter Folger
Lucretia Coffin Mott1793LRBB-TZHCoffin line: abolitionist, Seneca Falls
Sir Henry Maynard1547PS5C-88JAdvisor to Queen Elizabeth I
William de La Roche1483KPHP-L4PSpeaker + Lord Mayor of London
Capt. William Hawkins1495LY7K-GW3Trade pioneer to Brazil

How Are You Connected?

MATERNAL LINE1st cousin, 10 times removed
Peter Folger...Carol PerryJohn, Perry & Patrick Long

Benjamin Franklin is your 1st cousin, 10 times removed. The connection runs through Peter Folger of Nantucket — your shared ancestor.

MATERNAL LINE4th cousin, 7 times removed
Tristram Coffin...Carol PerryJohn, Perry & Patrick Long

Lucretia Coffin Mott is your 4th cousin, 7 times removed. Both lines descend from Tristram Coffin (1609), founder of Nantucket — hers through Tristram’s elder son James Coffin (1640) → Capt. Nathaniel Coffin (LZN4-BJG, 1671) → Benjamin Coffin (LZG8-84H, 1705) → Capt. Thomas Bartlett Coffin (LJGB-X29, 1766) → Lucretia; yours through Tristram’s younger son John Coffin (KNZ2-13G, 1647) → Hannah Coffin → Robert Gardner → Eunice Gardner → Peggy Macy → Frederick William Folger → Harriet Ann Folger → the Perrys. The Benjamin Coffin (1705) → Thomas Bartlett → Lucretia segment is on her side only; it is not in your direct line.

MATERNAL LINE4th cousin, 7 times removed (Loyalist branch)
Tristram Coffin...Carol PerryJohn, Perry & Patrick Long

General John Coffin is your 4th cousin, 7 times removed. Both lines descend from Tristram Coffin (1609), founder of Nantucket — his through Tristram’s elder son James Coffin (1640) → Capt. Nathaniel Coffin (1671) → William Coffin (1699) → Nathaniel ‘the Cashier’ (1725) → General John; yours through Tristram’s younger son John Coffin (KNZ2-13G, 1647) → Hannah Coffin → Gardner → Macy → Folger → the Perrys. He fought at Bunker Hill and became a Major General in the British Army.

B. Traditional

Nantucket founding-family descendants named in published genealogies — the Barney Genealogical Record, Peckham Genealogy(1922), and the Nantucket Historical Association’s collections. Institutional-grade by published-source standards per Rule #80. The descent paths from our line to these figures remain traditional attribution pending primary-source verification on our side of the bridge.

Families descend from the nine original purchasers of Nantucket Island (1659).

NameBornPIDRelationship
Rowland Hussey Macy1822Macy line: founder of Macy's department store
Maria Mitchell1818Coffin/Starbuck line: first professional female astronomer in America
Herman Melville (literary)1819Named Moby-Dick's Starbuck after the Nantucket Starbucks — your line (Edward Starbuck → Mary Coffin Starbuck)
Phebe Ann Coffin Hanaford1829Coffin line: first woman ordained as minister in New England
Mayhew Folger1774Folger line: discovered HMS Bounty mutineers on Pitcairn Island
Anna Gardner1816Gardner line: abolitionist, opened integrated school in Massachusetts
Joseph Gardner Swift1783Gardner/Swift line: first graduate of West Point
Eliza Starbuck Barney1807Starbuck line: abolition and suffrage reformer

C. Research in Progress

Names collected from genealogical databases or family tradition but awaiting the descent-chain work that would move them to Traditional or Verified. Listed here for transparency per Rule #60.

Famous Relatives — U.S. Presidents

Relationships identified through genealogical database relative- matching, sorted by degree of kinship. No MRCA named on either side yet.

NameBornPIDRelationship
Franklin D. Roosevelt18825th cousin, 5 times removed
Ulysses S. Grant18225th cousin, 5 times removed
Zachary Taylor17845th cousin, 8 times removed
James Garfield18315th cousin, 5 times removed
Abraham Lincoln18096th cousin, 6 times removed
Franklin Pierce18046th cousin, 7 times removed
Millard Fillmore18006th cousin, 8 times removed
William Howard Taft18577th cousin, 3 times removed
Winston Churchill18747th cousin, 3 times removed (PM, United Kingdom)
Calvin Coolidge18727th cousin, 5 times removed
Theodore Roosevelt18587th cousin, 7 times removed
John F. Kennedy191710th cousin, twice removed
Rutherford B. Hayes18228th cousin, 6 times removed
John Quincy Adams17678th cousin, 6 times removed
Warren G. Harding18659th cousin, 4 times removed
Herbert Hoover18749th cousin, 3 times removed
Richard Nixon19139th cousin, 3 times removed

Individual Ancestors

NameBornPIDRelationship
Charles A. Coffin1844Co-founder, 1st President of General Electric
Sir Isaac Coffin1759Admiral, British Royal Navy
Sir William Coffin1495Master of the Horse to Anne Boleyn

Other Notable Figures

NameBornPIDRelationship
John Robinson157611th great-grandfather, Pastor of the Mayflower passengers
Diana, Princess of Wales196110th cousin, 4 times removed
Nancy Reagan192110th cousin, once removed

These relationships are very distant (5th–10th cousins, many times removed) and are common among families with deep New England colonial roots. They are documented in primary genealogical records and reflect shared ancestry many generations back.