As you can probably tell by reading my blogs, I have a huge interest in historic true crime. I love all history, but historical crime seems to be my favorite niche.
It all started in my days of being a paranormal investigator. A lot of the alleged hauntings stem from tragic events- a disaster, crime, feuds, wars, etc. After years of investigating the paranormal I begin to find myself more interested in the history behind the alleged haunting than I was the alleged haunting itself.
Then in 2014 I began researching my family ancestry. Up until then I really had no interest in doing so. And I continue to research to this very day.
It is amazing what you can learn from it. I have had ancestors who fought in the Revolutionary War, The Civil War, and many of the other wars. I've found ancestors who founded towns and cities. My cousin Francis Scott Key wrote the "Star Spangled Banner" , our National Anthem. I even have Elvis Presley in my ancestral tree. Sadly but true, my ancestral tree also has more than it's share of criminals - I mean famous , notorious criminals. It's to the point that anytime I read about a historic crime, I go search to see if I'm related to the perpetrator.
Today I will share with you some of those corrupt fruits from the family tree with you.
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| Charles Manson |
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| Charles is my 9th Cousin 1x removed |
1) Charles Manson - The leader of the Manson Family who were responsible for numerous murders in the Los Angeles area as well as other parts of California. Many don't know this, but Manson's roots run deep here in Kentucky. In fact I did a blog about that if you want to go back and read it. So I was not too suprised when I found out that he was in my ancestral tree, especially given the fact his mother was from my hometown. Charles is my 9th Cousin 1x removed on my Dad's side of the family.
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Jim Jones |
2) Jim Jones - the cult leader responsible for the Jamestown Massacre which ended with 918 people either being murdered or by suicide. Jim is my 8th cousin twice removed on my Dad's side of the family.
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| David Koresh |
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| This shows how I'm related to David Koresh (9th cousin 1x removed. |
3) David Koresh (Vernon Wayne Howell) - cult leader of the Branch Dividians. He and 74 of his followers were killed during a standoff with the FBI, in which their compound burned to the ground. David was my 9th cousin 1x removed on my Dad's side of the family.
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| Jeffrey Dahmer |
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| Dahmer is my 9th cousin |
4) Jeffrey Dahmer - the serial killer in Wisconsin. Jeff was responsible for the deaths of an estimated 17 men and boys, many of whom he cannibalized. Jeff is my 9th Cousin on my Dad's side of the family.
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Ted Bundy |
5) Ted Bundy - serial killer convicted of three murders and possibly as many as 100 more. Ted is my 12th cousin once removed on Mom's side of the family.
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| John Wayne Gacy |
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| John Wayne Gacy is my 8th cousin 3x removed |
6) John Wayne Gacy - serial killer linked to the rape,torture, and murder of at least 33 men and boys in Illinois. John is my 8th cousin 3x removed on Mom's s ide of the family.
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| Jack & Louise Hathcock |
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| Dorothy Anderson is Louise Hathcock's sister. I had to use Dorothy to get a direct line to Louise because it was tying Louise to me via Jack. I wanted a direct line to Louise to show my relationship to her directly. So I had to use her sister. |
7) Clyde Raymond "Jack" Hathcock & Laura Louise Anderson Hathcock - leaders of the State Line Mafia - you are probably familiar with Sheriff Buford Pusser from the "Walking Tall" movie fame. Well the arch nemesis for the real Sheriff Pusser were Jack & Louise Hathcock. They were the leaders of the State Line Mafia, which was based along the state line between Corinth, Mississippi and McNairy County, Tennessee. No one knows the exact numbers, but the State Line Mafia were believed to be responsible for several deaths. Louise shot and killed Jack in 1964 so she could have an affair with another member of the mafia. Then Sheriff
Ironically Sheriff Pusser and his wife Pauline both are in my ancestral tree as well. I may dive into that at another time.
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| Manzo Shepherd |
8) Manzo Shepherd - Manzo Shepherd was a very interesting character. I would suggest you buy the book "The Manzo Shepherd Story" on Amazon. Manzo killed taxi driver Joe Christian in a robbery attempt on top of Black Mountain in Harlan County, KY. Within one month Shepherd was shot and killed in a Harlan Courtroom in front of 300 people. That's all I will share with you in case you want to read the book. The story made headlines around the country.
Anyway, Manzo Shepherd is my 9th cousin 3x removed on my Mom's side of the family.
And there's more!!
I am also related to outlaw Jesse James! My 5th Great Grandmother was a sibling to Jesse's Great-Grandfather. This is on my Grandmother Lucy Esham Clark's side.
And lastly, I am related to outlaws Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow aka Bonnie & Clyde!! I had to use Bonnie's baby brother Coley instead of her. Someone has her information all screwed up. So I just used her brother to get our relationship.
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| Coley was Bonnie Parker's Infant Brother. I had to use him to get the relationship because someone has Bonnie's genealogy information all messed up on FamilySearch. |
I could probably find more if I would spend the time digging in ancestry.
Now, I know what you are wondering, that being "how accurate is your source?" Well I use FamilySearch ancestral research site. They have an accuracy rating of 75% So that means they are accurate 75% of the time most of the time. Of course there is that 25% chance of them being inaccurate. But the chances of being accurate are greater than the chances of being inaccurate.
Your next question is probably "are you bragging about having these people in your ancestral tree?" No I'm not. I am not condoning their actions at all. And in all cases, the relationship is so distant that it really doesn't amount to much. But could their lives of crime be the reason that I have such a huge interest in historical crimes? That's my question - and I may never know the answer.
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