Which member of the Niagara Movement are you most closely connected to?

Question

It's Black History Month in the US, and the founder of the Niagara Movement, W.E.B. Du Bois, was born on February 23, so we're featuring him in the Connection Finder this week.

Featured alongside him are other Niagara Movement members:

• Charles Bentley
• Cpl. John Clifford
• James Diggs
• William Hart
• Alonzo Herndon
• Edwin Jourdain
• Medora Gould
• Mary Morris Talbert
• William Monroe Trotter
• Rev. Garnett Russell Waller

Which one is most closely connected to you? If you're one of the 25.1 million of us who are connected to each other on our big tree you can check with the Connection Finder.

You can check for shared ancestors with the Relationship Finder. Are you a cousin to any of them? Your Relationship Finder Quick Links page (see your profile pull-down menu under "Relationships") has quick links for several notable groups.

Special feature: Check out how you're connected to other notables by using the green MyConnections button in the upper right hand corner of the category page. Browse related categories like African-American Notables and the Niagara Movement.

Let us know how you're related below! If you want to share your connection on social media with cousins and friends, click the "get shareable image" below the results, e.g. W.E.B. Du Bois and Alonzo Herndon. Then just upload it along with the URL of your direct connection. (Please refrain from sharing your connection on the featured profiles themselves, though. It clutters conversations on research and collaboration. Thanks!)

Help us with next week's feature: Children's Authors. Help us choose and improve profiles for it.

Answer 1

I am most closely connected to Mary Talbert at 20 degrees of separation.

• 20 degrees from Mary Talbert
• 22 degrees from John Clifford
• 22 degrees from W. E. B. Du Bois
• 22 degrees from William Hart
• 22 degrees from Alonzo Herndon
• 23 degrees from Charles Bentley
• 23 degrees from Monroe Trotter
• 26 degrees from Garnett Russell Waller
• 29 degrees from Edwin Jourdain
• 31 degrees from Medora Gould
• 34 degrees from James Diggs

Note:  degrees last checked on 1 Mar 2022

Comments

Mary Talbert's connection path to me looks suspicious.

• One profile's only source is Find A Grave.
• Another profile is tagged as Unsourced.

I didn't look at any other profiles.

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Are you talking about Rector-1548 and Rector-293? If you leave each of those out using the little cross, there is still a connection.

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I looked at Rector-293 and McMorris-18.

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Leaving McMorris-18 out by using the cross also does not cause disconnection. The path seems to be solid.

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Jim, thanks for the tip about the X button! I knew there was a way to do that, but didn't realize it was so easy :-)

Tommy, I added some sources to the 2 profiles you first mentioned.

Answer 2

I am most closely connected to William Hart at 25 degrees.

Comments

Me too.19 degrees and 19th cousins 5x removed.

Answer 3

I am 18 degrees from John Clifford, 18 degrees from William Hart, 19 degrees from Azure Robinson, and 19 degrees from W. E. B. Du Bois.  The others are 20 - 34 degrees.  

Answer 4

 I am 19 degrees from Charles Bentley, 19 degrees from John Clifford, and  22 degrees from W. E. B. Du Bois Thanks for this feature, Abby!

Answer 5

16 degrees from Alonzo Herndon
17 degrees from Monroe Trotter
19 degrees from W. E. B. Du Bois
19 degrees from John Clifford
19 degrees from William Hart (11th cousins, 4x removed)
21 degrees from Charles Bentley
22 degrees from Mary Talbert
24 degrees from Garnett Russell Waller
25 degrees from Edwin Jourdain
27 degrees from Medora Gould
32 degrees from James Diggs

Answer 6

I'm not, but the latest episode of Murdoch Mysteries, a Canadian police mystery drama TV program set in Toronto in the early 1900s, which I watched last night was about the Niagara Movement.

Comments

You may not be related, but you are CONNECTED:

M is 24 degrees from W. E. B. Du Bois, 28 degrees from Charles Bentley, 27 degrees from John Clifford, 37 degrees from James Diggs, 35 degrees from Medora Gould, 24 degrees from William Hart, 23 degrees from Alonzo Herndon, 30 degrees from Edwin Jourdain, 27 degrees from Mary Talbert, 27 degrees from Monroe Trotter, 27 degrees from Garnett Russell Waller

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Yes, but they all start with my husband, the shortest connection is always through his family, just once in a while it would nice if the beginning was through either of my parents!

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M, I just learned today that you can click the little "x" at the top of any of the people connection boxes you see, it will leave out that connection. So, you and I are 25 degrees apart, and 31 degrees apart if I press the "x" on your husband.

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Thanks Elaine, yes I knew that.

The reason I don't have many connections less than 30 degrees to people who lived in North America in the weekly connection finder is that I am the immigrant ancestor. My ancestors on both sides are mostly English with a few Irish back to the late 1600s which is as far back as I have been able to find records for the English.

My family came to Canada in 1966. There are a few people about 250 years ago in my direct ancestry who have connections to people in the US but not many. One branch on my mum's side had 1 person who emigrated to the Cape Cod area somewhere about 1800, but that's all.

Some ancestors on my husbands side arrived in 'the colonies' in the early 1700s, many of their descendants were United Empire Loyalists and moved to Canada.

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I saw this episode too! Huge fan of Murdoch Mysteries.  It was the first thing I thought of when I saw this post.

Answer 7

I am most closely connected to fellow WikiTreer Azure Robinson at 16 degrees.

18 degrees from several in this group:  W. E. B. Du Bois, Col. John Clifford, William Hart (9th cousin, 3 times removed), Mary Morris Talbert, and William Monroe Trotter.  I think that's a first!  No other relatives in this group.

Answer 8

Almost all are in the 20`s degree

 However, William Hart is my 8th cousin 4 times removed  through my great grandmother Victoria Marsh Shoulder,  Interesting find today

Answer 9

The men who founded the Niagara Movement were such amazing men who achieved so much collectively in their lives. Look at the list of achievements on each one's profile! I'm so glad to see we are honoring them this week. Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. is John Clifford's great grand nephew. That's how US Black Heritage first learned about this group.

Comments

I'm 6C5R from W.E.B DuBois

7C6R from William Hart

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Oh, I didn't realize that about John Clifford and Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Cool!

Answer 10

19 degrees from Alonzo Herndon and 20 degrees from W.E.B. Du Bois.

Answer 11

18 degrees from Alonzo Herndon.

Answer 12

William Hart is 18 degrees from me, and also my 7th cousin 3 times removed. and we share 5 common ancestors.

Answer 13

It appears that I am 19 generations from W. E. B. Du Bois. Although most connections are "unknown confidence". We are shown as 7th cousins 3 times removed through Barbara (Andriessen) De Witt and Tjerck Claeszen De Witt - My 9th GG parents and Du Bois' 6th GG parents.

Thanks for doing this!

Answer 14

David McKinney is

21 Degrees from Charles Bentley

19 Degrees from John Clifford

32 Degrees from James Diggs

14th Cousins William Hart

19 Degrees from Alonzo Herndon

26 Degrees from Edwin Jourdain

30 Degrees from Medora Gould

21 Degrees from Mary Talbert

22 Degrees from Monroe Trotter

22 Degrees from Garnett Waller

Answer 15

Azure   Robinson 10th cousins via Sarah (cooper) Hemingway

 William HH Hart 18th cousins 5 x removed via Raphy Bracebridge 1208-1277

Answer 16

I am 9th cousin 4x remove with William Hart.  18 Degrees.

Answer 17

I am directly 19 degrees from William Hart and 24 degrees from WEB Dubois.

Answer 18

My closest connections are William Hart (my 9th cousin once removed) and Azure Robinson, both at 18 degrees.

Answer 19

I am most closely connected to William Hart at 16 degrees.
We are also both descended from Juliane (Unknown Surname) Percy and are 17th cousins 4 times removed.

Answer 20

It turns out that William Hart is not only 17 degrees, but is a 17th cousin 7x removed!

Other non-related connections: 20 degrees: Alonzo Herndon; 21 degrees: W. E. B. Du Bois; 22 degrees: Charles Bentley; 23 degrees: Mary Talbert & Monroe Trotter; 24 degrees: John Clifford & Garnett Russell Waller; 26 degrees: Edwin Jourdain; 29 degrees: Medora Gould; 31 degrees: James Diggs