Astronomers Connection Combat: Maria Mitchell vs Carl Sagan

+27 votes
1.5k views

Our Connection Combat this week celebrates the solar eclipse on April 8, and the International Day of Human Flight in Space on April 12. On the one side we have Maria Mitchell, the first acknowledged female astronomer and discoverer of a comet, and on the other we have Carl Sagan, a pioneer in the field of exobiology (the search for ET).

Here's how the game is played:

  1. Check your connection to Maria Mitchell and Carl Sagan (click "Connection to Me" in each profile pull-down menu).
  2. Click "Answer this post" below. Choose Team Mitchell  or Team Sagan and say how many degrees are in your chosen connection path.
  3. See if you can verify each relationship along your connection path with a reliable source [more explanation].
  4. Post comments below your answer as you progress and when you run into trouble. Someone else might be able to help.

The players with the closest verified connection wins!

Will you join us?

in The Tree House by Eowyn Walker G2G Astronaut (2.5m points)
edited by Eowyn Walker

A nasty WikiTree WeevilThere are seven additional ways to win and enter the Connection Combat Hall of Fame. These require clearing your path of any and all little "WikiTree Weevils."

This game runs from April 9-16. 

Do you want to help others? We call this "combat" just for fun. It's really more about collaboration than competition. Please participate in your team's Aid Station and stop by when you have questions or problems.

You can also chat live on Discord. See the Connection Combat help page for more information.

P.S. Share the spread the word!

Maria Mitchell for me at 17
Team Mitchell: Maria Mitchell is 19 Degrees over 2 branches. I added resources and cleaned up bio's verifying each relationship along the path with reliable sources.
Maria Mitchel 20th cousin 4 times removed at 17 degrees

Carl Sagan is 27 degrees for both myself and my husband.

I will ride with Team Mitchell.

41 Answers

+10 votes

Astronomy connections:

by Jerry Medlock G2G6 Mach 1 (11.1k points)
+10 votes

Maria and Glenn are 20th cousins twice removed. Degrees at 18 for Mitchell and 25 for Sagan.

by Glenn Tuley G2G6 Mach 1 (11.5k points)
+9 votes
Done, I think if I did it right. Every profile has a source record.

Mitchell-8244

Coleman-4091 her mother

Coleman-4092 her father

Coleman-4093 his father

Coleman-2510 his father

Coleman-2514 his sister

Tisdale-320 her daughter

Graves-3768 her husband

Graves-3280 his brother

Graves-9787 his daughter

Seeley-937 her son

Seelye-153 his daughter

Van_Wye-119 her daughter

Jones-76838 her daughter

McCollum-1223 her son

McCollum-1224 his son

McCollum-1850 me
by Reta McCollum G2G6 Mach 1 (12.0k points)
+9 votes
17 degrees for Mitchell
25 degrees for Sagan

So it's Team Mitchell!
by Shonda Feather G2G6 Pilot (429k points)
+9 votes
Team Maria Mitchell 19 Degrees. She was an amazing woman! Wow! I'm honored to have a connection to her !
by Dottie Laliberte G2G2 (2.4k points)
+9 votes
Team Mitchell: 18 degrees
by Pam Holzman G2G5 (5.4k points)
+8 votes
It's 18 degrees from Maria Mitchell. What an honor   She was so brilliant.
by Dottie Laliberte G2G2 (2.4k points)
+9 votes
Team Mitchell!! She is 19 degrees while Sagan is 24 degrees.

She is also my 8th cousin, 5 times removed.
by Judith Fry G2G6 Mach 8 (86.4k points)
+8 votes
Maria (19 degrees)
by Patti Hollingsworth G2G Crew (440 points)
+8 votes
These connections are just fascinating!

I'm "A very distant cousin" of Marie's and 18 degrees

-----vs-----

28 degrees from Carl.
by Judi Stutz G2G6 Pilot (344k points)
+7 votes

Alice Stephens

Ernest Stephens her father

Wesley Stephens his father

Lucretia Vanover his mother

Henry Vanover her father

Samuel Vanover his father

Mary Vanover his sister

William Taylor her husband

John Taylor his father

Rachel Taylor his sister

John Lamb her son

Phoebe Macy his wife

Mary Starbuck her mother

William Starbuck her father

Mary Starbuck his sister

Peleg Mitchell her son

William Mitchell his son

Maria Mitchell his daughter

by Alice Thomsen G2G6 Pilot (250k points)
+7 votes
Carl Sagan is 27 Degrees from me however and I do need to add this in the file that My direct Relative who is a causing, Scott Nevin worked with Carl at Cornell University. That and 5 bucks might get you a cup of Joe at Starbucks! lol
by Bob Nevin G2G1 (1.6k points)
LOL. Carl is 23 degrees from me, but I was tempted to claim 4 degrees, because I shared a van ride in the late '70s at UMASS with his ex-wife's kids.
+7 votes

Maria Mitchell is 16 Degrees from Bob Nevin

by Bob Nevin G2G1 (1.6k points)
+8 votes
Team Mitchell

Maria Mitchell is 17 Degrees from Kendra Phillips.

Maria and Kendra are 7th cousins five times removed.

5 common ancestors were found between Maria and Kendra.
by Kendra Phillips G2G Crew (440 points)
+8 votes
Team Mitchell at 21 degrees
by Melanie McComb G2G6 Mach 5 (57.7k points)
+7 votes

I chose to work on Maria Mitchell at 18 degrees:

  1. Maria Mitchell-8244
  2. William Mitchell-8245
  3. Peleg Mitchell-8246
  4. Eunice Mitchell-11136
  5. David Bunker-1022
  6. Deidamia Carpenter-6811
  7. Amos Carpenter-6812
  8. Ebenezer Carpenter Sr.-341
  9. Benjamin Carpenter-11948
  10. Mary Carpenter-4819
  11. Nathan Jewett-1310
  12. Henry Jewett-2256
  13. Frank Jewett-6837
  14. Erma Ethel Jewett-6433
  15. Stephen Young-47189
  16. Ida May Young-47045
  17. Clarence Finch-7413
  18. My Dad
  19. Myself Finch-7411
I also added some children to David Bunker... more children adding needs to be done.
by Carol-Lynn Harke G2G6 Mach 4 (49.9k points)
+8 votes
Team Mitchell: I have an 18 degree connection with Maria Mitchell going from her brother through the New England Colonies to the Peticodiac area of the Canadian Maritimes.

Okay, I'm off to look for weevils
by Shirlea Smith G2G6 Pilot (290k points)
+8 votes
I am 16 degrees from Maria Mitchell and 21 from Carl Sagan, but I'm going to form my own team, as I am 2 degrees from my grandfather, Peter Stoner [[Stoner-632|Peter W. Stoner (1888-1980)]] who taught astronomy at both Pasadena City College (where he was head of the math and sciences depts.), and Westmont College, and was involved in building 3 observatories, including Mt. Wilson, and knew George Hale and Edwin Hubble. He may not have been famous, but he was famous to me. So I'll be on his team, likely by myself. No matter.
by Alison Gardner G2G6 Mach 8 (85.6k points)
+8 votes

I love to take the peacemaker between Maria Mithell and Carl Sagan.

0. Maria Mitchell

1. Her father, William Mitchell.

2. His mother, Lydia Cartwright.

3. Her mother, Love Macy.

4. Her mother, Judith Coffin.

5. Her sister, Lydia Coffin.

6. Her husband, James Anthony.

7. His mother, Hope Durfee.

8. Her mother, Ann Almy.

9. Her sister, Elizabeth Almy.

10. Her daughter, Rebecca Morris.

11. Her son, Lewis Chamberlin.

12. His daughter, Anne Chamberlin.

13. Her husband, Derrick Janse Sutphin. Added sources for birth, death and Probate.  Added sources for his children. yes

14. His son, Arthur Sutphin. Added sources for birth and death.  Added sources for his children.

15. His son, Lewis Sutphin. Added sources for death and his children. yes

16. His son Lewis Sutphin. Added sources for baptism, marriage, census records, obituary and death. Added sources for his children. yes

17. His daughter, Ruth Sutphin. Added sources for birth, second marriage and obituary.  Bio improvement. yes

18. Her daughter, Dolores Curtis. It is an unsourced profile. I cannot edit this profile because it is a private profile. yes

19. Her daughter, Susan Hagan. I cannot edit this profile because it is a private profile. yes

20. Her husband, private person.  I cannot edit this profile because it is a private profile. yes

21. His mother, Hedy Sagan. Added sources for birth, marriage, census record and death.  yes

22. Her father, Abe Sagan. Added sources for birth, marriage, census records, passenger lists and death. Categories. yes

23. His brother, Sam Sagan. Added sources for birthplace, marriage, census records and passenger list. Categories. yes

24. His son, Carl Sagan. added sources for marriages, divorces and census records.  Added his children. Categories. yes

by Chris O'Connell G2G6 Mach 1 (17.9k points)
edited by Chris O'Connell
+4 votes
Hello this is my first time doing this but I'm pretty excited to know I'm 13 degrees from Maria Mitchell! She sounded like an amazing woman wait ahead of her times! She didn't let being a female hold her back from what she enjoyed in life! Here's how my connection to her goes;

Maria Mitchell

William Mitchell, her father

Peleg Mitchell, his father

Richard Mitchell, his father

Elizabeth Tripp, his mother

Frances Tripp, her brother

Charity Tripp, his daughter

Joseph Sowle, her son

Abel Sowle, his son

Nellie Soule, his daughter

Arminellagh Ramsey, her daughter

Margaret Nichols, her daughter

Sandra Ostrander, her daughter

Then me, Pamela Sodeman, her daughter!
by Pamela Sodeman G2G Crew (320 points)

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