Judging Justices: Which US Supreme Court Justice are you most closely connected to?

+29 votes
2.9k views

John Jay

This week's Example Profile of the Week is John Jay, first chief justice of the US Supreme Court. 

Ruth Bader GinsburgFeatured alongside him are other US Supreme Court justices:

Who are you most closely connected to? If you're one of the 20,561,000 of us who are connected to each other on our big tree you can check with the Connection Finder.

You can also check for shared ancestors with the Relationship Finder. Are you a cousin to any of them?

Let us know below!

P.S. Help us choose and improve profiles for next week's feature: Mars in Opposition.

WikiTree profile: John Jay
in The Tree House by Abby Glann G2G6 Pilot (757k points)
edited by Chris Whitten
Closest relationship from this list is Oliver Wendell Holmes -- 7th cousin, 4x removed (making 18 degrees of connection). Interestingly, my grandfather had an uncle who argued a famous case before Holmes.

However, the closest relationships to Supreme Court justices that I am aware of is not to any of the listed justices but rather to the two John Marshall Harlans. John Marshall Harlan I, 4th cousin 5 x removed)  -- the "Great Dissenter" in the Plessy vs. Ferguson case, and his grandson, John Marshall Harlan II (6th cousin, 3x removed), whose ascession to the court was intentionally delayed by southern Senators to prevent him from being seated in time to participate in the Brown v. Board of Education case.

53 Answers

+11 votes
John Jay--16 degrees

Oliver Wendall Holmes, Jr.--12th cousins, twice removed thru Edmond Sutton, or 18 degrees.
by Marie Keeton G2G6 (6.4k points)
+11 votes
I am most closely related to Chief Justice John Marshall, via his aunt Elizabeth who married Lewis Smith and were direct ancestors of my father.
by Elizabeth Prosser G2G1 (1.3k points)
We’re 9th cousins 2x removed on maternal side
Have you researched this line? I have been concentrating on my New England lines and, also because of what appears to be much muddled material, have stayed away from the Smith-Marshalls.
+11 votes
Oliver Holmes at 19 steps! Very interesting.
by Susan Keil G2G6 Mach 6 (68.5k points)
+11 votes
John Jay  17 degrees.

  John Jay's wife, Sarah (Livingston) Jay  Livingston-1  17th cousins once removed.  Richard (Burgh) de Burgh Knt  Burgh-13.

Ruth Ginsburg  39 degrees.

Antonin Scalia  22 degrees.

Louis Brandeis  22 degrees.

William Douglas  17 degrees  8th cousins once removed  Ezekiel Richardson  Richardson-25.

Abraham Fortas  26 degrees.

Oliver Holmes  17 degrees  7th cousins twice removed  Edward Bishop Sr  Bishop-984.

  Oliver Holmes wife, Fanny (Dixwell) Holmes  Dixwell-5   12th cousins five times removed  Reynold Grey  Grey-168.

Thurgood Marshall  29 degrees.

Potter Stewart  19 degrees  21st cousins once removed  Margaret (ferch Llwelyn de Clifford  Ferch Llwelyn-5 | Margaret (ferch) Llywelyn de Clifford.

John Rosser  28 degrees.
by Mildred Wheeler G2G6 Mach 9 (92.0k points)
+11 votes
18 Degrees from John Jay

18 Degrees from Oliver Wendall Holmes Jr

20 degrees from Potter Stewart

20 degrees from Willam Douglas

23 degrees from Louis Brandeis

26 degress  from Antonin Scalia

26 degrees from Abraham Fortas

26 Degrees from Thoroughgood Marshall

38 degrees from Ruth Bader Ginsberg
by Ron Raymer G2G6 Mach 5 (54.5k points)
+10 votes
My closest is Oliver Holmes, 16 degrees and 4th cousins 7x removed through his 3rd great-grandparents/my 10th great-grandparents John Holmes Sr. and Hannah Newell.
by Jessica Cook G2G Crew (800 points)
+9 votes

I'm most closely connected to my three cousins:

  • Oliver Wendell Holmes - 7C3R 17 degrees
  • William Douglas - 8C2R 19 degrees
  • Potter Steward - 9C2R 21 degrees
Also John Jay is 18 degrees, but he's not my cousin in 30 generations. I guess his wife is.
by Lucy Selvaggio-Diaz G2G6 Pilot (853k points)

We are 10th cousins on my paternal side! laugh 

+10 votes
18 degrees from John Jay

37 degrees from Ruth Bader Ginsberg

25 degrees from Antonin Scalia

25 degrees from Louis Brandeis

21 degrees from William Douglas 15th cousin 2 times removed MCRA Robert Darcy (1391-1448)

20 degrees from Abraham Forbas

19 degrees from Oliver Wendell Holmes 10th cousin 5 times removed MCRA John Durant (1468-  ?)

25 degrees from Thurgood Marshall

19 degrees from Potter Stewart 17th cousin 3 times removed MCRA William Witchingham (1328-1381)
by Frank Blankenship G2G6 Pilot (138k points)
edited by Frank Blankenship
+10 votes

9th Cousins 4x Removed from Potter Stewart

by Stef Anderson G2G6 Mach 1 (12.3k points)
+9 votes

connected to all but cousins with:

William Douglas- 20th cousin

Potter Stewart- 21st 4X removed

by Janet Malloy G2G6 (8.7k points)
+8 votes
15 degrees from John Jay

17 degrees from Oliver Wendall Holmes Jr (8th cousins 4 times removed)

19 degrees from Potter Stewart (9th cousins once removed)

20 degrees from William Douglas (8th cousins 3 times removed)

Every single one of these cousin relationships is through this ancestor https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Strong-5607  (one connection through her mother's line, and the other two through her father's).  Interesting!
by Cheryl Cruise G2G6 Pilot (190k points)
+9 votes
Oliver W. Holmes:  18 Degrees and 10th cousin.
by Living McCurdy G2G6 Mach 2 (22.3k points)
+9 votes
Oliver Wendell Holmes - 6th cousin 6x removed

William Douglas - 6th cousins 2x removed
by Clyde Green G2G6 Mach 1 (12.8k points)
+10 votes
Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr and I are six cousins five times removed.

William Douglas and I are 8th cousins twice removed

Christopher Hoff
by Christopher Hoff G2G6 Mach 1 (10.1k points)
+10 votes

I am 16 degrees from John Jay and 17 degrees from Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (fifth cousins 6 times removed). 

by Rosie Blanckenburg G2G5 (5.6k points)
+10 votes
William Douglas and I are 17th cousins, once removed on my maternal side.  Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. and I are 10th cousins, 5 times removed on my paternal side.
by Pamela Parker G2G6 Mach 3 (37.6k points)
+10 votes

Ancestors and Cousins

  • 18 degrees - Oliver Wendell Holmes - (12th cousin, 5x removed)
  • 19 degrees - Potter Stewart - (10th cousin, 2x removed)
  • 19 degrees - William Douglas - (12th cousin, 1x removed)

Connections

  • 17 degrees - John Jay
  • 23 degrees - Louis Brandeis
  • 24 degrees - Abe Fortes
  • 24 degrees - Antonin Scalia
  • 31 degrees - Thurgood Marshall
  • 35 degrees - Ruth Ginsburg
by Shonda Feather G2G6 Pilot (433k points)
edited by Shonda Feather
+8 votes

25 degrees from John Jay

45 degrees from Ruth Badger Ginsburg

32 degrees from Antonin Scalia 

28 degrees from Louis Brandies

30 degrees from Abe Fortas

37 degrees from Thurgood Marshall

25 degrees from William Douglas

23 degrees from Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

26 degrees from Potter Stewart

by Roy Tonkin G2G Astronaut (3.7m points)
+10 votes
He's not shown above, but John Paul Stevens is my fourth cousin twice removed through ancestors Aaron Cass and Ruth Bull.
by K. Anonymous G2G6 Pilot (148k points)
+9 votes

John Jay is 18 degrees 

William Orville Douglas (1898-1980) is my 8th cousin 4x removed. 

Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (1841 - 1935) is my 12th cousin 4x removed

Potter Stewart (1915 - 1985)  is my 8th cousin 3x removed

Others are not listed as

Oliver Ellsworth (1745 - 1807) is my 3rd cousin 9x removed

Isaac Newton Blodgett (1838 - 1905) is my 5th cousin 5x removed 

Ward Hunt (1810 - 1886) is my 4th cousin 6x removed

Samuel M. Blatchford (1820 - 1893) is my 5th cousin 6x removed

by Andrew Simpier G2G6 Pilot (708k points)
edited by Andrew Simpier

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