Which educator are you most closely connected to?

Question

To celebrate the anniversary of the birth of Maria Montessori, notable for her development of the Montessori early education method, we're featuring educators in the Connection Finder this week.

Here are other notable educators to check your connection to: 

• Mary Jane Bethune, opened Daytona Normal and Industrial Institute
• Christopher Langdell, developed law school's case method of teaching
• William Holmes McGuffey, author McGuffey's Readers
• Ellen Moberg, first Swedish training college for Kindergarten teachers (with her sister, Maria)
• Celeste Parrish, established schools in US South for illiterate adults and rural people
• Katherine Pettit, founder of first settlement school in US
• Marie Souvestre, French educator who founded England's Allenswood Boarding School
• Anne Sullivan, blind educator and Helen Keller's teacher
• Laura Ingalls Wilder, pioneer school teacher
• Emma Willard, promoter of women's education

Which one is most closely connected to you? If you're one of the 26.9 million of us who are connected to each other on our big tree you can check with the Connection Finder.

Special Feature: Check out how you're connected to other Notables, like educators, teachers, and college founders using the green MyConnections button in the upper right hand corner of these category pages.

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. Jack Nicklaus and Maria Montessori. 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 Elizabethans feature by helping to choose and improve profiles for it.

Answer 1

Closest connection: 14 degrees, Emma Willard.

Closest cousin: 6th, 3 times removed, Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Added later: The Emma Willard connection is 14 through either of my parents - and my parents were from very different backgrounds.

Answer 2

I am most closely connected to Emma Willlard at 21 degrees.

Answer 3

15 degrees from Emma Willard (5th cousins, 7x removed)
17 degrees from Laura Elizabeth Wilder (7th cousins, 5x removed)
18 degrees from Celeste Parrish
19 degrees from William McGuffey
19 degrees from Katherine Pettit
20 degrees from Maria Montessori
21 degrees from Christopher Langdell
21 degrees from Anne Macy
24 degrees from Mary Bethune
28 degrees from Ellen Moberg
28 degrees from Marie Souvestre

Answer 4

I am most closely connected to Celeste Parrish and William McGuffey at 18 degrees of separation.

• 18 degrees from Celeste Parrish
• 18 degrees from William McGuffey
• 19 degrees from Anne Macy
• 19 degrees from Katherine Pettit
• 19 degrees from Laura Elizabeth Wilder
• 19 degrees from Emma Willard
• 22 degrees from Christopher Langdell
• 22 degrees from Maria Montessori
• 29 degrees from Mary Bethune
• 32 degrees from Ellen Moberg, 
• 33 degrees from Marie Souvestre

Answer 5

My closest is Emma Willard at 17 degrees (no relationship) followed by 18 degrees to William McGuffey (no relationship) and 19 degrees to Laura Wilder (13 cousins, 5 times removed).

Answer 6

Ancestors and Cousins:

18 degrees - Laura Ingalls Wilder (15th cousin, 3x) - MRCA - John Danvers MP
21 degrees - Marcie Ruiz (19th cousin, 1x) - MRCA - John Stanley

Connections:

17 degrees - Emma Willard
18 degrees - Katherine Pettit
19 degrees - Anne Sullivan
19 degrees - Maria Montessori
19 degrees - Celeste Parrish
19 degrees - William Holmes McGuffrey
22 degrees - Christopher Langdell
29 degrees - Ellen Moberg
30 degrees - Mary Jane Bethune
30 degrees - Marie Souvestre
 

Answer 7

Wow! Forty years of family history research and only now am I discovering that I am just eight steps removed for Marie Montessori. This is particularly interesting to me because I studied her teachings when I was taking Early Childhood Education classes in college. My great-uncle Wilbur had a wife, Florence, whose sister was married to Marie's son Mario. It's a small world.

Answer 8

12 degrees from Celeste Parish.

15 degrees from Catherine Petit.

18 degrees from William McGuffey.

18 degrees from Emma Willard.13th cousin 8 times removed with her 2nd husband, Christoffel Yates, in the 9 months short marriage described as a disaster. MRCA Jeanne (Valois) de Hainaut (abt 1294 - abt 1362).

19 degrees from Anne Macey.

19 degrees from Laura Elizabeth Wilder. 11th cousin twice removed. MRCA John Puleston (bef 1492 - bef 1551).

21 degrees from Christopher Langdell.

22 degrees from Maria Montessori.

26 degrees from Mary Bethune.

27 degrees from Alexander Sutherland "A.S." Neill

29 degrees from Marie Souvestre.

31 degrees from Ellen Moberg.

No list of educators is complete without A. S. Neill.

Comments

Emma Willard is my closest connection, at just 10 degrees, through that disastrous marriage to Christopher Yates, who is my 2nd cousin 6x removed. Her wonderful first husband, John Willard, also is my cousin, at 4th cousin, 6x removed.

I connected both of those husbands to her profile. When I saw the name Christopher Yates, I had a strong hunch that he was a relative, and that was sure enough true. Let the chips fall where they may!

Answer 9

13 degrees from Emma Willard

Emma and Alexis are 3rd cousins 7 times removed.

Emma (Hart) Willard (1787-1870) and Alexis (Lovelace) Nelson are both descendants of John Stanley II (1624-1706).

Answer 10

14 Degrees from Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder, Ingalls-1, two branches (7-8), 8th cousins once removed MRCA Elizabeth (Northend) Tenney, Northend-1

14 Degrees from Emma Willard 5 branches (3-1-3-2-6)

17 Degrees from Celeste Parrish 4 branches (4-3-3-8)

18 Degrees from William Holmes McGuffey 3 branches (1-9-9)

19 Degrees from Anne Sullivan 3 branches (1-8-11)

19 Degrees from Christopher Langdell 3 branches (3-7-10)

19 Degrees from Katherine Petti 4 branches (5-3-2-10)

21 Degrees from Maria Montessori 6 branches (2-2-8-5-4-1)

29 Degrees from Ellen Moberg 3 branches (11-9-10)

29 Degrees from Marie Souvestre 4 branches (6-8-1-15)

29 Degrees from Mary Jane Bethune 5 branches (1-7-9-2-11)

Answer 11

I am 20 degrees from Maria Montessori, 32 degrees from Mary Bethune, 21 degrees from Christopher Langdell, 19 degrees from William McGuffey, 30 degrees from Ellen Moberg, 19 degrees from Celeste Parrish, 20 degrees from Katherine Pettit, 32 degrees from Marie Souvestre, 17 degrees from Anne Macy, 17 degrees from Laura Elizabeth Wilder, 14 degrees from Emma Willard

No close relative

Answer 12

• 8 Degrees to Laura Elizabeth (Ingalls) Wilder (8C 3xR), MRCA Unknown (Palmer) Rowley (abt. 1610 - 1633)
• 14 Degrees to Emma (Hart) Willard (5c 7xR), MRCA Bridget (Allgar) White (bef. 1562 - aft. 1623)
• 17 Degrees to William Holmes McGuffey
• 19 Degrees to Celestia Susannah Parrish
• 20 Degrees to Katherine Rebecca Pettit
• 20 Degrees to Christopher Columbus Langdell
• 20 Degrees to Johanna Mansfield (Sullivan) Macy
• 22 Degrees to Maria Tecla Artemesia Montessori
• 30 Degrees to Mary Jane (McLeod) Bethune
• 30 Degrees to Ellen Catharina Moberg
• 31 Degrees to Marie Claire Souvestre

Answer 13

• Laura Ingalls Wilder 8th cousin 5x removed

Answer 14

Laura Wilder -  9th cousins three times removed

Answer 15

This is the closest connection to me: 

Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder and Judy are 8th cousins 2xr

Answer 16

14 degrees from Emma Willard, but no blood relation

One cousin from this group:  Laura Ingalls Wilder--8th cousin, 3 times removed

Answer 17

16 degrees from Celeste Parrish, but not a blood relative

Cousin:  Laura Ingalls Wilder--10th cousin, 4 times removed

Answer 18

I am 20 degrees from Laura Ingalls Wilder, Annie Sullivan and Catherine Petit.

I am 19 degrees from Emma Willard.

I am a 12th cousin 3x Removed from Laura Ingalls Wilder

My husband is a 9th cousin 4 times removed from Laura Ingalls Wilder and also 19 degrees connected to Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Answer 19

Is there any reason why Charlotte Mason is not on this list? 

She was an educator. 

Does she have a profile? 

Is she connected? 

If yes, can the link be posted here.  

I am curious!! 

Thanks. 

Comments

She has a connected profile here (found with Search for her name and dates 1842–1923). But nobody mentioned her during the selection process, which also has a limit of 11 per week.

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Thanks for the link.

I am 21 degrees from Charlotte Mason.

Not related though.

Answer 20

I'm closest related to Laura Ingalls Wilder. She's my 5th Cousin, 5x Removed, assuming all is accurate, with no NPEs etc. I'm 16 degrees from her.