Are you within 25 steps from AJ? (Global Family Reunion)

Question

As some of you know, I'm working on a script that uses the WikiTree API to find profiles connected to AJ Jacobs. It still has problems, such as missing AJ's father's side since privacy settings don't allow me to see who his father is, but the results are still interesting. Here are the results going back 25 steps:

(link removed as it was out of date)

How many of you are within 25 steps from AJ? Are you showing up in the above list? Does the path in the list match what you found to be your path to him?

Update: My script has now been superceded with WikiTree's own connection finder:

http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Special:Connection

Comments

Does the link refresh at a certain interval? The path I just found to Romanov-42 (should be 15 steps) doesn't appear on the link provided. I did just add some of the profiles today though.

The script is amazing though!!!

---

The link doesn't refresh automatically, I run the script and upload the results manually. At the top of the page you'll see the time the script started running.

If you just connected Romanov-42 today, than it's very probable that it won't appear in the results yet. Of course, the other possibility is a bug in my script!

---

Thanks for the clarification. The script worked for the first 8 steps, the remaining steps of the 15 I had created today. So, I think it is premature to think that your script has a bug responsible for their absence.

---

Let me shoot AJ an email and see if we can reset his father's privacy to the accessible tree one, as that will open things up a bit.

---

Thank you Roland. This is amazing. So very very cool. And I think I am in fact within 25 steps of myself. Probably about four or fivve steps.

---

My browser/computer could barely handle this script.  I had to walk away and come back 20 minutes later and by then it was finished.

I am within 21, but my link runs through Victoria Kheel and James Spader and their marriage doesn't reflect on WikiTree yet.

I did find my great grandmother in the 25's.  That's not a connection I wasn't aware of, so I need to look into that.

---

AJ, you're not your own grandfather are you?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYlJH81dSiw

I'm not sure my script could handle that!

On the bright side, I think we fixed the part where the script was skipping over your father's side. I'll post an update once I have results.

---

After a bit of a hicup, the script is chugging away and it looks like there are about 50000 profiles on WikiTree within 25 steps of AJ. I'll update the results once they are ready.

---

Done! The link in the original post now points to an updated list of profiles connected to AJ within 25 steps. It took over 7 hours to generate the list and it contains 50360 profiles!

---

Looks like this hasn't been updated in a bit - I'm currently 25 steps away and don't show up on the list.

---

You're right, this hasn't been updated in a while. This was done before WikiTree had the built in capability to do the same.

---

Just FYI in case it points out a bug: I am 25 steps (through AJ's mother) and have been that way on Wikitree since Dec 2013. Not on list

Answer 1

This is phenomenal! Thanks, Roland!

Answer 2

oh, oh!!!  One of my ancestors is 24 steps away, does that count? ~tami

Comments

Why yes, yes it does! You've been cousin'd, Tami!

---

That totally counts! Glad to be official cousins Tami!

Answer 3

I think it works really well. I just traced the Albert Einstein steps that I had found previously and it matches perfectly! Nice work!!!

Answer 4

I don't show up as related to Al on the WikiTree relationship finder, but it does show that I am related to the Queen via the Queen Mother. We are 12th cousins four times removed. Our common ancestor is John Erskine.

(My kids think it's hilarious that we're also related to Camilla Parker-Bowles.)

Carole

Comments

I'm now at 25 steps from AJ and counting.

Answer 5

Had we found a connection to Abraham Lincoln yet? I can't remember. At 24 steps, Mary Cushing (Cushing-198) is Abraham Lincoln's 5th cousin 3x removed.

To make things more interesting, Mary Cushing married a Lincoln! She married Benjamin Lincoln (Lincoln-78), who is Abraham Lincoln's 6th cousin 2x removed.

If we haven't already found a connection, I'll try to figure out the shortest path between A.J. and Abe Lincoln!

Comments

Thank you, Lianne!

Answer 6

I'm going to have to link some more profiles. You just made me realize one of my ancestors is 21 steps away (Thomas Bourne).

Comments

Yay! More cousins! Thanks for helping us out, Doug!

Answer 7

So it appears that I am way more than 25 steps away. I show a relationship to the Queen and Anastasia via the relationship finder...but that makes the steps over 40! :)

Comments

I can't find the message she sent me, but Lianne had found that I was maybe around 65 steps away from AJ. My goal is to run my script with enough steps to reach me, so you'll probably fall within that range as well.

Answer 8

I'm 25 steps, or so the AJ calculator tells me. I'm not on that utility-generated list, which I guess is what you want to know?

Comments

I haven't run my script since the AJ Connection calculator was implemented on the WikiTree site itself, so don't worry if you don't appear on the list!

Answer 9

Still stuck at 26!

Answer 10

Yes! That puts me at 25 as well.

Answer 11

I'm 21 steps away.

 

http://www.wikitree.com/index.php?title=Special:Connection&action=connect&person1Name=Jacobs-2987&person2Name=Sullivan-5606

Answer 12

Yes! I finally got my connections down to 25 steps! Hooray!

 

Sharon Troy Centanne, aka Troy-204

Answer 13

Finally got to 25 after I finally figured out one of my GG grandparents on the Wheeler side.

Answer 14

I am 25 steps from AJ!!