How Many Ancestors Do You Have?

Try a little arithmetic, based on the undebateable fact that it took two people, your parents to get you here. Each of your parents have two parents. So in the generation prior to your mother and father, there were four people whose pairing off and sharing love contributed to your existence.

You are the product of eight-great-grandparents, sixteen-great-great-grandparents, thirty-two-great-great-great-grandparents etc.. Keep multiplying that number by two. If you figure an average of twenty-five years between each generation, you'll discover in a scant 500 years there were 1,048,576 people on this planet, beginning to produce YOU.

Attributed to the Rev. Gene Britton

-------------------------1--YOU
-------------------------2-parents
-------------------------4-grandparents
-------------------------8-great-grandparents
-----------------------16-gg-grandparents
-----------------------32-ggg-grandparents
-----------------------64-gggg-grandparents
---------------------128-ggggg-grandparents
---------------------256-gggggg-grandparents
---------------------512-ggggggg-grandparents
------------------1,024-gggggggg-grandparents
------------------2,048-ggggggggg-grandparents
------------------4,096-gggggggggg-grandparents
------------------8,192-ggggggggggg-grandparents
----------------16,184-gggggggggggg-grandparents
----------------32,768-ggggggggggggg-grandparents
----------------65,536-gggggggggggggg-grandparents
--------------131,072-ggggggggggggggg-grandparents
--------------262,144-gggggggggggggggg-grandparents
--------------524,288-ggggggggggggggggg-grandparents
-----------1,048,576-gggggggggggggggggg-grandparents
-----------2,097,152-ggggggggggggggggggg-grandparents

How Many Ancestors Do You Have.pdf

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I still have a few to find then:)

That is so simple but FASCINATING!

Thanks

Carol

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Surely these calculations will be different where cousins marry each other!

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In reality the number of ancestors would not be anything like what is listed on the chart as there are so many variables that would have to be taken into account. In an area like the Forest you would of course get many cousins marrying each other, be that they were 1st, 2nd, 3rd and so on, which changes the whole equation.

I would imagine the chart was originally put together just to bring to the attention that what ever the circumstances are you have got one heck of a lot of ancestors.

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3098 views

I once showed that chart to my son who stared for a moment then looked at me and said
"I don't have to remember all their birthdays do I?"

He scored a point for making me laugh out loud

Ann

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Yes these figures will vary, but the one thing we have to accept is we all share common ancestors, and depending on how far you want to go back, taking into account that our earliest ancestors probably came out of Africa, so they were probably black. And nothing, not nationality, race, or religion can seperate any of us from that fact. Some people don't like it, but I think it's great to be a human being before anything else.
This does also highlight the nonsense that exists when people say they are related to some famous person from 500 or more years ago, especially if you take into accoun t back then the countries population was only about 3 million. These figures are only taking into account the count back from you, 2, 4, 8 etc. Start from a point 500 years ago, a family with 4 children, who in turn have 4 children, and do the maths following each line forward and there will probably be several hundred million relations in this world today, we are all related to everybody else.
Rambling Sid Rumpold

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How Many Ancestors Do You Have? (General)