We had a few good laughs when cousin Glen Winans sent us this chart. What a trip to think we're actually related to two United States presidents! Of course, we know that 8g-grandfather Cornelis Melyn must have thousands, if not millions, of descendants by now, especially via his daughter Susannah, who married John Winans. So the likelihood of one of us who is descended from these early settlers being related to anybody we might run into on the street is rather high.
Just for fun, we'll reproduce here, via the magic of HTML, the chart Glen sent us...
| Gen. | CAREY | WINANS | BUSH | PLUMB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cornelis Melyn1 m. Janetje Adriaens | |||
| 2 | Susannah Melyn m. John Winans | Cornelia Melyn | ||
| m1 Jacob Loper | m2 Jacob Schellinger | |||
| 3 | Conrad Winans | John "II" Winans | Johanna Lopers | Abraham Schellinger |
| 4 | Jonathan Winans | Lewis Winans | Cornelia Beekman | Amy Schellinger |
| 5 | Samuel Winans | Benjamin Winans | James Livingston | Abraham Plumb |
| 6 | Stephen Winans | John B. Winans | Gilbert Livingston | Joseph Plumb |
| 7 | Hannah Winans | Benjamin F. Winans | Judith Livingston | Ralph Plumb |
| 8 | David C. Carey | James William Winans | Courtland Butler | Joseph H. Plumb |
| 9 | Samuel Winans Carey | George Owen Winans | Mary Butler | Fayette R. Plumb |
| 10 | David H. Carey | Glen Richard Winans | Flora Sheldon | William D. Plumb |
| 11 | Charles W. Carey | Eric Paul Winans | Sen. Prescott Sheldon Bush | Fayette R. Plumb II |
| 12 | David G. Carey | Matthew Winans | Pres. George H. W. Bush | Marilyn Plumb |
| 13 | Cayla Carey | Pres. George W. Bush | Claire Cheney | |
Glen included his child and grandchild in the chart and we've taken the liberty of adding our own. We hope Dave and Cayla don't mind.
After copying Glen's chart, I remembered that I have yet another connection to Cornelis Melyn. After my aunt Pat married that handsome sailor (I can't believe it's been 60 years!), he showed me his family tree and I discovered I was related to my new uncle Fayette Rumsey Plumb II in more ways than by marriage. As you can see in the chart above, uncle Fay and both Bushes are descended from Cornelis' daughter Cornelia, albeit from different husbands. I've added his line, including his genealogically-inclined daughter Marilyn and her daughter Claire, who is about Cayla's age. Hope you don't mind either, cousins!