Leaders In-Law

Most of the leaders in the early years of the United States of America had perhaps four or five generations of ancestors in America, reducing the probability of a person finding a genetic kinship in America with these leaders. Normally, a common environment and experiences are more influential in determining a person's life and character than heredity. Prof. Max Savelle wrote in Seeds of Liberty, (Seattle: 1948), page 305, that "Ideas are never generated out of nothing; they are forged; forged out of the materials of inheritance upon the anvil of environment under the pounding of the hammers of time and experience."

One is more likely to discover the personality and character of an ancestor by noting their friends, compatriots and in-laws living in the same general locality and time period than by locating some distant ancestor or cousin. To provide some enviromental kin rather than the genetic kin that qualify for the Notable Cousins section on this site, some Leaders In-Law are presented here - perhaps others will join them.

                                     Simplified Chart of
      Peter               Gideon        Leaders In-Law        William
      MASSIE              MACON                               RANDOLPH
   _____|______         ____|_____________            __________|_______________
   |          |         |       |        |            |            |           |
 Thomas     Charles---Ann     Martha    William     Elizabeth    Isham       Thomas
 MASSIE     MASSIE    MACON   MACON     MACON       RANDOLPH     RANDOLPH    RANDOLPH
   |________                    |         |        ___|_______     |           |
   |       |                    |         |        |         |     |           |
 Peter   William   John       Frances   Martha---Richard  Mary   Jane        Mary
 MASSIE  MASSIE*   CUSTIS     JONES     MACON*   BLAND    BLAND  RANDOLPH    RANDOLPH
   |          _______|__        |                           |      |           |
   |          |        |        |                           |      |           |
 Sylvanus  John P.   Daniel---Martha-----George           Henry  Thomas      Mary R.
 MASSIE    CUSTIS    CUSTIS   DANDRIDGE  WASHINGTON       LEE    JEFFERSON   KEITH
   |         |                                              |                  |
 Thomas    George W.  *William MASSIE was 1st husband     Henry              John
 MASSIE    CUSTIS      of Martha (MACON) MASSIE BLAND     LEE                MARSHALL
   |         |                                              |
 Mary      Mary Ann CUSTIS--------------------------------Robert E. LEE
 MASSIE
   |
 James H.         Lucy Jane FREEMAN's 6-great aunt-in-law was the great aunt of
 FREEMAN          George WASHINGTON's wife, Martha (DANDRIDGE) CUSTIS, widow of
   |              the great uncle-in-law of Robert E. LEE.
 Scott C.
 FREEMAN          Lucy Jane FREEMAN's 6-great aunt-in-law was also the aunt of
   |              Lucy Jane FREEMAN's 5-great aunt-in-law.
 Lucy Jane
 FREEMAN          Lucy Jane FREEMAN's 5-great aunt-in-law's 2nd husband was
 GRAY             1c1r of Thomas JEFFERSON, 1c2r of John MARSHALL, and 1c3r
 LAWSON           of Robert E. LEE.

Leaders In-Law

Kinship of a Some Notable Leaders

Washington, Jefferson, Marshall and Lee