That is quite a long time ago. So, if we had ancestors from England, Ireland, Scotland, and Sweden, the odds of many of us being cousins (11th, 14th, x times removed) would be higher. What you say makes sense to me.h_p wrote:If you think about it, being 11th or 14th cousins (or x times removed) means you have a common ancestor about that many generations ago, which is actually quite a bit of time, like the 15 or 1600's.
I'm related to a lot of people in each of those groups on the site, with the exception of Mayflower people and Salem witch trials. I only found one person who I'm a direct descendant of. My family likes to claim fame in being related to Davy Crockett, but I'm only 5th cousins 6 times removed from him. I'm more closely related to Harry Truman, and almost as closely related to Barack Obama.
I'm related to the Mayflower/witch trial people (I knew that before looking at the website. One of our ancestors was killed for being a witch) - and the website says I'm related to Obama (they have his father as "unknown").
Also, it only takes one common ancestor and, like you said, quite a while ago. It doesn't mean we are so closely related that we would be attending family reunions together.
Edit. Had to take out that I'm not related to BY.