Genealogy, Beginning to End: A fascinating trail through history

Flight of King Gradlon from the sinking city of Ys - 1884 painting by by Evariste-Vital Luminais. King Gradlon ap Conan, nephew of Ireland’s Saint Patrick, is a direct ancestor of my children. Genealogy of this entire, well documented line from my two kids to Gradlon’s great grandfather Potitus, a Christian missionary sent from Rome to Britain, can be found at WikiTree.com

The purpose of this long post is to keep a record of the “spine” of my family genealogy—the heartwood of the family tree, so to speak. 

There are two parts to my Genealogy quest, and this post only covers the more dramatic one (the 'fun stuff').  It documents a direct, unbroken line of ancestry from my children, through their mother, and on back into the dim reaches of human pre-history, generation by generation.

The second part traces the roots of me—my direct ancestry—and features historic photos and links to family history stories that I've written about some of my special ancestors.  Go to this post to find the master list of my ancestors, with clickable links to individual posts with their in-depth stories.

So ... now to the 'Fun Stuff.'  It involves tracking ancestors down a single genealogical pathway back into the deep past.  This has been a revelation, wonderfully educational and utterly captivating. The sequence of ancestors presented here is one that was current on WikiTree, the public free genealogy site back in 2018.  Work on these ancestors is shared by many volunteers, and occasionally connections get "broken".  A check in November 2022 found the connection posted below to have some breaks, though the direct ancestral link between my kids and King Gradlon remains intact.  There are several different genealogical paths to that semi-legendary ancestor.  In any case, it can be said that source material is trustworthy back to post-medieval times, but then the ‘facts’ begin to blend into myth and legend.

For those in a hurry here’s a summary. Besides King Gradlon and his uncle St. Patrick, other notable figures in history that this trail passes through are:

1. 1630’s Jamestown colonist Elizabeth Butler Claiborne: namesake to, and ancestor of, fashion designer Liz Claiborne
2. 1215 Magna Carta Surety Baron Henry de Bohun (the direct link to him is broken, but my kids descend from several of the other Surety Barons who were present at that landmark event (and they also directly descend from the signer, King John himself!)
3. 385 St. Patrick of Ireland’s nephew King Gradlon pictured in the painting at the top of this post
4. Joses, brother of Jesus of Nazareth
5. Nearly all the historical kings of Judea and the 21st dynasty of Egyptian Pharaohs
6. The biblical genealogy back to Noah and Adam

From Adam’s time I follow the family line in general terms back to the origin of life. And I don’t stop there. I propose a mega-cycle that continues the line from a previous ‘parent universe’ in a process described by a number of prominent physicists (see the headline graphic from this post, which comes from Alan Guth's 1997 book, page 262 in particular, and discussions here, here, here, here, and here, etc.) and given fictional treatment in my ‘Eden’s Womb’ novel. Although my ‘genealogy’ is fictional at that point, it is based on real physics that should be testable and would solve a number of mysteries including the ‘problem of fine tuning of the universe’. Just as we evolved from simple single celled beings through the fine-tuning of our DNA over trillions of generations, there may also be a family tree of evolving universes going back trillions and trillions of generations.

"My genes were there!"

Here's the generation-by-generation listing:

• 1. My kids, both holding Engineering degrees from U of MD.  Born and grew up in MD

• 2. Their mom, born in NJ, lived on Long Island, Hawaii, Georgia, and elsewhere—father was civilian working for the US Army. Moved to MD after college, long career at Lockheed Martin Aerospace
• 3. Their Grandma BB born in Gordon, Co., GA. Met husband in NY City area. Nurse. Passed away at age 95.
• 4. Her mother, “Annie” Smith (1899-1982) of Whitfield County, GA. Statuesque and lean. Photo composite of her, her daughter BB, and her granddaughter is at right above.

• 5. Abner ‘Ab’ Andrew Willis Smith (1860-1943) of Whitfield Co. GA, 6’5” tall. In his later years, according to grandma BB, he always wore a suit -- even to bed! Photo at right.
• 6. Charles Smith (1819-1900) moved family from Spartanburg Co., SC to Gordon Co., GA (immediately south of Whitfield Co.)
• 7. Holman R. Smith (1783-1855) moved with parents from Goochland Co, VA on the James River above Richmond, to Spartanburg, SC.
• 8. Sarah Rice (1749-1817) born in Goochland Co., Va where she married Edward Smith, D.A.R. Patriot, Ancestor #105159
• 9. Charles Rice (1715-1785) born in Hanover Co., VA, just E of Richmond, moved west to Goochland Co. at about age 2.
• 10. Mary Claiborne (1694-1760) Orphaned at age 11, raised by governess Madam Leticia Newell. Born and married in Hanover Co, VA, moved to Goochland County with her husband and young children in about 1717
• 11. William Claiborne III (~1660-1705) justice and lieutenant colonel of militia in newly formed King William Co., VA
• 12. Lt. Col. William Claiborne, Jr. (1636-1682) Tobacco grower and merchant based on a large plantation at Romancoke, VA

• 13. Elizabeth Butler (1611-1669) who married William Claiborne, Sr. (1600-1677 - Sketch at right). This is a key generation. Elizabeth Butler has well documented ancestry. She is descended from King Henry I, Charlemagne, and William the Conqueror. In the other direction she is great-great-great grandmother of William C. C. Claiborne, first governor of Louisiana, and g-g-g-g-g-g-g grandmother of and namesake of fashion designer Liz Claiborne (1929-2007), the first woman CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Elizabeth Butler is one of only 240 ‘Gateway Ancestors’ with proven lineage connecting American descendants to Medieval English Royalty/aristocracy. She emigrated from England to Kent Island, MD before 1635 and eventually settled in Jamestown, VA. Her husband arrived in the new world in 1621. He was an early surveyor of Virginia and Maryland who became a wealthy planter, a trader, and a major figure in the politics of the southern colonies. See Wikipedia article for much more.
• 14. John Butler/Boteler II (1568-1632) of Little Burch Hall, Roxwell, Essex, England. In addition to daughter Elizabeth, two sons were early pioneers and settlers of Kent Island, originally part of Virginia Colony, then Maryland.
• 15. Cresset St. John (1540-1580) One of four illegitimate daughters of knight and aristocrat John St. John. Her parents later married. She married John Butler, Esq., who would have been beneath her station but for her status as an illegitimate child.
• 16. John St. John (1495-1558) of Bledsoe, Bedfordshire, England. Owned four major estates and held the following positions: 1. Knight of the Body to King Henry VIII, 1516; 2. Justice of the Peace for Bedfordshire, 1528-58; 3. Sheriff of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire, 1529-30, 1534-5, 1549-50; 4. Knight of the Shire for Bedfordshire, 1529, 1539, 1542; 5. Guardian to Princess Mary Tudor (later Queen Mary I) 1536; 6. Chamberlain of the Household to Princess Elizabeth Tudor (later Queen Elizabeth I).
• 17. John St. John KB (1450-1525) Knight Bachelor. Held the following lands: Bletsoe, Keysoe, Riseley, and Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire, Paulerspury, Northamptonshire, Ashmore, Dorset. He was Sheriff of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire (1501-2, 1515-16).
• 18. John St. John, Esq. (1426-1488) Uncle of King Henry VII. He claimed knighthood, but recently uncovered evidence refutes that. Owned estates at (1) Bletsoe, Bedfordshire, (2) Paulerspury, Northamptonshire, and (3) Fonman and Penmark, Glamorganshire, Wales
• 19. Margaret Beauchamp (1410-1482) Duchess of Somerset, Countess of Kendale. Her mother, Edith Stourton, is directly descended from King John (who signed the Magna Carta - see below) and the earlier Plantagenet line of Kings of England. 
  
  In 1420 at the age of 10 Margaret inherited from her deceased brother, John Beauchamp, the manors of Bletsoe and Keysoe, Bedfordshire, as well as Ashmore in Dorset and Lydiard Tregoze, Wiltshire.
• 20. Sir John Beauchamp (1384-1412) 3rd Lord Beauchamp of (1) Bletsoe and Keysoe, Bedfordshire, (2) Bloxham, Oxfordshire, (3) Lydiard Tregoze, Wiltshire, and (4) Ashmore, Dorset.
• 21. Sir Roger Beauchamp (1362-1406) 2nd Lord Beauchamp. Among many other activities and duties he attended King Richard II in the retinue of Thomas, Duke of Gloucester, on a trip to Ireland in 1395.
• 22. Sir Roger de Beauchamp (1335-1374) Married very wealthy heiress Joan Clopton, much increasing his fortunes. In 1367 he traveled to Prussia, and to France in 1373.
• 23. Roger Beauchamp (1315-1380) Titles: King's yeoman, Queen's Bachelor, Keeper of Devizes Castle, Chamberlain of the Household to King Edward III, Captain of Calais.
• 24. Roger Beauchamp (1273-1320) He was placed in the Catholic Church as a youth, destined to become clergy. He apparently made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. But fortunately for our line, he left the church, married and had just one child.
• 25. Alice Toeni (de Tony) (1254-1347) lived a very long interesting life after becoming a widow in 1302. Traveled abroad and appeared in numerous proceedings, including one in 1334 cited by the Pope.
• 26. Alice de Bohun (1238-1255) was entered into a marriage agreement at age 1 (1239) to four-year-old Roger de Tony whose father died at sea the same year. Roger was then made ward of Alice’s father, so they grew up in the same household, already ‘married’ as toddlers.
• 27. Sir Humphrey de Bohun (1200-1275) In 1250 he took the cross and went to the Holy Land as a crusader. Among many positions he served as High Sherriff of Kent and was one of the nine godfathers of Prince Edward, later to be Edward I of England.

• 28. Henry de Bohun (1176-1220), 1st Earl of Hereford, was one of the twenty-five medieval barons who were elected to guarantee the observance of Magna Carta, reluctantly signed by King John 15 June 1215 (see depiction). In consequence Henry was among the barons excommunicated by Pope Innocent III 16 Dec 1215. He died on pilgrimage to the Holy Land on 1 June 1220.

June 15, 1215 A.D.:Henry de Bohun and some of the other Surety Barons watch as King John reluctantly signs the Magna Carta, opening a gateway to democracy in England.

• 29. Humphrey IV de Bohun (1143-1181) Constable of England, distinguished himself on the King’s side in the war of 1173-4, a period of English civil war. He sacked Berwick and led troops into Lothian against William the Lion, king of Scots, etc.
• 30. Margaret FitzMiles (1125-1187) of Gloucester, heiress to one of the most substantial fiefs in the Welsh Marches. Wife of Humphrey II de Bohun, Anglo-Norman aristocrat and steward of King Henry I.
• 31. Sybil Neufmarché (1093-1143) of Gloucester. Between 10 April and 29 May, 1121, Miles of Gloucester was granted by Royal Charter, Sibyl with all the possessions of her father and of her mother, to wife. They were married at Llanthony Priory, Gloucs
• 32. Nesta "Agnes" Osbern (1085-1121) daughter and heir of Osbern fitz Richard, granddaughter of Welsh King Gruffudd ap Llywelyn. Married Bernard de Neufmarché.
• 33. Nest ferch Gruffydd (1059-1153) of Rhuddlan, Flintshire, Wales. Second of two daughters by the same name, born 1056. She married Trahaearn ap Caradog. This man, in 1075, succeeded Bleddyn ap Cynfyn as king of Powys, and probably also king of Gwynedd.

One Thousand Years Ago!

• 34. Gruffydd ap Llywelyn (1011-1063), the last native Prince of Wales. See Wikipedia article.  King of Powys by birthright and of the rest of Wales by Conquest (see map) An aggressive and powerful ruler of Gwynedd from 1039 to 1063, he invaded England twice. He was slain by his own men somewhere in Snowdonia on 5 August 1063 and his empire did not survive intact, perhaps because his sons were too young to succeed him.
• 35. Llewelyn ap Seisyll (0980-1021) Little is known about Llywelyn's father Seisyll, who may not have been of royal blood. Our line continues through his mother …
• 36. Prawst ferch Elise (0940-1035) of Gwynedd, Wales. Married Seisyll ab Ednywain. They had two known children.
• 37. Elise ab Anarawd (0885-0942) of Aberffro, Malltraeth, Angelsey, Wales. He was slain in battle against the Danes.
• 38. Anarawd ap Rhodri (0857-0915), Mawr (“The Great”), Prince of Wales, King of Aberfraw. One of the three “bandlet-wearing (golden fetters)” chieftains of Britain, along with Cadell, King of Dinevwr and Merwyn, King of Mathraval.
• 39. Rhodri ap Merfyn (0820-0878) King of Powys by 855 and most of Wales, 872-878. Defeated an invasion of Danes 856, fled briefly to Ireland in defeat from a Viking invasion, 867. He was killed in battle fighting an English army. His mother was …
• 40. Nest ferch Cadell (0795-0831) was the daughter of Cadell ap Elise (Elisedd), a late 8th century King of Powys, the wife of Merfyn Frych, King of Gwynedd. Her mother was …
• 41. Esyllt verch Dindaethwy (0770-0816), some debate whether daughter Nest was actually her mother or vice-versa, and which one was the wife of Cadell. Her father was…
• 42. Cynan Dindaethwy Rhodri (0734-0817) King of Gwynedd (798-816) in medieval north-west Wales, also called King of the Britons.
• 43. Rhodri ap Idwal (c. 690-c. 754) also known as Rhodri Molwynog ('the Bald and Gray'), King of Gwynedd, son of Idwal Iwrch and his wife, Princess Angharad (Agatha) of Brittany.
• 44. Agatha of (Brittany) Bretagne (0660-?) Her father …
• 45. Alain “Hir” de Bretagne (0625-0690) born at Rennes, Ille-et-Vilaine, Bretagne, France. His father …
• 46. Judicael (Bretagne) ap Hoel (0590-0658) Saint Judicael, of Gaël, Ille-et-Vilaine, Bretagne, France. His father …
• 47. Hoel III ap Alain (0580 - 0612) Saint Hoel, "King of Domnonia," King of Brittany. .
• 48. Alain I ap Hoel, (547-635) of Cornouaille, Ille-et-Vilaine, Bretagne, France
• 49. Hoel II Fychan des Cornouailles (522-547) Also called Howel "the Small."
• 50. Hoel I Mawr “The Great” (491-545), King of Brittany.  His historical life intertwines with legend in which he was said to be a nephew of the famous High-King Arthur of Britain. Tradition says he spent much of his youth at the King's Court and, although he returned to Brittany when his father was recalled, he was soon asked back to help his uncle overcome the Saxon scourge. See Wikipedia Article for more.

King Hoel comes to Aleth to receive the blessing of Saint Malo, from a stained glass window at Réguiny, Brittany, France

• 51. Burdic II de Bretagne (470-544) When the Breton King (probably the childless Rivod) died it is said that his people desired Budic to be their King. So he returned in triumph to a kingdom that became known as Cornouaille Budic in his honour.
• 52. Roi Eric de Bretagne (449-478) King Rivod's uncle, Erich, may have held the Breton throne for a short time in his twilight years.
• 53. Roi Aldrien Selyfan de Bretagne (431-465) it was to the young Aldrien that Gwithilin, the Archbishop of London, travelled with a deputation to offer him the British High-Throne. There had been no monarch in Britain since the Emperor Gracian's death, and the Roman army and administration had decided to completely withdraw back to Rome. Aldrien was aware of the chaotic state of the country, and of the damage incurred from invading Picts, Saxons and Irish. He was, therefore, unwilling to take on the kingdom but sent his brother, Constantine, in his place.
• 54. Roi Selyfan Salomon I de Bretagne (406-446) High-King of Cornouaille at Brittany, France.
• 55. Gradlon Mawr, King of Cornouaille (386-435) *SEE PAINTING* Gradlon's main power-base was Cornouaille and his capital was the beautiful city of Caer Ys which stood in, what is now, the Bay of Douarnenez. It was a low lying city with a large dyke to keep back the sea. Gradlon kept the key to the sluice gates hung around his neck at all times. One night, however, the evil Dahut stole the key while her father was sleeping and slipped away to open the gates in some sort of sadistic game. The raging sea immediately invaded the city. Gradlon awoke with barely enough time to jump on his horse and race ahead of the torrential waves. Spying his daughter in the streets, and being unaware of her crimes, he just managed to pull her up behind him. On they rode ahead of the waves until they reached higher ground where St.Gwenole was waiting. "Cast off the demon that is riding behind you!" he cried, but Gradlon did not understand the saint. So Gwendole pushed Dahut into the sea himself, and immediately the waves were calm once more.

• 56. Dareca verch Calpurnius (365-387) sister of St. Patrick of Ireland (picture at right is from a stained glass window at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, Junction City, Ohio), Dareca is claimed to be the mother of a dozen or more other Catholic Saints
• 57. Calpurnius (345-410) Roman citizen, Decurion and deacon assigned to Britain
• 58. Potitus of Bretagne (325-410), early catholic priest in the town now called Ravenglass, Cumbria
• 59. Odyssus the Japhethite (305-389) Genealogy from here back to Joses, brother of Jesus, comes from David Hughes, “The British Chronicles” (2007), Vol. 2, Table 27A, page 466 (see chart below).

• 60. Marchudd/Morgan Mwnfawr of Garth Madrun (278-355)
• 61. Ottavius Desposyni (latinized name) (258-299), brother of Athrwys, speculated as possibly being the mythical King Arthur, but see Generation 50 for another speculation.
• 62. Meurig (Meuric) (239-299)
• 63. Connudh, King of Gwent and Glywysing (210-277)
• 64. Llebryn (Leobut Luibuirne) (189-268)
• 65. Maxime (Maximus) (160-220)
• 66. Othrac Desposyni (135-190)
• 67. Enciede “Ere” (Encride) (99-160)
• 68. Emanuel ‘Rise’, aka Leo, (67-165) brother of Gwladys Desposyni
• 69. Sarclotus/Siarclus Desposyni (42-110)
• 70. Jasna Piliste, “the Philistine” (17-98) end of use of Genealogy from David Hughes, The British Chronicles (2007), Vol. 2, Table 27A; see also Brian Starr, The Life of Saint Brychan (2008), 113-114.
• 71. Joses ‘ha-Rama-Theo’—(meaning ‘of the Crowned Prince’) possibly distorted to ‘Arimathea’ (abt. 7BC – 60AD), Brother of Yehoshua/Jesus the Savior. Probably engaged in his father’s carpentry business in Nazareth and probably believed his famous brother was not divine. The early cult of Jesus was strongest among Jerusalem’s urban poor.

• 72. Joseph, (44 BC or 29 BC – 23 or 26 AD), husband of the Virgin Mary. Painting at right by Guido Reni, ca. 1635, depicts Joseph holding the infant Jesus.
• 73. Jacob Nasi (75 BC - ? BC), Here the genealogy from the Gospel of Matthew is followed
• 74. Matthan (110 - ? BC) Land owner, sheep herder
• 75. Eleazar (Ezar Lazar) (141 - ? BC)
• 76. Elihud (172 - ? BC) See Matthew 1:12-17 for these generations
• 77. Achim or Akhim (193 - ? BC), Husband of Asbaoda
• 78. Sadoc (224 - ? BC), Husband of Kaltimi
• 79. Azor (255 - ? BC), Husband of Lebaida
• 80. Eliakim (286 - ? BC), different from the Old Testament Eliakim, Son of Hilkiah, who was finance minister for king Hezekiah
• 81. Abihud (317 - ? BC)
• 82. (Levite, no name given) ben Akkub (348 - ? BC), Head of the Nethinim—temple servants at Jerusalem
• 83. Akkub (379 - ? BC), the last named ‘Exhilarch’ of Judah (Kings in exile, leader of the captives of Babylon) – See I Chronicles, Chapter 3 for this genealogy. He was gate keeper in the Temple of Jerusalem
• 85. Neari’ah (439 - ? BC) one of six sons
• 86. Shemai’ah (470 - ? BC)
• 87. Shechani’ah (501 - ? BC), brother of the prophet Obadiah
• 88. Hanani’ah (532 - ? BC), one brother and one sister listed in I Chronicles 3:19

• 89. Zorobabel or Zerubbabel (560 – 510 BC) 8th Governor of Judah, 3rd Exhilarch (King in exile). Began the rebuild of the Temple in Jerusalem.
• 90. Pedaiah (585 - ? BC), Brother of Salathiel, who died childless. Wife Hadast, daughter of Neri, was married to Salathiel first.
• 91. Jeconiah (616-561 BC), 21st King of Judah. From here we follow the documented historical genealogy rather than the biblical one, which was ‘contaminated’ by superstition and dogma of the time. Nearly all of these kings through the next 20 generations have Wikipedia pages with much more detail.
• 92. Jehoiakim (633 - ? BC), Birth name Iliakim, 20th king of Judah, died in exile in Babylon
• 93. Josiah (Yoshiyahu) (648-649 BC) 18th king of Judah, died at Megiddo
• 94. Amon (664-640 BC) 17th King of Judah, assassinated
• 95. Manasseh (709-642 BC) 16th King of Judah
• 96. Hezekiah (741-687 BC) 15th King of Judah, wife may have been the daughter of the prophet Isaiah
• 97. Ahaz (753-716 BC) 14th King of Judah
• 98. Jotham (773-732 BC) 13th King of Judah.  Contemporary with the prophets Isaiah, Hosea, Amos, and Micah.
• 99. Uzziah (812-739 BC) 12th King of Judah, caught leprosy in 750
• 100. Amaziah (849-767 BC) 11th King of Judah, assassinated
• 101. Jehoash (871-796 BC) 10th King of Judah, assassinated by his own servants
• 102. Ahaziah / Ozias (893-841 BC) 8th King of Judah, slain by King Jehu of Israel, as was his father
• 103. Jehoram (910-841 BC) 7th King of Judah, slain by King Jehu of Israel
• 104. Jehoshaphat (930-848 BC) 6th King of Judah
• 105. Asa (950-870 BC) 5th King of Judah, his mother descended from Moses and from the Pharaohs of 21st Dynasty Egypt. We do not follow this line through the Pharaohs here, but . . .

My Genes Built the Pyramids!

My son visits the pyramids during a 2016 work trip.

• 106. Abijah (970-911 BC) 4th King of Judah, had 14 wives, 22 sons, and 11 daughters
• 107. Rehoboam (1002-913 BC) 3rd King of Judah and 4th King of Israel, had 18 wives, 60 concubines, 28 sons, and 60 daughters
• 108. Solomon (? - 930 BC) 2nd King of Judah, had 700 wives of Royal Birth
• 109. David (1032-973 BC) 1st King of Judah and Israel
• 110. Jesse / Yishai (1078 - ? BC) Prominent farmer in Bethlehem. From here back to Adam we follow the biblical roots of what is commonly called the Tree of Jesse. This term is based on the text of Isaiah 11:1 "And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots." This is said to be the origin of, and first use of a tree to depict genealogy.
• 111. Obed the Ephratite (1125 - ? BC)
• 112. Boaz (1150 - ? BC) Wealthy land-owner of Bethlehem, husband of Ruth, the subject of the Biblical book of the same name
• 113. Salmon (1214 - ? BC) Born in the Sinai Wilderness, entered the Promised Land after the 40 year sojourn from Egypt
• 114. Nashon (1339 - ? BC) Tribal leader of the Judahites during the Exodus, initiated the parting of the Red Sea by wading into the water
• 115. Amminadab (1464 - ? BC) Elderly man during the Exodus from Egypt. Was carried on a litter.
• 116. Ram (1589-1464BC) Born in Egypt, his wife was the daughter of Moses
• 117. Hezron (1715 - ? BC) Appointed by Moses, at the command of God, to be Prince of the tribe of Judah
• 118. Perez (Phares) (1738-1638 BC) twin brother of Zerah
• 119. Judah (1805-1676 BC) 4th son of Jacob and Leah, founder of the tribe of Judah
• 120. Jacob a.k.a. Israel (1892-1745 BC) Moved to Egypt to escape a severe drought in Canaan. His twelve sons founded the twelve tribes of Israel
• 121. Isaac (1922-1742 BC) Only son of Abraham and Sarah. Said to have been born when Sarah was an old woman.
• 122. Abraham, birth name Abram (2052-1877 BC). Celebrated as the founding father of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

• 123. Terah (2122-1917 BC) Born in Ur, which is most likely at the western fringe of the biblical Garden of Eden. Idolatrous priest who manufactured idols, but later repented. Initiated the family migration to Canaan, depicted at right in a late 19th century watercolor by James Tissot.
• 124. Nahor (2151-2003 BC) King of Ur and Agade
• 125. Serug (2181-1951 BC) King/Governor of Ur and Agade
• 126. Reu (or Ragau) (2213-1974 BC) King of Lagash
• 127. Peleg (Phalag) (2243-2004 BC) During his life the Earth was ‘divided’ following the failure at the Tower of Babel
• 128. Eber (2277-1813 BC) called Heber in the gospel of Luke, eponym of the Hebrews
• 129. Shelah/Salah of Chaldea (2307-1874 BC)
• 130. Cainan (2324 - ? BC) inventor of Astronomy and Astrology
• 131. Arphaxad (2342-1904 BC) born two years after the Great Flood
• 132. Shem (2454-1842 BC) Rode on the ark during the flood, originator of the Semites
• 133. Noah (2948-1948 BC) builder of the Ark
• 134. Lamech (3130-2353 BC) died at age 777, five years before the Great Flood
• 135. Methuselah (3317-2348 BC) oldest biblical man, lived to age 969
• 136. Enoch (3382-3317 BC) biblical tradition says he did not die but was taken up to heaven (or back to Eden) by God
• 137. Jared (3544-2582 BC) second oldest biblical figure, lived to age 962
• 138. Mahalalel (3609-2714 BC)
• 139. Kenan (3679-2769 BC)
• 140. Enosh (3769-2864 BC) First son of Seth
• 141. Seth (3874-2962 BC) Third son of Adam and Eve, who married Azura (“Azzie” in the Eden’s Womb novel – see further discussion under ‘Adam’ in the next generation.)
• 142. Adam (4004-3070 BC) Adam Timberfell, 'first man' who was then given the woman Eve (Evelyn Treatsoil). The novel series Eden’s Womb, depicts a scenario in which this couple were actually and physically the only humans on Earth and indeed in our universe. How? They survived a quantum initiation of a new child universe from the parent (ancestor) universe of their origin (whose originating God was called ‘Naja’)

In the rendition above (William Blake, 1794), the originating god, "Ancient of Days," is depicted as male. “Who ever heard of a male giving birth?” is the indignant response from Naja, who was female, as are all progenitors of newborn child universes. See the Eden’s Womb story for more detail.

• 143. In Eden’s Womb, Adam was the son of Josephus Timberfell and Mariah Thaw, who lived in the far distant future in a universe with a history roughly, but not exactly, parallel to our own. Both Josephus and Mariah trace their ancestry back seventeen generations to the legendary founding figures Luke and Elayne at the time of a sudden massive storm very reminiscent of the storm in the movie “Day After Tomorrow,” which initiated an ice age. (I outlined the Eden’s Womb story in 1972, long before Day after Tomorrow came out.)

The fictional family tree from Eden’s Womb continues from Adam and his immediate ancestors back through a ‘future history of Earth’ and presumes that Adam’s ancestors trace their lineage back to our time in our real world, and then on back through history to our own “Adam and Eve”.

The Cyclical nature of this genealogy is at once the mystery and the revelation that is the ‘Core Narrative’ of the Eden’s Womb story. Its key message (it’s “Gospel”) is that our universe has all the properties of a living being. It is born, dies, and reproduces, directed by self-replicating, quantum-mutating ‘DNA’ and has its own ancestral family tree tracing back from the first crude, sterile universes originating out of ‘Eternal Inflation’ (the randomly initiated quantum event that is our Source).  See the Firestorm in the Wilderness page for much more detail.

The seventh and final book of the Eden’s Womb series finds Adam, Eve, and their children living just outside the Garden of Eden. Adam and his young daughter Azzie (Azura), uncover a shocking secret that exposes the full magnitude and complexity of the uber-world where universes live and die and interact with one another in families, tribes, and communities.

• 144. Before humans began to survive the transcendence cycle from parent universe to child universe, life was transferred to the child universe by the genetic material from bacteria-sized single-celled creatures who dwelled in deep bedrock called ‘Twees’. This process resembles (and is indistinguishable from) the ‘spontaneous’ creation of first life and the subsequent branching from the ‘Last Universal Common Ancestor of all life.’ But ... Returning now to what we know of our real world ancestry: below is a synopsis of this ‘Tree of Life’, traced back from the time that Adam is said to have lived (4004 BC)
• 145. The Ubaid Culture (4800-3800 BC) in lower Mesopotamia – the fertile crescent – in which people lived in mud brick houses in un-walled villages. They had agriculture and animal domestication and a complex social stratification.
• 146. Samarra Culture (5500-4800 BC) finely decorated pottery, irrigation, highly organized social structure
• 147. Halaf Culture (6100-5500 BC) decorative pottery manufactured for use in trade
• 148. The Pottery Neolithic Period (6400-6100 BC) pottery first appears
• 149. Pre-pottery Neolithic B period (7600-6400 BC) First rectangular buildings, dependence on domesticated animals
• 150. Pre-pottery Neolithic A (8800-7600 BC) small circular buildings with burials beneath the floors, first agriculture
• 151. Khiamian Culture (10,200-8800 BC) hunter-gatherers, arrowheads with lateral notches, very primitive agriculture, beginning of fertility idols and evidence of bull worship
• 152. Natufian Culture (12,500-10,200 BC) sedentary (permanent) settlements but without evidence of agriculture
• 153. Keruban Culture in the area of Palestine/Israel, and the Halfan Culture in adjacent Nile river valley (20,000-12,500 BC) microlithic stone tools (arrowheads), bow and arrow, domesticated dogs, collecting wild cereals and stone-grinding them, development of the Afro-Asiatic language
• 154. Kormusan Culture, Late Paleolithic (35,000-20,000 BC) Stone and bone tools resembling those in native North America cultures, Congo-Nostratic language
• 155. Speakers of Pan-afroasian language (65,000-35,000 BC)
• 156. Afro-Khoisan language (100,000-65,000 BC) emergence of modern human speech
• 157. Homo sapiens idaltu (200,000-100,000 BC)
• 158. Anatomically modern humans (300,000-200,000 BC)

• 159. Archaic Humans (500,000-300,000 BC), various species occupying different parts of the world
• 160. Genus Homo evolves from (splits from) the Chimpanzees, 3,000,000 BC
• 161. Australopithecus splits from Gorillas, 7M (7 million) years ago
• 162. Great apes separate from lesser apes (gibbons) 16M
• 163. Super-family Hominoidea, ancestors of apes of all sorts, 21M
• 164. Infra-order of Apes and old world monkeys, 30M
• 165. Sub-order of Simians 40M
• 166. Earliest primates (apes, monkeys, tarsiers) 63M the ‘K-T event’ that killed off dinosaurs and let mammals proliferate
• 167. Ancestors of primates and gliding mammals (colugos) 80M
• 168. Placental mammals, split from tree shrews, rodents, rabbits 100M
• 169. Non-egg-laying mammals emerge 140M
• 170. First mammals 180M
• 171. Split from extinct mammal-like reptiles, and from birds 256M
• 172. Amphibians with crude legs 365M
• 173. Lobe-finned fish that could gulp air (lungfish) 390M
• 174. Jawed fishes 480M
• 175. First vertebrates – backbones, spinal cords 530M
• 176. Cambrian explosion, very rapid evolution of life, first flatworms, animals with brain and nervous system 541M
• 177. First multi-celled animals, sponge-like 600M
• 178. Choanoflagellates, single celled animals living in colonies 900M
• 179. Emergence of sexual reproduction in Eukaryotes 1,200M
• 180. Eukaryotes, cells with nucleus and other organelles surrounded by membranes 2,100M (2.1 Billion / 2.1B)
• 181. First oxygen-breathing organisms (“animals”) 2.5B
• 182. First photosynthesis, beginning of the production of oxygen by life 3.5B
• 183. Prokaryotes, Last Universal Common Ancestor of all life 3.9B
• 184. Earliest evidence of life 4.1B
• 185. Oceans form as Earth cools 4.41B
• 186. Earth and Moon consolidate from fragments of a massive collision 4.54B
• 187. Sun and solar system form, nuclear fusion begins in the sun’s core, and the sun blinks on 4.6B
• 188. Supernova explosions in our spiral arm of the Milky Way create the heavy elements necessary for life 9B to 4.6B years ago
• 189. First stars 13.3B
• 190. Big Bang. 13.799±0.021 billion years ago. Quantum generation of false vacuum followed, after a tiny fraction of a second, by a phase change to ordinary vacuum.

In the novel series ‘Eden’s Womb’ the Big Bang is triggered within the brain of the antecessor being (‘god’), who was formerly an ordinary human, Emma (called Lissa in older editions), sister of Adam Timberfell. How this happens is described in detail, provided in the seventh book. Emma's consciousness is preserved with the content of the universe as we observe it existing within her.

Emma and Adam and all their ancestors lived in the parent universe in which the being ‘Naja’ was the ordinary life form that had triggered their Big Bang quantum tunneling-universe birth event. Naja, in turn, came from a universe ‘hosted’ by Vesper, and on back to true antiquity and the first sterile, empty universes. The genealogy continues …

• 191. Emma, parent of a universe like ours in all ways, except that Adam and Eve were real--the actual first and only humans, seeded into the Garden of Eden on an uninhabited planet by quantum tunneling from the previous generation universe.
• 192. Naja, self-styled as 'The Strongmother', supreme being of the universe in which Adam Timberfell, his sister Emma, and Evelyn Treatsoil were born and grew up.
• 193. Vesper, mother of Naja
• 194. Fawne
• 195. Calliope
• 196. Tessamine
• 197. ...
• 198. ...
• 199. ...
• 200. (unknown number of generations)
• 201. ...
• 202. ...
• 203. ...
• 204. Eeyock

The character Eeyock left information (which came to be known as the Book of Collected Inheritance) imprinted in the DNA of all subsequent universes, and so she is a character of supreme importance in the ‘Eden’s Womb’ tale. In Book Seven (The Navel of Time), we meet Eeyock. How can this be? Parent universes do not die when their children are born, no more so than your mother and father die upon your birth.

There is a place called “hyper-space,” where universes dwell.
Each one alive, and each must strive, to fight the drift toward HELL.