Famous Relatives?

April Fools Day seems like an appropriate occasion to post this item. What do Oliver Wendell Holmes, T.S. Eliot, Louisa May Alcott, Butch Cassidy, E.E. Cummings, Jane Austin, Henry David Thoreau, John Milton, Spencer Tracy, Jimmy Hoffa and William Lamb have in common?

If you believe the genealogy behind the beta "Find Famous Relatives" tool in Ancestry's One World Tree they all have a documented common ancestor with my late sister-in-law. They vary from 5th cousin, several time removed in the case of Milton and Cassidy, to 9th cousin.

Given that the connection is made based on family trees submitted by patrons I'm not putting much stock in the information. It does attract family interest, but it may not pay to look too closely. There are people holding high elected public office in this world I would rather not be related to, April Fools Day or any other day.