Magna Carta (Great Charter) was an agreement on June 15, 1215, between John, King of England, and twenty-five rebellious barons, establishing certain limits on the authority of the king. For centuries thereafter, it was considered a foundation of English law. The ideals of Magna Carta inspired notions of individual liberty in the charters of the English colonies in North America, and later the Declaration of Independence and Constitution of the United States of America.

I am a descendant of some of the Barons through Margaret (Domville) Banks 1610 – 1667.

William Jr, son of William Marshall and Catherine Payne, was born 1658 at Allens Fresh, Charles County, MD. He died in 1698.

William Marshall Jr. is an ancestor on my mother’s side.

Born in Bavaria, Germany, Peter Rucker was an early immigrant of Virginia. Some people have concluded his wife, Elizabeth Polteney, was the (illegitimate one assumes) daughter of Moritz (Wittelsbach) von der Pfalz KG (1621-1652).

Peter Rucker is an ancestor on my mother’s side.

William West was a farmer, anti-federalist leader, revolutionary war general, and judge from Scituate, Rhode Island.

West v. Barnes, 2 U.S. (2 Dall.) 401 (1791), was the first United States Supreme Court decision and the earliest case calling for oral argument.

William West is an ancestor on my mother’s side.

I grew up hearing about Scholl from my mother’s father. They were from Pennsylvania. Here is a link to a book one of the family members wrote.

This was cool to find. A watch with my last name on it for the James Bond 007 movie, Spectre.

Gauss is used for the Prince of Mathematics, Carl Friedrich Gauss. (no relation)

Gauss was also on money in Germany before the Euro.

My great grandfather was a Doctor at Penn State and my grandfather was born in Philadelphia while he worked at Thomas Jefferson University. Growing up hearing about Philadelphia and Penn State is why I went to The Art Institute of Philadelphia.

I traced my father’s side back to 1800s Baltimore, South Baltimore, Brooklyn.