Coffee makes us severe, and grave, and philosophical. ~ Jonathan Swift

Happy 4th Blogiversary (yesterday) to
Schmaltz und Grieben mit Alois, Klaus, Deb und der Lugersand
Happy 2nd Blogiversary to
Wilmette

I stopped doing a First Cup posts on Sundays, but after missing yesterdays and noticing a few interesting things this morning, here is a cup for your Sunday morning.

I read good posts commenting the same story on three of my daily read blogs, Iowa Voice, Captain’s Quarters, and Outside the Beltway.

Here are the first three paragraphs of Romney family tree has polygamy branch

While Mitt Romney condemns polygamy and its prior practice by his Mormon church, the Republican presidential candidate’s great-grandfather had five wives and at least one of his great-great grandfathers had 12.

Polygamy was not just a historical footnote, but a prominent element in the family tree of the former Massachusetts governor now seeking to become the first Mormon president.

Romney’s great-grandfather, Miles Park Romney, married his fifth wife in 1897. That was more than six years after Mormon leaders banned polygamy and more than three decades after a federal law barred the practice.

Captain Ed titled his post … And Brigham Young’s Great-Great-Great-Grandson Won A Super Bowl and had this to say:

From Brian:

James Joyner at Outside the Beltway agreed with Ed’s headline.

All three posts were made yesterday afternoon. The genealogists employed by TOM must be working overtime this weekend. (Ironically, genealogy is a large part of the culture of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.) This morning’s family history lesson? Report: Family ties Sharpton to Thurmond

Geneaologists have found that civil rights activist the Rev. Al Sharpton is a descendent of a slave owned by relatives of the late Sen. Strom Thurmond, a newspaper reported Sunday.

The Daily News said professional genealogists, working at the newspaper’s behest, recently uncovered the ancestral ties between one of the nation’s best known black leaders and a man who was once a prominent defender of segregation.

“I have always wondered what was the background of my family,” the newspaper quoted Sharpton as saying. “But nothing — nothing — could prepare me for this.”

“It’s chilling. It’s amazing.”

Genealogy is a fascinating hobby. It’s relevance to current events and the people involved in those events is interesting but nothing more. Interesting does not equal relevant.