not less than sixteen million ancestors. Of course, there was
no such number of people in all England and Normandy, at that time,
hence it is obvious that the theoretical number has been greatly reduced
in every generation by consanguineous marriages, even though they were
between persons so remotely related that they did not know they were
related. C. B. Davenport, indeed, has calculated that most persons of the
old American stock in the United States are related to each other not
more remotely than thirtieth cousins, and a very large proportion as
closely as fifteenth cousins.

[Illustration: THE SMALL VALUE OF A FAMOUS, BUT REMOTE, ANCESTOR

FIG. 41.--A living individual who was a lineal descendant of
George Washington might well take pride in the fact, but genetically
that fact might be of very little significance. The above chart shows
graphically how small a part any single ancestor plays, a few
generations back. A general high average of ability in an ancestry is
much more important, eugenically, than the appearance of one or two
distinguished individuals.]

At any rate, it must be obvious that the ancestors of any person of old
American stock living to-day must have included practically all the
inhabitants of England and Normandy, in the eleventh century. Looking
at the pedigree from the other end, William the Conqueror must have
living to-day at least 16,000,000 descendants. Most of them can not
trace back their pedigrees, but that does not alter the fact.

Such considerations give one a vivid realization of the brotherhood of
man; but they can hardly be said to justify any great pride in descent
from a family of crusaders for instance, except on purely sentimental
grounds.

Descent from a famous man or woman should not be disparaged. It is a
matter of legitimate pride and congratulation. But claims for respect
made on that ground alone are, from a biological point of view,
negligible, if the hero is several generations removed. What Sir Francis
Galton wrote of the peers of England may, with slight alterations, be
given general application to the descendants of famous people:

"An old peerage is a valueless title to natural gifts, except so far as
it may have been furbished up by a succession of wise intermarriages....
I cannot think of any claim to respect, put forward in modern days, that
is so entirely an imposture as that made by a peer on the ground of
descent, who has neither been nobly educated, no