Master Surname Index



P.T. Barnum

Ancestry of
P.T. Barnum

Co-Founder of Barnum & Bailey Circus


Who was P. T. Barnum?

Phineas Taylor Barnum was an American businessman and showman who is best remembered as the founder of the Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1871. After 146 years, the circus closed in 2017. P. T. Barnum was also a politician who served as Mayor of Bridgeport, Connecticut, and as a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives from the Fairfield district.

P. T. Barnum and his circus were the inspiration for the 2017 musical The Greatest Showman starring Hugh Jackman as P. T. Barnum.

Famous Kin

One of the more interesting family connections for P. T. Barnum is his connection to one of his most memorable circus performers, Charles Stratton, whose stage name was General Tom Thumb. P. T. Barnum also had a couple of Civil War generals in his family tree, General William Tecumseh Sherman and General George B. McClellan. U.S Presidential kin include Calvin Coolidge, Gerald Ford, and George W. Bush.

Celebrities who are related to P. T. Barnum include Janis Joplin, Chevy Chase, Chris Pratt, Anna Gunn, Edward Norton, Ed Helms, Ben Affleck, and Paget Brewster. Other founders of notable businesses in his family tree include Bill Gates (Microsoft), W. K. Kellogg (Kellogg), Lee B. Loomis (Loomis Armored Car), and Gilbert Clifford Noble (Barnes & Noble).


Some of the most recently added connections of famous kin for P.T. Barnum

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Parker Stevenson

TV and Movie Actor

6th cousin 4 times removed
via Simon Hoyt

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Treat Williams

TV & Movie Actor

5th cousin 5 times removed
via Jonas Weed

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Parker Stevenson

TV and Movie Actor

5th cousin 4 times removed
via Jonas Weed

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Treat Williams

TV & Movie Actor

5th cousin 5 times removed
via Thomas Benedict

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Treat Williams

TV & Movie Actor

6th cousin 5 times removed
via Simon Hoyt

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Parker Stevenson

TV and Movie Actor

5th cousin 4 times removed
via Thomas Benedict

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Parker Stevenson

TV and Movie Actor

6th cousin 6 times removed
via Matthew Marvin

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Jason Kelce

NFL Center

6th cousin 6 times removed
via Simon Hoyt

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Jason Kelce

NFL Center

6th cousin 5 times removed
via Jeffrey Ferris

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Travis Kelce

NFL Tight End

6th cousin 6 times removed
via Simon Hoyt

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Travis Kelce

NFL Tight End

6th cousin 5 times removed
via Jeffrey Ferris

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Bill Belichick

NFL Head Coach

6th cousin 4 times removed
via Jeffrey Ferris

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Norman Rockwell

American Artist

6th cousin 2 times removed
via Matthew Marvin

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Jonas Galusha

6th and 8th Governor of Vermont

4th cousin 2 times removed
via Matthew Marvin

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James B. A. Robertson

4th Governor of Oklahoma

6th cousin 2 times removed
via Matthew Marvin

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Dewey F. Bartlett

19th Governor of Oklahoma

6th cousin 3 times removed
via Matthew Marvin

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Dewey F. Bartlett

19th Governor of Oklahoma

5th cousin 5 times removed
via John Taylor

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William Woodbridge

2nd Governor of Michigan

6th cousin
via Matthew Marvin

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Humphrey Bogart

Movie Actor

6th cousin 4 times removed
via Matthew Marvin

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Austin Blair

13th Governor of Michigan

5th cousin 1 time removed
via Thomas Sherwood

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Brewster H. Shaw

NASA Astronaut

7th cousin 3 times removed
via Edward Marvin

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Zoe Kazan

TV, Movie and Stage Actress

5th cousin 4 times removed
via William Beardsley

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Jeremiah Day

9th President of Yale University

4th cousin 1 time removed
via William Beardsley

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Rainn Wilson

TV and Movie Actor

6th cousin 6 times removed
via Matthew Marvin

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Margot Kidder

TV and Movie Actress

6th cousin 3 times removed
via Matthew Marvin

View entire list of famous kin for P.T. Barnum

Please note: The ancestor reports on this website have been compiled from thousands of different sources, many over 100 years old. These sources are attached to each ancestor so that you can personally judge their reliability. As with any good genealogical research, if you discover a link to your own family tree, consider it a starting point for further research. It is always preferable to locate primary records where possible. FamousKin.com cannot and does not guarantee the accuracy and reliability of these sources.