Geneaology Dot Com

I don't what happens to others who might read that so-and-so is the seventh generational member of a family, but I immediately start wondering, "how far back does that go?"

I didn't read an answer, but I can make a good guess. The story just came out that Nik Wallenda, the seventh-generation circus performer has secured permission to do a wire act across Niagra Falls. It is scheduled for next month, June 15th.

Nik is now 33 and is no stranger to doing these things. His great-great grandfather was Karl Wallenda, who is where some people's memories of The Wallendas start. It was at least where mine started, when Karl, leading the family and extended family across a high wire doing their famous Seven Chair Pyramid walk in 1962, saw the front man topple, sending two of the act's members to their death, and paralyzing a third. I can still remember the newspaper picture. It looked like one of the most foolish, and impossible of things to do, but then again, if it didn't look that way, who would pay to see it?

Karl later fell to his death doing a wire act in Puerto Rico in 1978. We has 73. His great-great grandson Nik successfully completed that walk in 2011, doing it with his mother, Delilah. They are definitely a family who you're careful about being with if they ask you to take a stroll.

But seventh generation, puts the start where?

Without strenuous research, (like leave the Internet) the start has to be somewhere around 1800, or a little before. This lands the family, described as a "circus family", in Germany squarely around the time of Napoleon. I guess it could easily be speculated that someone in the family perhaps even entertained in front of Napoleon, or even Karl Marx somewhat after that.

Now the conquering will be to high-wire walk across Niagra Falls. Texting while walking reamins to be seen.

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