--- title: 'Discredited descendants' description: Recently a colleague was interviewed for a UK radio show concerning his Mayflower ancestor Governor William Bradford and noticed the following item on a Wikipedia page regarding William Bradford’s des image: https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Discredited-descendants-1.png --- # [Vita Brevis A resource for family history from AmericanAncestors.org](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/) This is a search field with an auto-suggest feature attached. - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. # 'Discredited descendants' [August 25, 2020](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/2020/08/discredited-descendants) [Critical Analysis](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/critical-analysis), [American History](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/american-history), [Mayflower 2020](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/mayflower-2020), [Brick Walls](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/brick-walls), [Family stories](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/family-stories) [Christopher C. Child](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/author/cchild) [![](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Discredited-descendants-1.png?width=727&height=238&name=Discredited-descendants-1.png)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Discredited-descendants-1.png)Recently a colleague was interviewed for a UK radio show concerning his *Mayflower *ancestor [Governor William Bradford](https://mayflower.americanancestors.org/william-bradford-biography) and noticed an entry on a Wikipedia page regarding William Bradford’s descendants. I have long been aware of Hugh Hefner’s *Mayflower *line, as this has been mentioned in most of his biographies, and he even named his youngest child [Cooper Bradford Hefner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooper_Hefner). Gary Boyd Roberts included the line (*see below*) in his recent publication, [*The Mayflower 500*](https://shop.americanancestors.org/products/the-mayflower-500-five-hundred-notable-descendants-of-the-founding-families-of-the-mayflower?pass-through=true). Looking at the line over the years, I have never seen anything wrong with it. [![](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Hugh-Hefner-200x300-1.png?width=200&height=300&name=Hugh-Hefner-200x300-1.png)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Hugh-Hefner-1.png) Four close relatives of Hefner (two of his father’s first cousins, one second cousin, and a second cousin once removed), joined the Mayflower Society on the line between 1971 and 1982. Hugh Hefner remains listed among notable descendants on the [Mayflower Society’s website](https://www.themayflowersociety.org/the-pilgrims/notable-descendants). What does this claimed article “Letters” in the [*Mayflower Quarterly*](http://library.nehgs.org/record=b1007892~S0) from 2006 say? Nothing! There is no article entitled “Letters.” Hefner does not appear in the index for this year (or the year before or after). Rich Hall, who has written several articles in the [*Mayflower Descendant*](https://www.americanancestors.org/browse/publications/mayflower-descendant) on notable figures, also noted this on his [website](https://famouskin.com/family-group.php?name=21789+hugh+hefner&ahnum=1) in 2015. In looking at the “edit history” behind the Wikipedia page, the article on [William Bradford’s descendants](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Descendants_of_William_Bradford_(Plymouth_governor)) was created in 2010 when it was made into a new article from the primary page on the Plymouth Colony governor. That article was created in 2003, and Hugh Hefner as a Bradford descendant first appeared as “Trivia” on 3 April 2006 and was removed one month later. The trivia was added again in October 2006, and the section was changed to “Descendants” the following month, and several descendants were added to this section over the next several months. ### Of course, anyone can add to a Wikipedia page... The citation to the fictional article in *Mayflower Quarterly *was added in on 5 May 2007 by “DvonD,” and has remained there (and the successor descendants page) for thirteen years now! This Wikipedia editor added in several valid citations concerning other descendants, and it’s hard to say what the motivations were behind creating this hoax (all eleven edits were made on the same day). Given Hefner’s own biography, one possibility is that this editor was embarrassed. Of course, anyone can add to a Wikipedia page, and thankfully this hoax does not seem to have gone much beyond these pages. Perhaps with this post it will go away for good! Below is Hugh Hefner's valid (and not discredited) descent from Gov. William Bradford. [![](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Hugh-Hefner-line-1.png?width=686&height=1350&name=Hugh-Hefner-line-1.png)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Hugh-Hefner-line-1.png) ### Share this: - [mailto:?body=https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/2020/08/discredited-descendants](mailto:?body=https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/2020/08/discredited-descendants) - - - More - - ![Christopher C. Child](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/hubfs/Chris_Child_Jan25.jpg) ## About Christopher C. Child Chris Child has worked for various departments at American Ancestors since 1997 and became a full-time employee in July 2003. He has been a member of American Ancestors since the age of eleven. He has written several articles in American Ancestors, The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, and The Mayflower Descendant. He is the co-editor of The Ancestry of Catherine Middleton (American Ancestors, 2011), co-author of The Descendants of Judge John Lowell of Newburyport, Massachusetts (Newbury Street Press, 2011) and Ancestors and Descendants of George Rufus and Alice Nelson Pratt (Newbury Street Press, 2013), and author of The Nelson Family of Rowley, Massachusetts (Newbury Street Press, 2014). Chris holds a B.A. in history from Drew University in Madison, New Jersey. Areas of expertise: Southern New England, especially Connecticut; New York; ancestry of notable figures, especially presidents; genetics and genealogy; African-American and Native-American genealogy, 19th and 20th Century research, westward migrations out of New England, and applying to hereditary societies. Chris has lectured on these topics and edits the genetics and genealogy column for American Ancestors.[View all posts by Christopher C. 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