Welcome to
The Registry of Infamous and
Famous Relatives
in American Families,
known by its acronym, RIFRAF.

To get started, go to our PROPOSITI page, where you will find links to the several categories of notability that enable you to establish membership. Once there, click on an image to visit a separate page revealing numerous examples of qualifying individuals for that category. Remember, the list of individuals featured contains only a few possibilities. There are hundreds of possibilities for every category.

While those who engage in genealogical research clearly are in search of their direct ancestors, many researchers neglect to dedicate attention to the study of entire families. Genealogy includes the study and knowledge of the entire family – from the lowliest peasant to the most illustrious king and everyone in between, including our uncles and aunts and our cousins.

In a way, we are spoiled by having so many early American families already comprehensively researched, so that now many of us never pursue the exploration of the family as a whole in order to find out who our cousins are. Even 10th-cousins twice removed are relatives, and often it is these people who are our “famous” or “infamous” kin.

The recent past has seen a great genealogical awakening, and now, more and more people are beginning to explore their connections to not only royalty, for example, but also to notables like Ernest Hemingway and Humphrey Bogart and Lizzie Borden. This brings us to the fundamental purpose of RIFRAF. We exist to encourage research, discovery, and recognition of our notable kin.

To return to the HOME page, click on the icon below that represents the Society.