Andersons of Colonial N. Carolina

The most notorious charlatan genealogist of the early 20th century (and late 19th/early 20th overall) was Gustave Anjou (born December 1, 1863, in Stockholm, Sweden; died March 2, 1942, on Staten Island, New York).Anjou immigrated to New York City around 1890 and established himself as a professional genealogist. He targeted wealthy East Coast families eager to claim prestigious European royal, noble, or aristocratic connections—often to enhance social status during the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. For fees reportedly as high as $9,000 (a massive sum at the time, equivalent to hundreds of thousands today), he produced elaborate, beautifully bound pedigrees and family histories.However, Anjou was a systematic fraudster:

• He invented lineages where none existed, fabricating connections to illustrious ancestors.
• He forged supporting documents, seals, and records to make his work appear credible.
• He mass-produced these fraudulent genealogies (over 100–200 identified), often recycling similar fake elements across clients.
• He even fabricated parts of his own credentials and background to bolster his reputation.

His work went largely unquestioned during his lifetime because:

• Access to original European records was limited for most Americans.
• Many clients were satisfied with the flattering results and didn’t scrutinize them.
• His pedigrees were sometimes published or cited in respectable venues.

Exposure came decades later (primarily in the mid-to-late 20th century, with major debunking in the 1990s and onward through rigorous research by professional genealogists). Today, Anjou is widely regarded as the “king” or archetype of genealogical fraud in American history. His fabricated works are flagged in major resources:

• FamilySearch’s “Fraudulent Genealogies” wiki lists him prominently.
• WikiTree has a dedicated category for “Gustave Anjou Fraud.”
• Professional organizations (e.g., National Genealogical Society, American Ancestors) warn researchers to treat any Anjou-compiled pedigree with extreme skepticism unless independently verified by primary sources.

Other early 20th-century figures have been accused of similar fraud (e.g., Frederick Clifton Pierce, J. Montgomery Seaver, or Charles Arthur Hoppin), but Anjou stands out for the scale, audacity, and lasting impact of his deceptions. Modern genealogists often describe him as a cautionary tale: always verify with original records, not just compiled family histories.

I hope everyone with a smathering of common sense now realizes that Obama’s birth certificate was faked… the Photoshopped retouching was so obvious, and so badly done,  that even an irritating Sheriff in Arizona could figure it out.  Hell, I was a professional graphic artist when it 1st came out and roared with laughter when I saw it.  Later, and to this day, I cannot lift my jaw from the floor in disbelief.  Big lies told long enough just somehow become accepted as fact… bewildering but true.  Oh, and Oswald was the lone gunman…