“Or should Denmark, Norway, or England need a new Queen…”

My 5th great-grandfather William Cornett and the Cornett family came to America in the 1700s. William was born before the United States even existed and later served during the American Revolutionary War, though like many soldiers he was eventually sent home because of the starving conditions in camp, something he would have to explain so as to not be charged with abandonment.

The family story goes back even further. William’s father, John Cornett, one of seven brothers who came to America as indentured servants from England in the 1700s. He settled in Elk Creek, Virginia. (If your last name is Cornett, we are 100% related some how)

From those beginnings the family eventually made its way to the Kentucky frontier. William helped explore and settle the region, and the town of Cornettsville still carries the family name, Cornett. His home still stands today (with later additions), his grave is well known locally, and he even lived long enough to become one of the earliest people in Kentucky to have his photograph taken.

There’s also a long-running bit of family “beef” with Daniel Boone, since Boone was credited with mapping parts of the area that family tradition says John had already explored along with Everage family. It’s said that Boone met my family on a hunting trip and John Samuel Cornett (Williams brother and the oldest son) showed Boone around Eastern Kentucky from Elk Creek to Black Mountain and around to modern day Cumberland.

But the story behind the name is what really has kept me digging all these years. According to family tradition, the name Cornett comes from “Canute,” and the family has long claimed descent from Knut the Great (King Canute, Cnut),Denmark’s most beloved king. Knut the Great, was a Danish Viking prince who became King of England (1016–1035), Denmark (1019–1035), and Norway (1028–1035), created a massive “North Sea Empire”. As the son of Sweyn Forkbeard, he led a massive Viking invasion of England in 1015, ultimately ruling as a Christian king who brought stability, peace, and prosperity to his combined domains.

Interesting enough, many of our family members carry the Viking mutation gene, C677T MTHFR, known to be from the Scandinavian people. DNA also suggests that we descended from the Celtic & Gaelic region.

From our claimed royal lineage in Europe, to indentured servants in colonial America, to frontier settlers in Kentucky who were Americans before the United States really existed, it is quite a journey through history.

So when I had the opportunity to change my name, I chose Canute. A nod to that old family story and a distant claim to a throne that is now long gone.

Or should Denmark, Norway, or England need a new Queen…