Why
I CAN'T Remember My
Ancestors
Submitted
by: Host GFS Sam
(HostGFSSam@aol.com)
When
this month's topic "How I
Remember My Ancestors" was
announced, I thought it would be
easier to explain why I can't
remember them. Fortunately,
my genealogy database program
can.
Certainly
I can remember the names of my
immediate family and their
relationship to me. I can
recite the full names of both
sets of grandparents and four
sets of great grandparents.
After that, my brain turns to
Jell-O. Color me retarded,
but there is no way I can rattle
off the names of all 108 fifth
great grandparents, let alone all
my 3,456 tenth great
grandparents. Not that I have
found them all, mind you, but
there are some 40,000+ names
rattling around in my
database. It would be far
easier to open the phone book at
random and memorize a page of
SMITH names. (Without a
calculator, in fact, I could not
have even told you I HAD 3,456
tenth great
grandparents.)
Which
brings us to the next memory
challenge. I have six SMITH
lines. I have four HALL
lines. I have two WAITE,
two WILLIAMS, and two WARREN
lines. I can distinguish
between the two WAITE lines only
because of them is a major line
in my tree. But don't ask
me to tell you which SMITH person
belongs in which of those six
line.
To
compound the memory drain, there
are very few unique names, and
those there are are completely
unpronounceable - like
Mahershallalhasbaz. One
hundred and eight direct great
grandpas are named John.
Another 60 or so are named
William. Great grandmas all
seem to be either Mary, Sarah or
Elizabeth. Worse, there are
several instances of two or more
generations with exactly the same
name in my direct
line…William, William,
William and William HOSKINS, for
instance. The last William
also had a son William, but
luckily my genes descend from his
daughter, Sarah.
Whew!
Finally,
we have the real brain-buster
which can turn any genealogist
into a blithering idiot - those
intermarried families which can
turn you into your own
cousin. My Nantucket
ancestors were waaay too
inbred. A handful of them,
all Quakers, settled the island
in the 1600's and didn't leave
for nearly five
generations. Nor did they
let many others settle there, so
they all married each
other…for all five
generations. So I end up
being descended
from:
4
of Tristram COFFIN's children (1
married a BUNKER, 1 married a
STARBUCK)
2
of Stephen COFFIN's children (1
married a FOLGER, 1 married a
BUNKER)
3
of Edward STARBUCK's children (1
married a COFFIN)
3
of Richard GARDNER's children (1
married a FOLGER, 1 married a
MACY, 1 married a
COFFIN)
2
of Peter FOLGER's children (1
married a GARDNER, 1 married a
SWAIN)
2
of George BUNKER's children (1
married a MACY, 1 married a
COFFIN)
2
of William BUNKER's children (1
married a COFFIN)
2
of Thomas MACY's children (1
married a BUNKER, 1 married a
GARDNER)
Plus
Thomas BARNARD had a son
Nathaniel, and Thomas's brother,
Robert BARNARD had a daughter
Mary. First cousins
Nathaniel and Mary
married.
This
is just the FIRST
GENERATION!! Ensuing
generations make "Who's on First"
seem tame.
Perhaps
I should turn my database into a
Trivial Pursuit
game.
1.
Name your 5th great grandpa who
married Mary
(Unknown).
2.
In order, name all 3 spouses of
your 7th great grandma Judith
COFFIN.
3.
Give the first names your 3rd
great grandparents' 15
children.
Then
again, I'd never win since I just
can't REMEMBER my
ancestors! :
)
©
2002 GFNEWS, a monthly
publication of the Golden Gate
Genealogy Forum, Inc. of
Franklin, MA.
(America Online Keyword: roots.)
The Editors
welcome your ideas and
articles,
success stories, favorite
genealogy research tips, comments
and suggestions.
©
2002 Graphics
By
Carol,
All Rights Reserved
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