Tangled branches.

My wife found out years ago, through family trees drawn up by others,
that she was probably related to her first husband - via a female
ancestor with an unusual name and the right details. Now I'm getting
closer to the _possibility_ that I may be distantly related to him as
well, and hence to her and my step-daughter. It's just a speculative
long-shot at present depending on no more than a fairly common surname
and IGI extractions. But I've got as far as the marriage of someone
from a village in north Beds in 1777 - not very far from relevant
villages in south Northants... I'll see if I can get hold of his
family tree.

If there is any connection it will be out of the blue. I was born
elsewhere and had no idea until recently that I had any link to that
part of the country. Out of interest, has anyone else actually
established an unsuspected family link of that kind?

Andrew Brydon...

I work 150 miles from where my family has developed for generations,
yet I found out last year I am not too distantly related to a colleague
elsewhere in the same building over here.

Hugh Watkins...

so what ?

lots of cousin marriages around
and pedigee collapse too
just a coincidence

Hugh W

\"kls\"...

Phil - Wish I had something so interesting in my tree. Well, I wish I
could get beyond 1820 on one line of my tree anyway! :(

Karen :))

Charani...

The best I can manage in that area is a newly discovered cousin to
whom I'm related twice over via two different families who both
married into the same third and one of them twice over. They aren't
even cousin marriages. The twice over connection were widow and
widower then the widow's grandson to the widower's grand dau. Neither
of us have attempted to work out the cousinship in that one.

myths...

In the 1960s, my sister brought her boyfriend home and said they had
been discussing whose family tree went furthest back and asked me to
provide details of hers.

Not knowing what she was competing against, I murmured, as I searched
for the paperwork, that it wasn't the quantity, but the quality, and
mentioned in passing a dramatic tale concerning a beautiful ancestress
in the late 18C.

"But that was *our* house", cried the boyfriend - leading to the
discovery that he and my sister were distant cousins.

Phil C....

Malvary J Cole...

My cousin's gr-gr-grandfather (paternal) emigrated from Ebrington, Glos to
Ottawa, Canada. His gr-grandson went to England during the war and worked
in London. My dad's sister went to work at the Canadian headquarters for
this person. They subsequently married and after my cousin was born he
returned to Canada taking his wife and daughter with him. Nothing strange
in that - happened to lots of families. When we started doing genealogy
research we discovered that my gr-gr-grandfather also came from Ebrington,
Glos. Not rocket science, but Ebrington is a very small place and for them
to meet under the war circumstances coming from different countries, marry
and have kids is interesting.

Phil C....

I suppose the downside of coincidences is that they must lead us
astray sometimes. We find someone on a census etc who ticks all the
right boxes to "certainly" be the person we're looking for. But every
now and then it may just be a huge coincidence, however strong the
evidence.

I'm not yet sure what part coincidence plays but I'm currently trying
to decide between two versions of family relationships. The evidence
for either candidate for a direct ancestor is so strong that I'd
probably have accepted it without doubt if it wasn't for the other
one. But it can't be both of them...

myths...

"The day I sailed across the ocean
to find romance across the sea,
I never had the slightest notion
I'd meet the girl who used to live next door to me.

And now we have a cottage in the valley,
a little place for two that's hers and mine.
it started on the beach at Bally-bally,
and ended up way down in Carolin'."

Malvary in Ottawa (but only since 1977)

Interesting story. Tell us the tale of the beautiful ancestress!

myths...

second paragraph about Nos 49 & 50 describing a fire.

and search page for
survivors of a tragic fire

entry for May 6 1763.

My ancestress was the one that acquired a wooden leg.

Phil C....

Interesting stuff. I've also got an ancestor who fell on railings in
London. It must have been quite common in the days when decorative
railings were standard.