Genealogy

[Skyweir]

And thats the exciting part

The world is becoming smaller even as populations grow

[Avatar]

Yeah. But I'm just talking about the difference in what us Americans call old and what the English (and I guess most of the rest of the world) calls old.

Hahaha, one of my favourite little quotes is "The difference between the English and the Americans is that an American thinks 100 years is a long time, and an Englishman thinks 100 miles is a long way."

--A

[Skyweir]

Brilliant quote Av sooo, sooo true

[Fist and Faith]

Heh. Hadn't heard that before. Good one.

[Avatar]

I'll never forget visiting Lincoln cathedral and realising that the building was 1,000 years old. Bloody English.

--A

[Skyweir]

So much history .. I actually love it all. Even where Im from there is the Abbotsford .. where Sir Walter Scott lived, Galashiels not far and so much history.

I do miss that .. so many castles, cathedrals, ruins to explore.

Hadrians wall .. in parts still ..

William Wallace was made overlord of Scotland in Forrest Kirk .. loads of history going back generations

[peter]

Oddly, my history is not something that interests me in the slightest. I say this not as a disparagement of this thread or people that are interested in how they came to be who they are, but as an interesting quirk that possibly says more about me than I might care to reveal. My sister has researched our family tree and of occasion has tried to tell me about this or that person who came before us - but in truth I find it dull and never really took much attention. There was a story about a family who all bar one or two drowned on a coaster vessel (I think I told it elsewhere) but aside from that I know nothing and care even less. My nationality is of no interest to me, whether I'm Serbian or from Swahililand I care not a jot. Humanity is the object of my interest and I'm simply happy to be designated as one of them.

[Avatar]

Yeah, I'm pretty much the same. Never really seen the point in taking pride in something that had nothing to do with me. Most of my family is forgotten, and I will be too before too long.

--A

[Sorus]

I see it more as curiosity than pride. There are stories there that have in some way shaped who I am, and I want to know those stories.

[StevieG]

I see it more as curiosity than pride. There are stories there that have in some way shaped who I am, and I want to know those stories.

Yeah I agree with that.

I'm meeting up with a descendant of a great great great grandfather of mine on the Italian side (the great great great grandfather is where we connect) - one side of the family came to Australia, and the other side went to America. This distant relative is about to go on a cruise around Australia, and will be docking in my city in March. So we'll meet with him and his wife, etc.

This came about because my son did a "family tree" project in the first year of high school, and used an online family tree builder (MyHeritage I think). The distant relatives we're meeting also happen to use this site for their family tree - they're into it much more than us - and found the connection.

Small world, eh

[Sorus]

That's very cool. I hope you have a great time.

I'm personally a bit intimidated by the idea of meeting random new relatives (can barely handle some of the ones I already have - heck, I have siblings I've never met) - I just want to sort of lurk and read stories and whatnot.

[Avatar]

Eh, the effect those stories have had on my shaping are, I suspect, distant and minimal. I'm mean, it can be interesting to know, but I don't put any energy into wondering about it when I don't.

--A

[Sorus]

I find it fascinating. I look like my mother. Not even the slightest resemblance to my father. My father wasn't in my life much when I was growing up. We had no contact from the time I was 12 until I was about 30. 30-year-old me was spooked to realize that we had the exact same mannerisms. It was uncanny. I wonder if it would be possible to recognize unknown relatives in the wild just by things like body language.

[StevieG]

It is absolutely fascinating. I think you would recognise unknown relatives, because humans are masters of perception - even if we don't think we are (gut-feel goes a long way).

[Avatar]

But that doesn't make it right.

--A

[Cameraman Jenn]

My sister and I grew up with our cousins on my Mother's side. Jeep, Jody and Jill. We never met our relatives on my Dad's side except his parents once when I was a little kid until our Grandma came to stay after my Grandpa died and she was mentally unstable. There was apparently some sort of falling out with my dad and his older brother and my Dad's younger sister was estranged. On my Mom's side though we saw them every summer until my parents divorce and then my Mother's older brother, career air force, got transferred and they were gone. I finally met my cousin on my Dad's side at my Grandmother's funeral years later and we kept in touch for a few years, very patchy though. When his mother died in a car accident, my aunt, he called and we reconnected but barely kept in touch. Then I purposefully got in touch with him and we met and it was weird but amazing. It had been over ten years and we showed up to meet and we were both wearing star wars tshirts and jeans and converse sneakers and we went to the zoo and we both unspokenly spent the same time and moved on from each animal and it was like being in weird sync with someone you don't know and we both ordered the same food at the restaurant without discussing it and it was like knowing someone you don't know if that makes sense. Brian and I are the youngest of the cousins on my Dad's side and to both of us it was like we had known each other all our lives. On my Mom's side I was always close to Jody but now it's like Jeep and I are on the same wavelength. We reconnected ten years ago when I was traveling through and he put me up. I thought it was going to be awkward but it felt like a natural thing. I love them all so much and his kids took me in like they had known me all their lives. They are tall boys and they love to grab me and rest their heads on mine and render me immobile and kiss the top of my head while I laugh and for those who haven't met me in person I am five foot four and my "nephews" are six feet tall. I do think genetics are an influence in our lives but at the same time I haven't talked to my own sister in ten years and both my parents are estranged from her. Her husband is very controlling and she acts like she wants nothing to do with any of us and when I offered her the contact info for our cousins she said no thanks and I haven't talked to her since. She may be blood related but she's not any more in my mind. My nieces are in college and I haven't seen them since my Dad's 70th birthday and he's 86 now. My cousin's kids, all of them call me Aunt Jenn and love me like I'm their aunt and I've been to their graduations and on holidays and events. I don't actually know my "real" nieces. She's said the kids are too busy to see our father and our mother for the past five years. So genetics are what they are. I got the family bonding ability and my sister is a frigid bitch who doesn't care about anyone but herself and her husband and kids.

[Fist and Faith]

I just saw this post, Jenn. Don't know how I missed it when you posted it two and a half years ago. Sheesh. Anyway, yeah, family can be ... tricky. Difficult. Important for people to realize that, just because someone is your parent or sibling doesn't mean a good relationship is required. If it's more pain to try to keep it going, probably best to move on to relationships where there's love.

[Damelon]

I took a Living DNA test a few years ago. It didn’t really tell me anything that I didn’t know. Dad’s side is mainly found in Aberdeenshire and Scandinavia. Mom’s haplogroup is mainly found in central and Eastern Europe. It didn’t confirm a family memory that there was a woman on moms side who was Cherokee.

I never was close to my relations. Dad is an only child. Mom was the youngest of eight but she didn’t have us until she was in her late 30’s. My cousins are all 10 to 25 years older than me. I haven’t seen any of them since my sister’s wake 9 years ago and none of them, so far as I know, on social media.

[Fist and Faith]

LivingDNA has a very interesting breakdown of ethnicities. Much more detailed than any other site. Not terribly many matches, however. Which is the more important part, for me.

[Damelon]

LivingDNA is UK based so they have a large sample from there. Rather general for the rest of Europe, though they recently sent me an offer for $20 to narrow down my Scandinavian DNA. Unnecessary, since I know that two of my great grandparents were from Norway and one from Denmark.

I’m kind of the opposite from you, Fist. I didn’t buy in to finding my relatives. I was more interested in what the test showed.