In my regular job, I tend to meet a lot of people.
Have I mentioned I come from big Chicago-based Polish family?
And have I mentioned that everyone had like 10 kids each?
(Obviously either they really liked each other, or just had nothing else to do.)
And did I mention that since everyone lived in the same neighborhood (that even though it seems close to inbreeding, it's not... ) They all kind of married each other? 2 brothers married 2 sisters, an uncle and a nephew married 2 sisters. It even gets weirder that an oldest brother had a son that was the same age as his youngest brother and they married 2 sisters.
Craziness. Get out of your own neighborhood people.
Imagine my surprise the other morning at work when I recognized a last name and I joked to the woman,
"You have one of my family tree names, it's....., we must be related."
"Oh really?" I could tell she was totally humoring me.
"Yes, the first name was Bernard."
That stopped her dead in her tracks.
"That was my grandfather!"
"Was he raised my his aunt because his mother died in childbirth?"
"Yes yes!"
So this stranger who just walked off the street is my second cousin through one side and my third cousin through the other because 2 first cousins and married a brother and a sister. Who happened to be our Great-great grandparents.
Who would have thought it?
It's a small world after all.
Jen
P.S. if you are looking to research your family tree, you can find censuses and other info at Ancestry.com. Even though it's paid service, it's really reasonable and really good.
Posts
wow. that's pretty cool. my niece did a big project last year with ancestry.com. interesting.
ReplyDeleteJen -my morning coffee jolt hasn't kicked in yet. Having trouble following your family tree - HA! And I'm totally jealous. I have NO relatives close by. I have a better chance of winning the Mega Millions than running into a relative on the street.
ReplyDeleteI love big families! I am an only child who has five children and six grandchildren. We our the biggest part of our family. My father jokingly said to tease me,
ReplyDelete"You can 'do it' for fun you know!"
Cool story! My brothers both married girls they went to high school with...a couple of my friends married their high school sweeties too...and I thought that was unique in today's world! You win!! :)
ReplyDeleteUnreal! Fun too :)
ReplyDeleteCome see my post ...
how cool is that!!?? i love stories like this. have you seen the new show on fridays about the celebs tracking down their ancestors? i think it is named "who do you think you are"?
ReplyDeleteWow, what are the chances?
ReplyDeleteHow wild is that!!! Wow that is so cool,
ReplyDeletexo,
LuLu
How fun is that!
ReplyDeleteTis a small world...
ReplyDeleteannie
crazy!
ReplyDeleteThat's kinda cool. My family is spread all over the place, so I never just happen upon a relative.
ReplyDelete-FringeGirl
Very cool - and a bit like my hubby's Italian family back in Sydney, A little different scenario wise though, more a matter of his father was a bit of a ladies man in years gone by (that is putting it very nicely) - so one never knows if one if meeting a half sibling or not - and it HAS happened - oh my!!
ReplyDeleteCate
My husband loves history and he joined Ancestry.com last year.
ReplyDeleteYour story is pretty cool!
WOW! That's really cool, what a small world that you two were that close!
ReplyDeleteMy grandparents' families mostly stayed in this area (near Chicago
too) and anytime someone hears my maiden name and asks about someone they knew, chances are we're related somehow!