Family Tree

Not too long ago I told you about my son sending off for analysis of his family DNA history. And I said that the results also included a family tree chart for us to enter the names and information of family members.

Oh my goodness what a joy and what a job this has turned into! I come from a family of seven children. My husband was from a family of nine children. We have grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Our brothers and sisters have offspring. Both of my parents came from families of 11 children with spouses and offspring. My husband's parents' families were not quite that large but there were several siblings each.

Then there are the great-grandparents. I knew one great-grandfather. But there were 7 others I did not have the fortune of knowing. And their parents and their parents and so on.

I always thought no one in my family had come to this country until much after the Civil War. With some investigation it turns out that I have ancestors who were here before the Revolutionary War. Amazing!

I have had to enlist some help with this. My sister-in-law is helping me with my husband's family. There are aunts and uncles that I never met or only saw a few times. There are nieces and nephews whose birthdays I do not know and they have children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Whew!

Just to remind you my husband's parents had, at the time of my father-in-law's death, 105 direct descendants and at least three more on the way. And that is not counting the children who are members of the family but not biological members.

My immediate family was not quite that prolific but the extended family... I have no idea how many of us there are. I have only scratched the surface. I am working on enlisting more help.

I am happy for the opportunity to leave a record for my children and their children and on down the line. I want all of them to know who they come from. It is important to have that base.