Printed engraving from painting, 1853

We have named this gentleman, since the print below it doesn't include his identity.  Dr. Swan Anoa.  (If you're from the Asheville, NC area, you'll know we have a lovely river and town named Swannanoa.)

It only says it was printed by T. Hurlston, in Kilburn, London, England.

It was in a frame which was purchased by a friend at an antique auction.  She wanted to use the frame, so Mr. ? from 1853 was removed.  We are wondering if anyone would pay 75 cents for the print.

We also wonder who he might be.

More credits are:

When checking (superficially I admit) google, I found G. Zobel had also engraved a picture of Queen Victoria, after a painting which is in a museum, but the picture isn't available on line because of copyright apparently.

 No luck in my search for the printers. Jones & Co. 1 Bloomfield Rd., Kilburn, London.

This is to be sold (?) at our Trillium Yard Sale on Saturday, May 3, 2013.

"Dancing-in" the Rock 'N Roll

Come see Sepia Saturday April 26, 2014
I'll share this post with all the other Sepians, and invite you to browse over there (bottom of their page links to other blogs, below the topics)

Jukeboxes were most popular from the 1940s through the mid-1960s, particularly during the 1950s. By the middle of the 1940s, three-quarters of the records produced in America went into jukeboxes. While often associated with early rock and roll music, their popularity extends back much further, including classical music, opera and the swing music era.

I had dancing lessons while in 7th and 8th grade, which included lots of ballroom dances. Before that I learned line dances in PE classes.  It was so fun having partners who were shorter than I was...and I hadn't attained my full 5' 4" yet.  But you know how boys are slower to mature at that age, right?

A carriage house not converted into Art Studios and "Pub" upstairs

Then in 1955 I entered high school (though it was called Upper School as opposed to Middle School where I was attending).  Within no time I found the "Pub" which was in the attic space above the art studios...an old carriage house type building.

An old home converted into office space on a school campus

My parents worked in the Administration building, which had been a Victorian era home in St. Louis, with a big campus upon which many school buildings were added.  The school had been given the campus in 1901.   But between the art studios and the Pub, I was able to endure adolescence.

I'd never go back and do that again.  Would you?  Clothes that were difficult because of body changes, just the problems associated with body changes, complexion problems, relationships with girls and boys that ran the gamut from "best friends forever" (which of course we didn't call each other then) to "dream boat because he kissed me."

My first boy friend, David Richmond, was a thespian, and cute in a teddy bear sort of way.  We found places to hide and learn how to kiss behind the various buildings...but never in the Pub.  That was a public arena, and at 13-14 you didn't do that.  You could slow-dance however.

I had a few other boyfriends my freshman year...one at a time as was the norm.  There was a boys prom and a girls prom, and we were taught how to write formal invitations.  I'm glad, because I think I've (count them) never written one since.

And we all learned how to fast-dance...from each other I think.  There may have been swing steps taught in our "fortnightlies" in middle school, but we took them further.

 In 1957, the Philadelphia-based television show American Bandstand was picked up by the American Broadcasting Company and shown across the United States. American Bandstand featured currently popular songs, live appearances by musicians, and dancing in the studio. At this time, the most popular fast dance was jitterbug, which was described as "a frenetic leftover of the swing era ballroom days that was only slightly less acrobatic than Lindy."

I think that's about the same time we got our first black and white TV.  It sure was wonderful to see other young people and learn their dance steps.

And then Rock and Roll hit the world.  I don't think any other generation has been as involved in changes in music as we were.  (Well, maybe they all thought they did.) 

All info on this page (besides personal) comes from Wikipedia.

Bass family notes

John & Elizabeth Basse Family Bible Record of Norfolk Co., Virginia

Contributed by Donald Hauser
John & Elizabeth Bass Holy Bible, bound with Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England, 1725, published by John Baskett, printer to the University (Oxford, England). Now in the possession of Mr. Justin S. Bass, Yadkin Community.
This the book of John Basse. Steal it not.
Nathaniel Basse and Mary Jordan was married the 21 day of May in the year of our blessed Lord and Saviour 1613.
Humphrey Basse, son of Nathl and Mary Basse his wife was born the 15 day of the month of July in the year of our blessed Lord 1615. Died in 1622 AD.
John Basse was born the 7 day of VIIber in the year of Our Lord God 1616, the son of Nathaniel and Mary Basse his wife.
William Basse, son of Nathaniel and Mary Basse was born on the XXV day of Xber in the year of our blessed Lord God 1618.
Anthony Basse, son of Nathaniel Basse and Mary his wife was born on the XIII day of March in God's Year of 1620.
Edward Basse, the son of Nathaniel Basse and Mary his wife was born the 8th day of May in the year of God 1622.
Anne Basse, the daughter of Nathl and Mary his wife was born in the year of Xt. 1624, the 9 day of 8ber.
Genevieve Basse, the daughter of Nathaniel Basse and Mary his wife was born on the 9 day of 8ber in the year of our blessed Lord God 1624, about ten minutes after Anne was born.
Blessed be God for His tender Mercies. Amen
Humphrey Basse, son of Nathl and Mary died the 22nd day of March in the year of Our Lord 1622.
John Basse married the daughter of the King of the Nansemond Nation, by name Elizabeth in Holy Baptism and in Holy Matrimony the 14 day of August in the year of Our Blessed Lord 1638. Died 1699 AD
William Basse son of Nathl and Mary was married to Sarah Batten the 26 day of September in the year of Our Lord 1641 AD.
Edward Basse, son of Nathl and Mary Basse yet unregenerated by the Spirit of God, took in marriage one virtuous Indian maiden by the Christian name of Mary Tucker and went to live amongst the Showanos in Carolina in 1644 AD. He went to Carolina in later years in pursuit of trade and not in 1644. Died in 1696 AD.
John Basse born in 1616.
John Basse died in 1699 AD.
Solomon Hodges Son of Richard Hodges and Elizabeth was born in the year of our blessed Lord February 24, 1702. Deceased 19 August 1730.
Sarah, daughter of John and Elizabeth Bass her mother was born in the year of our blessed Lord and Savior in the October the thirteen day dated 1751.
William son of John and Elizabeth Bass his - was born June the 23 day dated 1755.
Millie daughter of John and Elizabeth Bass her mother was born January the 12 day dated 1758.
John, son of John and Elizabeth Bass his mother was born December the 22 dated 1763.
William Bass deceased the 20 day of October 1751
Sarah Bass deceased (Senr) October 2, 1762. She was 80 years and 2 months and 28 days old when she deceased.
Married the 20 day of April, dated 1729.
Giles, son of John and Elizabeth Bass his mother was born in the year of our Lord and Savior January the 29 dated 1764.
Joshua son of John and Elizabeth Bass was born in the year of our Blessed Lord and Savior March the 21 day dated 1767.
John Bass son of William Bass and Lucy his wife born August 1, 1782.
William Bass Junr son of William Bass and Lucy his wife was born April the 4, 1784.
Joshua Bass the son of Willis Bass and Jemima his mother was born the July 14 in the year of our Lord 1804.
-- Bass, the son of Willis Bass & Jemima his mother was born the year of April 9, 1799. [Name illegible, but appears to be Andrew.]
Sarah Bass was born June the 23, 1682
John Bass was born 1731 February the 20.
John Bass deceased 11 March 1777 (1771?)
Elijah Bass was born in the year 1725.

My great grandmother's great grandmother

Julia Ann Holloman Bass Green (Julian?) was born on this day in 1785 in Wayne County, North Carolina, the mother of Col. Richard Bass. Death March 11, 1861 in Morehouse Parish, Louisiana,

What of Julia Ann's Holloman family?

Her father was Thomas Holloman (Holliman) - born in 1740 in Surry, Surry, Virginia, died in 1790 in Raleigh, Wake, North Carolina.  Records on Ancestry.com show he lived in Johnston County, NC in 1784.  These counties (Wayne, Johnston and Wake) are all in close proximity, and several were formed with shifting boundaries of neighboring counties.

Her mother is only known as Emaline, born in 1746.  

Julia Ann is the youngest of 5 children in the family.  

Julia Ann married John Bass on Oct. 8, 1805.  John was born in 1784 in Wayne County, North Carolina, and died in 1822 in Perry, Alabama  

His Bass family were early settlers in VA, with at least one marriage with a Nansemond Indian woman.  I spoke of some of her Bass relations HERE.    Of note is Dr. Andrew Bass (1698-1770) born in Norfolk Independent City, Nansemond County, Virginia, who donated the land for the court house of Waynesborough, Wayne County, NC.  He was the great uncle of Julia Ann's husband, just as a note of interest as to the family's status in the community.  However, history fluctuates a lot in a few generations, so perhaps that's a premature assumption of high standing of the Bass family.

Julia Ann had 8 children.  The family moved to Perry County, Alabama between the births of Elizabeth on 9 Oct 1810 in Wayne County, NC and Molly Ann Moseley Bass on 18 Jun 1811 in Perry, Alabama.  Julia Ann's youngest 4 children were born in Alabama.  

My grandfather's mother's father was Richard Bass, Julia Ann and John Bass's youngest son.
I posted about Richard Bass earlier HERE.  To quote myself:

 His father's estate had a petition against it which gives Richard's birth as 1814.  This date is not corroborated by his census data as well as his grave marker which all reflect an 1819 birth.  So the legal petition in Alabama might have been wrong.  Another source has him born in NC rather than AL.  Wherever he was born, he was the youngest of 8 children of his parents, and his father died when he was very young, and he was raised by a step-father. His mother was Julia Ann Holloman Bass Green.  Father was John Bass, both from Wayne County, NC, which is near where I currently live.  His step-father was Jetson Green, who raised him from when he was around 6 years old.

When John died in 1822 (or maybe earlier) the widow remarried to Jetson Green who petitioned the courts to settle the debts.  The estate was inventoried at which time apparently there were slaves, household goods, land and 7 children. Jetson Green says he'd been married to Julian since 1821.  This is an interesting collection of documents to have survived, dated 1823 to 1830, regarding the debts on John's estate, how the widow needed guardianships for the young children, and another person (last name Holloman) signed Julian's name spelled that way, to one petition or letter.   Julia Ann had two brothers and 2 sisters, and I cannot make out the first name of the signature.
 
Julia Ann was now Mrs. Green, and she didn't stay in Alabama.  There was another westward move to Caldwell Parish, Louisiana where the Jetson Green family lived for the 1840 Census.

By 1850 she lived in Union Parish, LA as head of her own household with an overseer, L. Freeman and his family, but no Green family members listed.  The name Freeman may be that of a freed slave, I would surmise. However, also noted is that on the 1850 Slave census, Mrs. Julia A. Green is listed as owner of  8 slaves, of whom 2 were females over 55 years old. 

At a stated 70 years of age in the 1860 Census, Julia Ann lived with the Barton family (her daughter Elizabeth perhaps?) in Morehouse Parish, LA.  She died there March 11, 1861.

I remember as a teenager learning (in St. Louis, MO) about the Civil War, and that every plantation owner had slaves...which of course was a very bad thing.  Since I knew my family was rooted in the south, I asked my grandfather if he knew anything about the plantations or slavery.  This was in the 1950's when I'm asking about something that he had not experienced in his lifetime.  However, I remember his answer.  He said that when their families realized how bad slavery was, they freed their slaves before the war.

Earth, air, water and fire

These are some basic elements by which we live, and have our lives.
Today is Earth Day.

I saw this on FaceBook a while ago, and shared it with my friends.  It's posted under "I fucking love science." which surprisingly has many good posts.  Of course I think it's a bit juvenile to use F-ing as part of their name.

And they're donating the money to plant 10 trees for every one of their t-shirts that's sold.  Not a bad plan, for those of you who have money to purchase trees through t-shirts.

May you enjoy our earth today, and may I remember this...every day in 2014 I want to do something to help the earth.

April 20 birthday of ancestor

NOTE 2023: This is not the correct lineage of Hanna Conn Booth. 

Who, you may ask, is the ancestor that I missed posting happy birthday wishes for yesterday?

None other than the grandmother of Hannah Conn Booth, namely Hannah C. Gage Norman, who is 7 generations before my own.

She was born on April 20 in 1762 in Culpeper, Culpeper County, VA, and there married Isaac Norman in 1872. (See HERE and  also this post about her husband Isaac Norman.)  She may or may not have been related to General Gage from the Revolutionary War.

Here's a story that is listed at Ancestry about her:

"I believe that Hannah Gage's parents were David Gage and Esther Shipman.  David Gage was listed in the 1790 Rutherford Co., NC census on the same page with Isaac Norman, Hannah's husband, which indicates a connection of some kind.  I have not been able to prove that fact.

"Also, I know that Hannah and Isaac Norman lived in North Carolina because of a piece that was written about their grandson, Solomon Redman Norman:

"SOURCE: Kentucky: A History of the State. Perrin, Battle & Kniffin, 6th ed.,1887,Spencer Co.

"SOLOMON R. NORMAN was born in Spencer County, Ky., in 1823, and is a son of Abner Norman, who at the age of four years came with his parents to Kentucky from North Carolina, in which latter State he was born in 1789. Abner's parents were Isaac and Hannah (Gage) Norman, and on their arrival in Kentucky settled on Elk Creek in Spencer County.  The father was of French descent, and the mother, Hannah Gage, was a relative of Gen. Gage, of Revolutionary fame, and of English descent."

"It was probably information of this type that led to the family "tradition" that Hannah Gage was a daughter of General Thomas Gage.  It was to prove this fact that I first got involved in family research many years ago.  I was not, or course, able to prove that falsehood, but got "hooked" on genealogy anyway!  Source: CarlaLeeLoveMaitland

Hannah Norman and her husband and children moved to North Carolina, back to Virginia, then to Kentucky.  That's why I've listed where each of the children were born below.

The census of 1790 in Rutherford, North Carolina lists Isaac Norman's household as, "2 males under 16, 1 male over 16, 2 females" (no age) You can see below that there were 4 children by the 1790 census in the family, 2 males, and 2 females.  I think there's a mistake, or maybe Hannah wasn't living at home at the time the census taker left her off this household, when she would have been 28 years old.  (Isaac Norman is in the second column, 7th from the bottom)

Their next child was born back in Virginia, so maybe they went home for some reason for the next 6 years (where Polly, Rebecca and Patsy were born.)  It's amazing how long lived these people were, except for my ancestor Polly Norman Conn who died at age 41.  It's also interesting that 3 of these  people died in 1866, perhaps from an epidemic.

Their 8 children are:

• Lemuel Norman  born in Culpeper, Virginia,

  1785 – 1866

• Elizabeth Norman Pound born in Culpeper, Virginia

  1787 – 1866

• (Sarah) Esther Norman Akers born in Rutherford, North Carolina,

  1788 – 1867

• Abner Norman born in Rutherford, North Carolina

  1789 – 1856

• Mary Margaret (Polly) Norman Conn born in Culpeper, Virginia,

  1792 – 1833

• Rebecca Norman Shaw born in Culpeper, Virginia

  1796 – 1866

• Martha "Patsy" Norman Stout born in Culpeper, Virginia

  1798 – 1870

• James H Norman born in Elk Creek, Spencer, Kentucky

  1805 – 1891

After her husband's death in 1828, Hannah Norman lived (as shown on 1840 census below) with her son Abner Norman, being checked as either the female age 70-80 or the one 80-90 on this census, line 11.  It's possible his wife's mother also lived with them, or another elder of the family.  This census was in 1840, and she died Feb 28, 1845, age 82.

 

She is buried next to her husband at Elk Creek Baptist Church.

The way Elk Creek Baptist Church looks today

This is the only photo that Ancestry shows of her tombstone, which seems pretty hard to read.

Great times 8 granparents

For one of the 1,042 Great x8 grandparents... ancestor of mine.

You are an important person who once lived, loved, had zest for life, and passion for whatever you were interested in.

You have a granddaughter eight times great removed.  And many more than the other people of your generation who gave genes to me throughout the centuries.

One of those 1,042 ancestors was

Giles Fitz Rogers 

Birth 1643 in Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland 

Death 1730 in Dunkirk, King and Queen, Virginia

He married another great times eight, Lucille Rachel Eastham (1642 – 1735) in 1672 in Worchestershire, England.

He is noteworthy in all my genealogical tales on my father's side of the family as the first Rogers to become an American.

He came to Jamestown, VA, and had his own ship, and I heard there was a martyr in his ancestry, and someone or another were goldsmiths.  These are not parts of his story that I can find records for, but are certainly interesting stories, and often a story is built on oral histories, whether or not they are accurate.

One such story says that his name had been Giles Fitz-Rogers, and he changed it to Giles Fitz Rogers when he arrived in America.  Since very few people were reading and writing in the 1670s, it's very likely that someone who could write simply wrote it that way.

However the case, I now have a cousin (the only male in my generation of Rogers) named John Fitz Rogers.

So this is the list of the Rogers:

Giles Fitz Rogers, Great x8 grandfather

John Rogers

George Rogers

Henry Rogers

Elijah Rogers

Micajah Rogers

George Rogers

William Rogers (great grandfather)

George Rogers

George Rogers

Barbara Rogers (me)

Blog reading and garden glimpses

Hello world...here I sit in blog land, wondering what you're doing.  Do you have a cuppa something to drink by your hand, and maybe a furry mammal of some kind by your side? I hope as you read this you can glance out a window at some point and see the sky.  Even maybe some trees too.

I'm sharing again for Sepia Saturday, yes, they haven't kicked me out yet.  This week's meme is "something to do with gardens."  Go HERE (and scroll to the links list at the bottom) to find out more about what other SS's think about them, there are sure to be post cards, and old photos of people doing their own gardens. 

My vintage photo is from 1942, when my mom was expecting me, so she sits on the running board of the Studebaker, while my dad's father (at 65) and mother hoe and rake out stones for a victory garden in Dallas Texas.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 (this quote is directly from Muffin's paw)  She is kind of restless today.

Since I  also write 2 other blogs (semi-regularly) today I will duplicate from another, Living in Black Mountain.  Here I show you some of my own gardening efforts.  There will be more to come, as I deal with the fun of container gardening this year.

Alice Luella Rogers Ross b.4.18.1853

Great great Aunt Alice L. Rogers Ross was born on this day in 1853...and she lived until 1925.

My grandfather's aunt, Alice Luella Rogers married John Elmore Ross, who was Sophia Elmore Ross' grandson (and born 2 years before she died.)

General John Elmore (I posted about him HERE) was a soldier in the American Revolution.  When you notice how many people named a son George Washington ________(insert their last name here) you can see that the leaders of that revolution were pretty popular.  So my father, George Elmore Rogers, and his father also carried the middle name of Elmore, though they were not descendents of General John Elmore, the hero.  (And obviously they were also named George, but that was also the name of several English kings, so I don't know who it originally referred to!)

Gen. Elmore's third child, Sophia Saxon Elmore, married George W. Ross (she was 15, he age 31 and probably a doctor).  They lived in Laurens, South Carolina, and then Mississippi.  Their grandson, John Elmore Ross, married my great great aunt Alice Luella Rogers, which is how I have any relationship to the Elmores.

I had a comment posted on my site about General Elmore just the other morning, which I'm including here, because this is the fun I've found in doing this genealogy...we're cousins somehow, having the same great great... grandparents waaaaay back when.

Patricia Elmore said...

I am the great, great, great granddaughter of John Archer Elmore. I found your account of how his name entered into your family quite interesting. My lineage to JA Elmore is this: John Archer Elmore -> Henry Marshall Elmore -> William Augustus Elmore -> John Rugely Elmore -> William Augustus Elmore -> Patricia Elmore (me). Thanks for posting this.

April 14, 2014 at 1:01 AM 

Incidentally, Alice Luella Rogers Ross' father was named, (you guessed it,) George Washington Rogers (1820-1864.) 

I first posted a birthday wish to Great Aunt Alice last year, which you might read HERE. And I've gone back and corrected my errors where I used to think my grandfather and his sister lived with the Ross's because the Ross' became their guardians upon the children's father's death.  My update is because I have since found that their widowed mother was still alive for many years and included her children in her household on some census data.  The census doesn't lie, much.

About Great Aunt Alice's death...another conundrum from Ancestry.com.  Here's her death certificate:

It says that she was widowed as of June 15, 1925, dying of cirrhosis of the liver, and that she had been under the doctors care since May 26.  Also she was buried on the 16th of June in Mexia, Texas.

When I look to see her husband's date of death on Ancestry, I find John Elmore Ross died on June 15, 1925, in Galveston, Texas.  There's no verifying data attached.  I'm sorry, I don't want to spend any more time figuring out how something weird has happened, and I'm pretty sure it wasn't in my Aunt and Uncle's lives...but on the record keeping of Ancestry.

If you know the facts, and have some documentation, please send them my way.  Thanks!

Other stories about (other?) Hannah Conn Booths

Another Hannah Conn ..
Notes from a second cousin of mine, who had same great great great (?) grandparents...

William Conn died in Henry county, Kentucky in 1836. He was a Revolution War soldier and he has pension records. His pension records and Will identify James Conn, who married Nancy Erwin as a son.  James Conn died about 1830. Nancy Erwin Conn moved her family to Jackson county, Indiana about 1838., where she died about 1846 and Deed Book J, Page 387 identifies  Hannah Conn Booth as a child. Female descendants of Hannah Conn Booth can join the DAR through William Conn.

 Another note that I've saved says:

Hannah Leak married the warrior Winslow Turner III after the death of his first wife Sarah Carpenter Sowell. He and his family arrived in the Province of Texas in 1826 from Ralls Co., Mo. when he was fifteen years old, also under the sponsorship of Green DeWitt. He is buried the Texas State Cemetery in Austin. Some of his exploits are listed on his grave marker.

Winslow Turner III
Born in Missouri, 1811
Died in Bastrop County, Texas, May 6, 1880
 The headstone lists some military accomplishments: Participated in the Battle of Gonzales, Oct 2, 1815, Served in the Texas Army, 1836, and in the Wohl Campaign, 1842.

This headstone was erected by the State of Texas in 1936 (it says at the bottom of it)

Another family tree on Ancestry does show a genealogy page showing Winslow Turner to be the granson of Winslow Turner and his wife, Sarah Standish, a descendent of Miles Standish (of Mayflower fame).
Their grandson:

iv Winslow TURNER, b. 1811, Lincoln County, Missouri.

m. (1) Sarah Carpenter SOWELL,
m. (2) Hannah L. CONN.

No further information about him, though many other Turner family members are listed on this genealogy.

Another note on his Winslow Turner III's listing says:

Winslow Turner Sr. and wife Elizabeth arrived in the DeWitt Colony 4 Dec 1829 with a family of 8 according to land grant records. His league was north of Gonzales on the San Marcos River. Son Winslow Turner Jr. also received a fourth sitio with arrival listed as 18 Nov 1829 on the east bank of the Guadalupe River near the current Gonzales and Guadalupe County line. The Turners first arrived in Austin's Colony in 1827 and lived on the Colorado River. Turner owned and operated a hotel in inner Gonzales town which was on St. John Street. He was a regidor in the appointed Gonzales Ayuntamiento of 1832. As described above, Winslow Turner Jr. married Sarah Sowell in 1831. Winslow Turner is buried in the State Cemetery in Austin.

I believe this note is referring to WT III as Jr. and his father as Sr., which would support a record with a family of 8.

The only data that I can look at an original record for is the 1860 Census, saying a Winslow Turner (age 49) and wife Nancy C Turner (age 38, having been born in NC) lived in the county of Williamson, Texas.   Their 8 children were mostly born in Arkansas.

The rest of the residential data seems from a compiled Texas Census, from which I can't see anything original.

The next record to look at is

Hannah Leak Conn , Birth 9 Aug 1819 in Elks Creek, Shelby County, Kentucky,  Death 1848 in Gonzales County, Texas

and this source says she married Winslow Turner III  on 15 Nov 1839, again giving data with records I can order, but I chose not to pay for.  This record doesn't give any parents for her, but 2 children, Elizabeth Turner (b1843) and Martha Turner (b1845).

There is no data to substantiate where she died or was buried either.  Mrs. Hannah Leak Conn Turner seems to have a different life than the one my Hannah Leak Conn Booth had, though they both have the same place and close dates of birth, somehow.  Mrs. Turner was a year younger than Mrs. Booth. My Hannah Booth was definitely married in Indiana in 1843, when this Hannah Turner was having her first child in Texas.

So my somewhat educated guess is that there were two Hannah Conns born within 2 years in Elk Creek, Shelby County, KY, and they were probably cousins.  The Conns were a large family, and many of their kin decided to migrate from Kentucky to MO and then to Texas.

Now I'm somewhat interested in the Mrs. Turner story, but not enough to follow it further to clarify who she was, and who William and Nancy C. Turner might have been.

I leave you with more questions than I started but the continuing certainty that Mrs. Hannah Conn Booth was my ancestor, and just probably didn't have more to her life than simply to marry, raise a family and be on some documents before dying.

How many ancestors?

Perhaps in honor of the tax paying Americans and their math genuses...here's some arithmetic of my own.

I've started (arbitrarily, I admit) my counting of generations with my grandchildren as (1)
That makes my children generation (2)
And I would be (3)
My parent's generation (4)
My grandparent's generation (5)

Now to stop a moment and figure out how many of each generation are there for just me.  Each person has 2 parents,
so generation (4) has 2 for me
Generation (5) grandparents has 2 parents per person, or 4 for just me
Gen (6) great grandparents are 2 for each grandparent or 8 for me
(7) great great grandparents, 2 for each great grandparent or 16 for me
(8) great great great grandparents, 2 for each great great or 32 for me
(9) great great great great grandparents, 2 for each of last generation or 64 for me
(10) great great great great great grandparents, 2 for each of last generation or 128 for me.
(11) is a total of 256
(12) ancestors for just me would have to be 512
I actually have some ancestors in my (13) generation.  I sure don't know all of them...which would be 1,024 people.

Some of these people lived in Western Europe, and some were Native Americans, or from somewhere else entirely, and ended up meeting their mates and having a child.

And this is talking about just one generation at a time...all for just me.  So I'm pretty sure some cousins must have gotten together some of the time.  And not even known they were cousins, after all, if 1024 people were going to be parents of all these others, you'd better believe some would be related somehow.

If I knew who all those people were, I'd be amazed at all their life stories.  But the things I do know are:

• They all lived long enough to have at least one child

• Who also lived long enough to have at least one child

• There could be a total of all of those generations of parents which would be 2,046 parents that all once lived and gave me their genetic input.

• And I decided to stop counting, but we all know there were parents for the generation before the 13th...and so on.  Do you know how many parents there would have been in the 14th generation before me?  Answer: 4,092

This is where we begin to see that someplace along the line, ancestors merge all over the place.  At some point, multiplying times just 2 for each parent of each child, we will find the tribes of all humanity had just so many people  That's the fun thing about genetic tracing these days.  Some limited number of different lines can be defined by the genetic engineers.  Everyone is a descendent from these original limited lines.