Update: The only gardening I do
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
It never really occurred to me why people were so obsessed with genealogy, but in the recent weeks, the research and the adventure has captivated my attention for HOURS... Hours probably adds to full days.D and I even turned it into a bit of a competition. He was still optimistic of his chances of the amount of people he could add and how far back he could go, even when competing against a Catholic family and our huge numbers.
For awhile, he was definitely ahead. Though I had invited more relatives to join, his dad and grandparents were more helpful with historical information. I hit a wall with my side of the family as my parents hadn't provided me much additional insights. I got as far as my great grandparents, but they haven't given me names of their cousins and aunts and uncles. My research had come to a complete halt.
But then!!!! D shot his own foot. He signed up for a trial membership with Ancestry.com and used their functionality to compare your entire tree to any existing trees on the site. In his quest to find his relations, he came across some of mine... some, being an understatement.
A member of my grandfather's (on my mom's side) of the family had worked on a tree, and filled in over 600 members, all the way up to my great (x4) grandparents. I've migrated half the information and actually connected with this family member on Ancestry's website. He is my second cousin twice removed... so yeah, pretty far out there.
Our common ancestor was a priest in the southern islands of Philippines who traveled and fornicated more than a priest should as he had over a half dozen wives and multiple children from each of them.
Though this new found information was not really research I had done on my own, it is still astonishing to see how families expand and your own history.
I have yet to add the other half of the new-found information, but there is no rush... as I'm pretty sure I'm ahead of the little game D and I are playing...
Leave your response