I have the WILDEST family tree. Not only do I come from polygamist stock (3 generations back) on my mother's side, but my Mom has 9 sisters, and I have like 40 million cousins because we pretty much were all raised Mormon. I preface every discussion of my numbers of siblings with the statement "I was raised in Utah." The reaction is a collective "Oh!" as in they get it - no further explanation required. So being the times that we are in now, well, divorce happens. And as a result, I have 4 brothers and sisters from my Mom, and 4 brothers and sisters from my Dad. But this isn't really about my siblings, so I guess I'll start with my Paternal Grandmother. Whiplash! Keep up! I have changed direction and you'd better get used to it.
My Grandma Eliza married my Grandpa Pedersen at a very young age. I'm thinking 15 or so. He must have been a real hottie because her sister decided to marry his brother. Cool, right? Okay, so now think of this... both sisters have kids. These kids go to Maternal Grandparent's house for Thanksgiving, and their cousins from their mother's side are there as expected. At Christmastime, they go to their Paternal Grandparent's house and again, same cousins are there... why? They're double cousins! So this is the story of my Dad, Hal, and his double cousin Karl.
Fast forward 36 years. My dad is single again, and my mother is single again. They get married. How did they meet? Well, because my Mom's sister Sherolyn is married to my Dad's double cousin Karl. I'll give you a minute here to catch up. Perhaps it would be better if you drew it out family tree-style. Odd Fact: My parents marriage was the second for both of them. But for my mom's first marriage, she wore my dad's first wife's wedding gown! Okay, back to the story...
So now, my mom has 4 kids, my dad has 4 kids, and they got married and had me. Yours, Mine, and Ours. I'm the Ours. Now here's the kicker......
If I ever need some sort of closest matching relative's tissue, I can't ask my own siblings, because believe it or not, I'm more closely related DNA-wise to my cousins from my Mom's sister Sherolyn and my Dad's double cousin Karl. They have exactly the same gene pool as me, and my 8 half brothers and sisters only come half way close.
You'd better read it again - I didn't understand it all until I was about 14... and I'd been trying for years!
from Rachel Pedersen Stewart
My Grandma Eliza married my Grandpa Pedersen at a very young age. I'm thinking 15 or so. He must have been a real hottie because her sister decided to marry his brother. Cool, right? Okay, so now think of this... both sisters have kids. These kids go to Maternal Grandparent's house for Thanksgiving, and their cousins from their mother's side are there as expected. At Christmastime, they go to their Paternal Grandparent's house and again, same cousins are there... why? They're double cousins! So this is the story of my Dad, Hal, and his double cousin Karl.
Fast forward 36 years. My dad is single again, and my mother is single again. They get married. How did they meet? Well, because my Mom's sister Sherolyn is married to my Dad's double cousin Karl. I'll give you a minute here to catch up. Perhaps it would be better if you drew it out family tree-style. Odd Fact: My parents marriage was the second for both of them. But for my mom's first marriage, she wore my dad's first wife's wedding gown! Okay, back to the story...
So now, my mom has 4 kids, my dad has 4 kids, and they got married and had me. Yours, Mine, and Ours. I'm the Ours. Now here's the kicker......
If I ever need some sort of closest matching relative's tissue, I can't ask my own siblings, because believe it or not, I'm more closely related DNA-wise to my cousins from my Mom's sister Sherolyn and my Dad's double cousin Karl. They have exactly the same gene pool as me, and my 8 half brothers and sisters only come half way close.
You'd better read it again - I didn't understand it all until I was about 14... and I'd been trying for years!
from Rachel Pedersen Stewart
Niece/daughter of The Girls
You are sooo darling, Rach. Love This! - V
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