Sunday, April 17, 2011

My 3rd Great Grandparents were Distant Cousins

It isn't unusual for spouses to discover they are distantly related. But lately I've studied my third great grandparents, Arva Phelps and Elizabeth Bartlett Phelps, quite a lot and today when I realized they were also distant cousins, I was surprised. I prepared this chart to illustrate their connection and relationship to me.

4 comments:

Dorene from Ohio said...

Awesome chart! I have a great aunt and uncle who were third cousins. It seems more common as you go back in time...I think people didn't have the opportunity to leave their own community...

Lori H said...

Becky, I'm actually surprised that we haven't discovered this happening even more than it did since communities were so small and most of the time people of similar nationalities settled in the same areas. It's so interesting!

Ann@A Sentimental Life said...

it sure helps when researching a line! I knew my 2 grandfathers had the same great grandfather. My mom use to tell me "don't tell people that!" But my one grandfather remember my other grandfathers grandmother more than he did and i loved hearing stories about her.

Heather Wilkinson Rojo said...

Wow! I have 2 comments, first, you must be cousins to me through the Phelps line, because I am a descendant of William Chandler and Annis Bayford, Sarah Chandler's grandparents. Second, this reads like a directory of my neighborhood here in New Hampshire. I have Phelps, Bartlett, Blodgett and Lovejoy neighbors.