One, Two, Buckle Your Shoes, Three, Four, Ancestors Galore

 As one might guess, I have long been interested in family history. And what my ancestors have done and what context they lived their lives in. For example, I love reading Marie de France; did any of my ancestors ever read one of her lais, or am I the first? Had any of my direct ancestors even heard of her? I hope at least one ancestor read Marie’s work and enjoyed it. I imagine if anyone came across it, it would have been when Jessie Weston’s translation came out, and that was not too many generations ago.

As I was thinking about the generations of people that came before me, I decided to try and see how many ancestors I have. I didn’t want to count them, so I looked for the answer, and there’s a handy graphic for all of us to consult. All you need to do is count the rings to identify the generation: the sixth generation contains your 4th Great-Grandparents. By the sixth generation, you have 64 ancestors, which then doubles in the seventh generation to 128 individuals.

As you begin to research your family history, each generation you look into grows larger and larger than the generation before. For me, this fact straddles the thin line between anticipation and resignation. It’s fun to think of who I might uncover next, but some days, I can’t get over the fact that my family history will never be complete. This is not an uncommon feeling, so the key is not to let it discourage you. I will take breaks when needed, but I always go back to researching my people.

My hope for my fall/winter vacation is to make a side day trip to Morgan, Utah, the former home of some of my ancestors. My goal for the trip is to visit the cemetery and identify the graves of my second great-grandparents, George Williams and Ann Williams. I have not identified Ann’s maiden name, but Williams may very well be her maiden name. We shall see what the research reveals. She died after giving birth to twins in 1879. The family is difficult to trace because after her death, some of her children were split into separate households and I have not identified those families yet.

I’ll work on a little story of the research I have so far and share it here. If you have any suggestions for sources, share them in the comments!