This week I lost a cousin from cancer. She was young, 59. I can't say she's my favorite cousin because that would be unfair to all my other cousins. All my cousins are my favorite cousins. Every one of my relatives are precious and essential and are responsible for the person I have become. That may sound like I'm blaming people, I'm not. I'm praising them. My good comes from them. My bad is attributed to the influences and interactions with the evil bastards, mostly strangers, in the world, who have made me the cynical, vengeful and angry old man. But I'm okay with that. I've learned to harvest the best and put my best person forward. Most of the times. Meh!
On my mother's side of the family, we have lost seven blood cousins which actually include my two youngest siblings. On my father's side, as far as I know, are all intact. All my Aunts and Uncles on both sides have past accept one Aunt on each side. I have a maternal Uncle (brother-in-law) and a maternal Aunt (sister-in-law) alive and thankfully kicking. But that doesn't mean they are any less part of the family. I equally love them as family as I would a blood relative. That's goes the same for my married (in-law) cousins. You may not be blood but your are family. Matter of fact, I like some of those cousins better than my blood cousins. Yes, I love all my relatives, but that doesn't mean you don't piss me off. You know who you are!
Since I can remember, I have had relatives pass away. I've known people who have never had a relative pass until they themselves were in an advanced age. Death came with life in our family. People were born and people died. Often in a short period of time from each other. People got married. My youngest brother had a wedding planned (2000) and went on with it 4 months after our father passed. Time stands still for no one. Side note: He and his bride were both an hour late to the church. Kept all of us waiting in a damn church for over an hour. Man, was I pissed? I don't like churches.
The 2010 decade has not been kind to us or without sorrow.
My losses:
2010 - a paternal blood aunt (my dad's eldest sister)
2013 - my mother
2014 - a maternal blood aunt (my mother's youngest sister)
2015 - my youngest sister
2016 - my youngest brother
2017 - a maternal cousin (my oldest cousin on my mother's side of the fam)
2018 - a paternal uncle (my dad's brother-in-law)
2020 - a maternal cousin
That's eight passings in one decade. Seems like a lot.
My late sister had joined the Ancestry.com community 20 years ago. She started a family tree. She didn't get that far with it. Which brings me to today. I joined in 2016, but have done nothing with it. Joining costs nothing. However, to create a family tree costs. Mucho dinero. So, after some thinking, I decided that with the most recent passing in my family that I would bite the bullet, spend the money, forge on and take up where my sister left off.
I have created The Family Tree which presently is public but without knowing the name of the tree or my Ancestry account name, you can't reach it. Will I keep it public? Doubt it. Will I share it? Only with those who want to see it and only if they're family. I don't want any creepy people stalking my family. I do have some of the most beautiful people in the world in my family. That's not my opinion. That's a fact. For proof, I offer a recent picture of me.
With the help of a paternal cousin, on that side of the family, she is my favorite, we'll call her KL. We started to mold and create my paternal side of the tree. KL and I spent close to eight hours on the phone yesterday going over our Family tree because she had built one already too and was further along than mine. It had been a while since we spoke and I thought this would be great to catch up and tell tales. Which we did. According to our research our family goes back easily to the 1700s in the USA, possibly even farther back. Can any of you boast that? My maternal side not so far back. They arrived from Italy around the turn of the 20th century.
We have one great-great-great-great something, who fathered 13 children between two wives. His first wife birthed six or seven children before she died. His second wife gave him the remainder. Those farmer types really had no other forms of recreation. I guess.
Also, which I still haven't found proof, we're supposedly have a second great grandmother (great-great grandmother, I guess) that was an Iroquois Indian. So, stick that in your white devil's peace pipe and smoke it. Like I said, I still haven't seen proof. But if it's true, I think that makes me 50% Italian, 37.5% German, 6.25% Irish, Scotch or English and 6.25% Native American Iroquois Indian. I wonder if I can get a Native American Grant of some sorts.
On my mother's side of the family, we have lost seven blood cousins which actually include my two youngest siblings. On my father's side, as far as I know, are all intact. All my Aunts and Uncles on both sides have past accept one Aunt on each side. I have a maternal Uncle (brother-in-law) and a maternal Aunt (sister-in-law) alive and thankfully kicking. But that doesn't mean they are any less part of the family. I equally love them as family as I would a blood relative. That's goes the same for my married (in-law) cousins. You may not be blood but your are family. Matter of fact, I like some of those cousins better than my blood cousins. Yes, I love all my relatives, but that doesn't mean you don't piss me off. You know who you are!
Since I can remember, I have had relatives pass away. I've known people who have never had a relative pass until they themselves were in an advanced age. Death came with life in our family. People were born and people died. Often in a short period of time from each other. People got married. My youngest brother had a wedding planned (2000) and went on with it 4 months after our father passed. Time stands still for no one. Side note: He and his bride were both an hour late to the church. Kept all of us waiting in a damn church for over an hour. Man, was I pissed? I don't like churches.
The 2010 decade has not been kind to us or without sorrow.
My losses:
2010 - a paternal blood aunt (my dad's eldest sister)
2013 - my mother
2014 - a maternal blood aunt (my mother's youngest sister)
2015 - my youngest sister
2016 - my youngest brother
2017 - a maternal cousin (my oldest cousin on my mother's side of the fam)
2018 - a paternal uncle (my dad's brother-in-law)
2020 - a maternal cousin
That's eight passings in one decade. Seems like a lot.
My late sister had joined the Ancestry.com community 20 years ago. She started a family tree. She didn't get that far with it. Which brings me to today. I joined in 2016, but have done nothing with it. Joining costs nothing. However, to create a family tree costs. Mucho dinero. So, after some thinking, I decided that with the most recent passing in my family that I would bite the bullet, spend the money, forge on and take up where my sister left off.
I have created The Family Tree which presently is public but without knowing the name of the tree or my Ancestry account name, you can't reach it. Will I keep it public? Doubt it. Will I share it? Only with those who want to see it and only if they're family. I don't want any creepy people stalking my family. I do have some of the most beautiful people in the world in my family. That's not my opinion. That's a fact. For proof, I offer a recent picture of me.
 |
| Taken this morning before breakfast just after I got up. And that's the Family tree I'm hanging from |
We have one great-great-great-great something, who fathered 13 children between two wives. His first wife birthed six or seven children before she died. His second wife gave him the remainder. Those farmer types really had no other forms of recreation. I guess.
Also, which I still haven't found proof, we're supposedly have a second great grandmother (great-great grandmother, I guess) that was an Iroquois Indian. So, stick that in your white devil's peace pipe and smoke it. Like I said, I still haven't seen proof. But if it's true, I think that makes me 50% Italian, 37.5% German, 6.25% Irish, Scotch or English and 6.25% Native American Iroquois Indian. I wonder if I can get a Native American Grant of some sorts.
Whether all of this is true remains to be seen. I had taken the Ancestry.com DNA test. I wrote about it here. The accuracy of the test remains to be seen too. I have my doubts. I've thought of taking it again but don't really have a $100 burning a hole in my bank account. I did retest with 23 and me. I received different results slightly. Neither test claims I have Native American blood. But! How many Native Americans are sending in DNA results?
I write this BLOG with somewhat of a heavy heart. As I am mourning my late relative, I've had to pause many times as my emotions had gotten the better of me. We persevere. We power-on. And I'll be most interested to see where my Family Tree takes me back in time and toward the future. I have a new paternal cousin (first cousin three times removed) born in 2019. Life moves forward and the tree grows many new branches and leaves. And may it always. Until next time, TTFN.
I write this BLOG with somewhat of a heavy heart. As I am mourning my late relative, I've had to pause many times as my emotions had gotten the better of me. We persevere. We power-on. And I'll be most interested to see where my Family Tree takes me back in time and toward the future. I have a new paternal cousin (first cousin three times removed) born in 2019. Life moves forward and the tree grows many new branches and leaves. And may it always. Until next time, TTFN.
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