Family Trees and Kissing Cousins

 

In recent years Nellybert has let the garden areas in Springhill go to rack and ruin. Last week we decided to act and got a man in to do something about it. So far he has uncovered a forgotten hawthorn tree, some buried rhubarb and a rotten egg. He says he has a scythe. 

Martha has received some pleasing news this week. Thanks to her mum's family tree research she has found out that both of her step-grandparents are related to her for it turns out that Granda Mick and Granny Linda, who both hail from Leek in Staffordshire, are cousins! Neither of them were aware of this until Zoe told them. To be exact they are third cousins which means their common ancestors are great-great grandparents. We already knew through DNA testing that Bert and Martha's dad are related. No-one knows how. It's estimated between third and fifth cousins but as Bert's DNA is concentrated due to his maternal grandparents being first cousins and his mum and dad being second cousins, once removed, the issue is complicated. My best guess is that the common ancestor there might date from as far back as the 18th century. 

Still, as far as  Martha is concerned a relly is a relly and she is pleased with the connection to Linda and Bert. Not half as pleased as I am though, with my hacking and slashing gardener. Wonder if we're related?

By the way, for those who don't quite get it Martha is Linda's third cousin, twice removed.

And another thing - my great-uncle Father Joe Byrne was the person who explained to my mother how cousinship worked and she explained it to me. Father Joe was keen on the family tree research and being a priest had easy access to parish registers all over Ireland and beyond. He'd seek out distant cousins and even found his niece, my Aunt Roisin, a lovely husband in Middlesbrough who was a far-out cousin. I'm sure it was a blessing to Granny who must have thought she'd never get Roisin out of the house.