The ladies in the picture are two of my great grand aunts from my mother’s side of the family.
Our common original ancestor is their father, my great great grandfather, Andrew Wilson Swope.
And yes, I consulted a Chart O’ Consanguinity or two to be sure I had the proper phraseology!
Kinship can be extremely confusing once you move beyond grandparents.
For example, do you know how it happens that two people can be double first cousins? They are first cousins once on their father’s side and once again on their mother’s side—the children of sisters who married brothers, like my great grand aunts.
Aunt (pronounced “AIN'T!) “Etta” was my great great grandparents’ eldest child. According to my grandmother’s bible, Henrietta was born 26 November 1876. The minister’s return at the bottom of her marriage license states she married Joseph Freeman (a teamster who would become a respected stone mason) on 31 May 1899; he was 25, she was 22. They had one son, Boise, who was born 16 January 1905. Aunt Etta died either Christmas Eve 1918 or Christmas Day 1919. She was in her early 40's. As of this writing, I have yet to unearth her death certificate therefore I can neither confirm nor deny what I found in two different bibles that belonged to my grandmother.
Aunt (also pronounced AIN’T!) “Corie” was the second child of my great great grandparents. Cora Luvenia was born 14 February 1878. The minister’s return at the bottom of her marriage license indicates she married Henderson Everet Freeman (he was a miller his whole life) on 23 October 1901. Like her big sister Etta, Cora was also 22 when she married. Although Everet was seven years her senior and, statistically speaking, wives usually outlive their husbands, Aunt Corie preceded Everet in death. According to her death certificate, she died 1 May 1954 from apoplexy due to arteriosclerosis—basically a stroke brought on by hardening of the arteries. She was 76. Everet and Cora had eight children: Everetta, Powell, Earl, Lawrence, Lillian, Thurmond, Elliot and Courtney.
These children had one double cousin, Aunt Etta’s Boise.
But Boise had eight double cousins!
Next week: I’ll explain how I was able to figure out the date this photo of Etta and Cora was taken.
Our common original ancestor is their father, my great great grandfather, Andrew Wilson Swope.
And yes, I consulted a Chart O’ Consanguinity or two to be sure I had the proper phraseology!
Kinship can be extremely confusing once you move beyond grandparents.
For example, do you know how it happens that two people can be double first cousins? They are first cousins once on their father’s side and once again on their mother’s side—the children of sisters who married brothers, like my great grand aunts.
Aunt (pronounced “AIN'T!) “Etta” was my great great grandparents’ eldest child. According to my grandmother’s bible, Henrietta was born 26 November 1876. The minister’s return at the bottom of her marriage license states she married Joseph Freeman (a teamster who would become a respected stone mason) on 31 May 1899; he was 25, she was 22. They had one son, Boise, who was born 16 January 1905. Aunt Etta died either Christmas Eve 1918 or Christmas Day 1919. She was in her early 40's. As of this writing, I have yet to unearth her death certificate therefore I can neither confirm nor deny what I found in two different bibles that belonged to my grandmother.
Aunt (also pronounced AIN’T!) “Corie” was the second child of my great great grandparents. Cora Luvenia was born 14 February 1878. The minister’s return at the bottom of her marriage license indicates she married Henderson Everet Freeman (he was a miller his whole life) on 23 October 1901. Like her big sister Etta, Cora was also 22 when she married. Although Everet was seven years her senior and, statistically speaking, wives usually outlive their husbands, Aunt Corie preceded Everet in death. According to her death certificate, she died 1 May 1954 from apoplexy due to arteriosclerosis—basically a stroke brought on by hardening of the arteries. She was 76. Everet and Cora had eight children: Everetta, Powell, Earl, Lawrence, Lillian, Thurmond, Elliot and Courtney.
These children had one double cousin, Aunt Etta’s Boise.
But Boise had eight double cousins!
Next week: I’ll explain how I was able to figure out the date this photo of Etta and Cora was taken.