So this is kind of funny. The last several years, I’ve had contact with one of Steve’s distant cousins via email and such, though I have met him twice when he’s been in our area. But don’t let the word “distant” throw you off, we have done a lot of talking and sharing about the mutual family between him and Steve, and in the scheme of things, they’re not all that distant. They are the same generations away from the shared ancestor, both great-great grandsons, and so they are 3rd cousins.

Anyway, I was catching up on some email last weekend when I discovered something. He had mentioned a family name in an email and I asked him if a certain person with that last name sounded familiar. Yes, he says, she is the sister of his great-great-great-great grandfather. I have to laugh, because that sister is my great-great-great-great-great grandmother.

There you have it, folks, I now have a cousin (5th, twice removed) who is also related to my husband. Heh.

But don’t misunderstand, I’m not related to my husband! We just have ancestors who knew each other, probably very well. Everyone in this town and county knew and most still know each other very well. It’s funny, because when you look at some of the old records and see who was where, you know they had to know each other. Steve’s great-great grandfather (the same one that he shares with the cousin I was talking about) was in the MO 21st Inf, Co K in the Civil War. They were Union draftees. Also in that regiment is a third husband to one of Steve’s great-great-great grandmothers (now she’s a story all in herself), the husband she married after his ggg-grandfather died. These two men had to know each other, but I’ll bet they never dreamed they’d both be connected to the same person (people) down the line like that.

My mom keeps telling me I should write some historical fiction about all these people…