Anyone else agree?

Question

Jeff Foxworthy says, "You may be a redneck if your family tree does not branch." When I was in my 20's I started doing genealogy research. I should explain that my mother's family has lived on the same mountain for over 200 years. My father's family has lived nearby since before the Revolution. Despite being in PA the area was not settled until about 1800 and then for about 150 years not many people moved in or out.

I discovered that both of my mother's parents had ancestors with the last name Edkin. Problem was that most of the Edkin males had the name George and few had a middle name or initial so sorting them out was going to be a headache. Then one day my grandmother was showing me old photos and she said, "This is Aunt Judy." Though I didn't have any of my research notes with me something in my brain went click and I asked Aunt Judy WHO? That's when I found out that my grandmother and her mother-in-law were 1st cousins! Those Edkins were all the same Edkins!

Answer 1

Yes, on my mother's side in Canada in the early 1800s.  People living in small communities many years ago did not move around much.  So intermarriage was a fact of life.

Even the occasional first cousin marriage.

Think of what the first trains did to the gene pool.  And the migration to America really deepened the pool.  

That is why so many Americans can not  claim to be only Norwegian for example, or only English.  (Many find the more lines, the more to brag about.)

And possibly why the genealogy bug has bitten so many.

Answer 2

I have found some ancestors that were in more than one line of my family.  I have one that is an ancestor of 3 of my 4 great-grandparents on my mom's side.  I have not gotten far in the 4th great-grandparents line yet, so I don't know yet if that ancestor might turn up in that line as well.

Answer 3

My maternal grandparents from a small town in Canada were second cousins. I was told they were sixth cousins but the family tree says otherwise. I found a picture of my grandmother's grandfather, and he looked so much like my grandfather it gave me a crazy feeling. I'm not going back to find a mate in that town either.

Anyway they say (not that I want to try it) that although marriages between close relatives increase the risk of genetic disorders, they can also re-enforce positive traits.

Answer 4

Can you grab a tiny piece of humor?  It reduces the expense of your research, by reducing the places you have to search.

It REALLY is not that uncommon.  People who don't do research, often don't realize it.  My daughter and husband are distant relatives.  My husband and ex husband (from totally different parts of the country) both trace back to early Va and a common ancestor. That makes my kids 7th cousins once removed to their step father.  

With very few exceptions... the issue about genetic defects is not true. Some genetic disorders do get passed down, but that is not limited to families with intermarriages.

Think also in strictly research terms.. what you are doing is documenting facts.. not passing judgement on good/bad.  Not that you could change the past, anyway.. it is what it is.

In a way, I honestly envy that you have that kind of continuity to a locality and history.  Don't let the rest of it bother you.