Week 51: Cousins

Growing up in Northern Indiana, most of my cousins lived less than an hour away, which meant our families got together a lot.  Many of us have moved far apart as adults, but the close and common bonds we formed in our childhood make it easy to slip back into the familiar friendships when we do manage to get together now.  We may not see each other as much as we'd like, but we cousins have a special knowledge and love for each other that just isn't the same with people we've met later in life.

When we're together we tell stories from our shared past and about family members who've passed away.  We laugh like crazy at some of our funniest memories (like Roger the dog boy and Grandma's forbidden candy dish) and share intergenerational stories about those in the generations before us.  Some of my cousins know family history that I don't remember or never knew and have been a great resource in my genealogy research.  They remember places that people before us lived, have documents that are helpful, and have given me pictures that I cherish.  Each of us hears and learns tidbits of family history from a different perspective. When I discover something interesting in my genealogy research I can't wait to email or text them so they can hear about it.

         Scott cousins in 2005 attempting to recreate a group shot from the late 1960s

         Front row:  Tiz, Paula, Janet, Becky

         Back row:  Bill, Carol, Larry, Jo Ann, John, Jerry

         Missing:  Janice

             The first four Scott cousins in 1952

             On the floor:  Janice, Carol, Larry

             On Mom's lap:  Jo Ann

             Adults:  Rene Scott, Audrey Scott, GrandDad Scott, Peg Scott

             Feet:  Grandma Scott

              Williams cousins around 1962

              Front:  Jerry

              On the fence:  Janet, Bruce, Brian, Amy (held up by Grandma Williams)

              Toddlers or infants not shown:  Larry, Brad, Laurie

              Not born till much later:  Bobbie Jo, Gary

Facebook and Instagram have helped to keep us cousins up to date in each other's lives over the last ten or twelve years.  There's even a special FB page for the Bird Family, made up of my Scott cousins and of second cousins on my Dad's maternal side of the family.  I've been able to pose questions there about my great-grandparents and grand aunts and uncles that have been answered from several points of view. 

During the hours I've spent on Ancestry.com, my family tree has branched into the present and not just the past.  I've found and connected by email with Brenda Studebaker and Missy Song, both 4th cousins from Indiana on my Scott family tree.  Our shared ancestors are our 3x great-grandparents Caleb Scott and Mary Ivins.  I've also found and connected with Avery Williams, a 4th cousin who lives in Louisiana.  Our common ancestors are our 3x great-grandparents John Williams and Eliza Calendar.  If I had met Brenda, Missy, or Avery on the street a few years back they would have been complete strangers to me, but now that we've discovered our common ancestors, we feel a special cousin bond.  Missy, Brenda, and I have talked about meeting in person--something that I've made a goal for 2024.  There's something about having shared centimorgans of DNA that compels me to get to know these distant cousins to add a different dimension to my family.