I’ve really struggled with this week’s 52 Ancestors Challenge theme of “Friends”. I have not had a scintilla of inspiration. I tried to tackle the topic from a new perspective. No Dutch ancestors with the surname “Vriend”. No Quaker ancestors. No one that I could think of who were members of a fraternal organization. Finally, I settled on a bit of a thought experiment: people who might have been friends, or at least who might have known each other.
My wife and I have very little in common genealogically. My lineage is largely Dutch, Germans from Russia, and adherents of the Mormon church from its earliest days. My wife has incredibly deep roots in the Maritimes, mostly of Irish descent. She also has a branch of her family that originated in Ontario, likely of English background. There is very little overlap.
One thing we each have in common is a Mayflower ancestor. Mine is Francis Eaton, hers is Richard Warren. Outside our Mayflower ancestors, we both have other branches that reach well back into 17th century colonial New England, including not only Massachusetts but also Connecticut. I have come across names in both our trees of people who lived in the same place at the same time many times. Needless to say, I would not be surprised if some of my ancestors knew my wife’s ancestors. Who knows (absent further research!) if any of them might have been friends?
However, not only I have never found a common ancestor between the two of us, I have yet to find any connection between our trees, such as distant cousins. Of course, somewhere out there a connection exists. As our eight-year-old repeatedly says, “after all, everyone’s related!”
A Deck of Ancestors 