friday five: family tree edition

 Gravestone of my great-great-great-great-great-grandmother, mother-in-law of Anne McKinne I

At RevGals Sophia directs us to think about our family tree. For the record, I did NOT pay her to choose this topic. Regular readers have already heard some of this, but there are others who haven't read those posts! Here goes:

1. Do you have any interest in genealogy?
That would be an unqualified "yes!" I got interested in family history way back in the dawn of my life (or more accurately, mid-morning). I was ten or eleven. When you're told that you are the seventh Anne McKinne, you start asking questions.

2. Which countries did your ancestors come from?
On both sides of the family the lineage hails from England, with strains of Scotland, Ireland and Wales in the mix. I seem to identify most with the Scottish DNA. There is Dutch-German and German flavor as well.

3. Who is the farthest back ancestor whose name you know?
Edward I, King of England. I am very fortunate that both my grandmothers had a interest in genealogy and passed on to me the records they had acquired, so I have lots of information. I've done my own research to fill in gaps, verify data and raise some questions. I can never get enough, though, and have so many questions about the what's and how's hidden behind the data.

4. Any favorite saints or sinners in the group?

Hah! I can tell you that my paternal grandfather died in the arms of another woman while out of town at a newspaper convention in Columbus, Ohio. That skeleton did not stay in the closet! Other than that the stories are interesting more than they are juicy. For instance, a great-great-great-great-grandfather was pastor of the congregational church in Bristol, RI for some forty years. He kept a meticulous diary, and included in it portions of conversations he shared with people over meals, or which he found of particular value to him. On one occasion a trial in the community involved a dispute between two men with conflicting understandings about a transaction into which they had entered with each other. It turns out that Grandfather Wight had recorded some information about this in his diary, and the diary entry was admitted as evidence at the trial. Those were the days, eh?

5. What would you want your descendants to remember about you?
I have no descendants, but I hope that I will be remembered by those in my life as being compassionate and giving. My mother is a great model in life and I would like to be more like. She, like her mother before her, is a great maintainer of relationships. I seem to take more after my father in nature in that department, but I aspire to be more like my mom in that way. I guess I would like to be remembered as I will remember her: helpful, selfless, caring, generous of heart, and so much more.

Bonus: a song, prayer, or poem that speaks of family--blood or chosen--to you.
I need to think about this and post later.