An Ever-Growing Tree
At one point in time, I started a genealogy blog. Now, I can’t even remember the URL.
I started the blog to talk about four of my ancestral lines: the Lampleys, the Granades, the Marttinens, and the Sullivans.
The Lampleys arrived in Barbados in the 1600s, before moving on to Pennsylvania. The fact that the family became — or married — Quakers was of deep interest to me. I’m not a Quaker, but I‘m an admirer of some of their stances. (I aLso found it fascinating that the Lampleys married into a Quaker family originally from Devizes. That means that some of my ancestors were Quaker Moonrakers. Incroyable.)
The Granades, according to family history, arrived in North Carolina after leaving the Palatinate, where they arrived after leaving Belgium, where they arrived after leaving southern Spain, where they arrived after leaving North Africa. They were always on the move.
I have to confess, I had no idea about any of this until my mother and I took a DNA test. This was a few years ago, when people gave DNA tests as gifts around Christmas, Easter, and even as treats at Halloween. (At least they weren’t handing out needles.)
We weren’t surprised to have North African results — well, that’s not really true. We were surprised, but we weren’t upset or embarrassed or disbelieving. We were, however, curious. And that’s when I started assembling our tree.
Ultimately, I figured out that her great-grandfather had a grandmother who was a Granade. (Actually, she was a great-grandmother, if I’m remembering things correctly. I’ll have to check. One thing I know for certain, though, was that he descended from this woman through two separate lines. Which means our family has more than one link to the Granades.)
It was quite fun to find cousins who shared ties to the Granade family. And, in the process of researching my own family history, I developed an interest in reading up on the general history of southern Spain and North Africa. I’m very much enamored with the time, the place, and the culture my ancestors knew.
The Marttinen family descended from a Finn from Savonia, based on what I’ve read online. When I used a genealogy website to search for my cousins in Finland, 358 people popped up. Three hundred fifty-eight Finns.
These folks are mostly from the eastern side of the country, with a few living in other places like Oulu and Kiiminki. I wasn’t surprised to see lots of Savonians and Karelians — but I was most excited when I saw other people with the name Marttinen in their family tree.
Another family name that pops up quite frequently is Sullivan. I’m related to nearly every Sullivan-descended person in my home county. From what I understand, our Sullivans were from Cork, which seems like a cool part of Ireland.
Lampleys, Granades, Marttinens, Sullivans — among countless others. Even after years of research, I still consider myself an intermediate researcher.
I’m still researching Gibsons, Bruces, Barretts, Beans, and a host of other people. And I’m enjoying finding stories, some of which are hundreds of years old.
I love to read about culture, I love to find cousins, I love to learn about other people. I love hunting for stories. I love sharing what I’ve learned. But, more than that, I love sharing stories with other people who can relate — whether they’re relatives or not.
I think that’s what most of us are looking for: not only people to share stories with, but people who can appreciate and relate to the stories we share. To connect and to be connected — a beautiful feeling.
