Laura that's very kind of you! It's starting to get very satisfying, as I build the connections to the pre-1700 work that others have ready and waiting for us, and the broader connections are bubbling up. (Though you're so right about the Sinks-that's a sketchy hot mess, and I'm sure we're missing out on very colorful stuff! It's nice to have stuff to brag about, but some funny stories would be nice too!)
If you need a fun diversion, check out the cool new apps under "Family Tree and Tools" called "Ancestor Explorer" and "Fan Chart," not to forget the "Relationship Finder" that they promote here and there (not "connections"-that's just a parlor game). We're related to all the Magna Carta signatories via the Cumings. My neck of the tree is related to almost half the US presidents-most via the Cumings and Tenneys, and a smattering from colonial Ellises, but all roads led through Oberlin. 14 revolutionaries (including a surprise one on my mother's French Canadian side--already approved in the DAR database--my 42 first cousins up there will surely be amused that they are eligible for DAR and SAR membership). If I gave you a head start on the Cumings, then all the sooner you can have fun with your White and other branches. By the way, I ended up finding several copies of the printed genealogy booklets your grandmother had commissioned--as well as a copy of a letter from my grandfather responding to your grandmother's request for any corrections that had to be made to the Ellis pages on the initial galleys. I guess she was kind enough to include all of her siblings' in-laws in the scope. (And if not, I think she might have been his Godmother and hence the special treatment. It was nice to see that the Cumings connection remained for decades after my GGM died; from where you and I--and certainly our newly discovered second cousin Peggy--sit it had seemed like it had been so cut-off.) Anyway, enough rambling (for now). I truly appreciate your, well, your appreciation! Thanks for taking the time when I'm sure your workload hasn't lightened. Hope you're hanging in there. All the best for the New Year!
Cousin Bernard
