Out On A Limb With Jean

            There are probably very few Americans whose DNA would show only one ethnicity.   With the lineage of both the LAREW and the CHURCHWELL sides dating back to Colonial days, when asked about my heritage I would always say I am “Heinz 57” – a little bit of everything.   But how does one calculate the percentages of their ethnicity?   I could say I am half French and have English, but that’s just going off of my last name and my mother’s maiden name.   If you know who your ancestors are going back several generations, you can figure out your percentages.            Take my husband Craig for example.   He would say he’s half German and half Polish, and he would be partly correct.   His mother, Theresa SZCZESNY, was 100% Polish, so he is 50%, which means our daughters are 25%.   But he is not 50% German since his dad, William HOFFMANN, was not 100% German; his maternal gr...

            My previous post was on causes of death, so it seems natural to follow a discussion of death with a discussion of cemeteries.   I find it an interesting fact that every culture around the world and throughout history has some sort of ritual surrounding the disposition of human remains.   Depending on the cultural or religious practices of any given ethnic group, rituals surrounding the treatment of human remains might consist of a funeral pyre, funeral scaffold, burial cave or catacomb, in-ground burial, above-ground mausoleum or cremation niche, or an urn of cremains kept by a loved one.   American is a fairly young country, unlike most of the rest of the world, so most of the cemeteries in the U.S. do not practice strict perpetual care rules.   In places like Germany the body is removed after so many years to make room for another burial.   The practice is, if no relative is paying the annual $1000 to $5000 fee ...

          One thing our ancestors all have in common is the simple fact that they are deceased.   But the cause of death and the age vary.   Some died of disease, or during childbirth; some died of old age or a long-term physical ailment; still others were killed by someone else, and even a few died at their own hand.   I’m going to tell some of these stories.   Not all of these will be direct ancestors, and I will include their relationship to our nearest ancestor in their story.        One of the earliest causes of death I have a record of is John WOODSON (1586-1644), my 9x great-grandfather who was killed by Indians in Virginia.  His story can be found in my previous blog, “The Churchwell Family Tree,” published on July 27, 2020.  You can read an article on the Woodson story at https://www.carolinajournal.com/opinion-article/hidden-in-a-potato-hole/        Deaths during war time to...

I have been very blessed to be the keeper of the family history.   Not only did I inherit my dad’s interest in the family tree, but as I asked relatives for their memories they in turn shared with me some family treasures.   Although they may  not have any real monetary value, they are valuable by the mere fact of who owned them.   Take for instance, a simple wooden box my mother kept.   She bought it in Brownwood, Texas, where she followed my dad there when he was in basic training for the Army.   I recall seeing it in her dresser and I would pick it up and shake it and hear the coins rattling inside.   When I acquired it after she had died it was empty, and I was glad she finally spent the coins she had saved for so long.   She also gave me a  goblet that was given to my dad by his mother who said it had  had belonged to her father, Clayborn Samson VANHOOSER (1859-1899).       I have many, many Bibles.   M...