Week 39 (Sept. 24-30): Surprise

The biggest surprise to me about my family just happened a few days ago. 

Let's get the background. 

My generation had 8 cousins, namely seven girls and one boy. Since my mother was an only child, there weren't any first cousins on her family side...but I've learned of some second and third cousins in my ancestry work.

Of my cousins, one family was raised right in Houston where our grandparents lived. And one family moved to St. Louis, MO (mine). And another one lived in Wausau and then Stevens Point, WI.

So the cousins had few opportunities to meet each other as they were growing up. Back in the 50s it took several days to travel from Houston to St. Louis by car, and another long one to get to Wausau.

But the grandparents did make at least one trip to visit my family in St. Louis, (probably by train)...as my photo album attests to.

My dad, grandfather, grandmother and myself somewhere in St. Louis 1957-59 sometime

And the young St. Louis family did get together at least once in Wisconsin, while the Wisconsin family visited the Houston cousins at least once. And the Houston cousins even took the train without parents to visit the St. Louis cousins once. That's it during our childhoods.

Two Texas cousins in back and St. Louis cousins in front (me on right)

Through all 81 years of my life, I did see some of my Wisconsin cousins as an adult with my first 2 children. And I visited the Houston cousins as a young mother once when our grandmother was dying. I may have also seen them at the funeral but don't remember that at all.

Then several years ago I took the proverbial bull by the horn and emailed my one male cousin, who lives in Columbia SC, about 2-1/2 hours from my home in Black Mountain NC. And I asked if I could meet him for lunch (with my friend who was going with me to see the Escher exhibit at the Columbia Art Museum.) Thus two birds, etc.

So I met John again, after all those years. He'd been pretty young when I met him and his sister, the second family of our Wisconsin relations.

While I've been doing my ancestry, my oldest Wisconsin cousin who now lives all the way in Arizona, has a great family tree, so she helped me a lot.

Her two sisters now live in Austin and Conroe TX and have been my Facebook friends for several years...so I know a bit about their lives that they share there. And we make comments on each other's posts every once in a while.

I was surprised last month to be messaged by a "second cousin" (daughter of a Houston first cousin) who wanted some photos for her mother's upcoming birthday. I haven't had any contact with her mother in years. So I gladly sent her what I had, and wished her mother a happy birthday. After lots of emails and texts, it was great to actually have a phone conversation with this second cousin, who I maybe met when she was a baby in Houston TX.

I mentioned to this second cousin that I didn't seem to have a family that the cousins got together all that much...at least in the past, compared to my daughter-in-law's Italian descended family which gathers all the time, it seems, even over many miles. 

Here's my surprise. The very next day one of my Texas cousins on Facebook messaged that she was coming to visit her brother in Columbia SC and wanted to come visit me while she was in the east. She hoped her sister (also in Texas) could get some time off from her job and come too. And since then she has arranged it also.

So I now have a planned visit by three siblings...my cousins who had grown up in Wisconsin. I haven't seen then since they were much much younger (and me too!)

I've put it on my calendar. You know I'll take phone pics when I can.

Oh, did you want to see some of us as kids?

Back when I lived in Houston, my Texas cousin on L, then me with broom, my little sis, then other Texas cousin. Yes in 1949 Houston had a snow that stuck! Tex. cousin on right is having her birthday Sept. 28.

L to R...Texas cousin, Wisconsin cousin, Tex.cousin, and smallest Wisc. cousins taken in Texas (before two younger Wisconsin cousins were born.)

Sharing with 52 Ancestors 52 Weeks on Facebook at Generations Cafe' (a private group but I think anyone can join)

Card by Inge Look