Everybody1 has eight Great-Grandparents – the parents of their four grandparents. For my kids, those eight people are vague memories from photos taken when they were too small to understand who all the people around them were.
If you’ve been reading Mightier Acorns for any amount of time, you’ve run across many references to My Sixteen (or, for my wife’s side, Her Sixteen), but in my efforts to reach back further in time to more distant ancestors, it can be easy to lose track of those more recent generations.
To help my far-flung cousins, and those of my wife’s family, I’ve been building separate, public Ancestry trees based on each of our children’s’ eight Great-grandparents. If you’re descended from one or two of these fine people, or from their ancestors, take some time to explore their history…and yours.
The Robert Callin Project
Bob Callin, also known as “Grandpa No-Bob” to me and my cousins, was a sweet man with a wicked sense of humor. Many of our stories about his antics involved Grandma Nancy telling him, “No, Bob!” – thus the nickname. His Ancestry tree is The Robert Callin Project.
The Nancy Witter Project
Like the desert climate she grew up in, Nancy could be intense, but she was known for her fierce love for her family and friends. Married during World War II, she and Bob were public school teachers who spent their free time traveling the country in their RV. Her Ancestry tree is The Nancy Witter Project.
The Russell Clark Project
Russ Clark was A Fire In the Desert, and wanted nothing more than to save your soul. Not surprising considering the heritage of Baptist ministers in his tree! His Ancestry tree is The Russell Clark Project.
The Alberta Tuttle Project
Grandma Bert followed Grandpa Russ to the ends of the earth, usually in a camper or trailer. Whenever she could she took her organ. Her Ancestry tree is The Albert Tuttle Project.
Here is a snapshot gallery if you’d like to see their trees without visiting Ancestry:
Robert McCullough Project
My wife’s Grandpa Bob died long before I had a chance to meet him, but his family remembers him fondly. His Ancestry tree is the Robert McCullough Project.
June Shuffler Project
Grandma June’s legendary Christmas cookies are well known in our house. Her Ancestry tree is the June Shuffler Project.
Arvid Holmquist Project
We know a lot less about “Bud” Holmquist, as his infamous criminal career upended his family in the 1950s. We are still figuring out the story between his prison sentence and his death in 1996. But his Ancestry tree is the Arvid Holmquist Project.
Merilyn Martin Project
Grandma Merilyn also died before her great-grandchildren had a chance to meet her. Her Ancestry tree is the Merilyn Martin Project.
Here is their snapshot gallery:
- Almost everybody – occasionally there is some endogamy and pedigree collapse, and we at Mightier Acorns intend no judgment. ↩︎
Say hello, cousin!