I might be Royalty!
Well, probably not, but who knows? After all, anything is possible. Why would I even think that? It’s all due to the wonderful world of genealogy. For the last few years, I have been on a quest to learn more about my ancestors. I now know more about those who came before me than I ever imagined possible. I’ve discovered much more than just the snippets handed down from older family members.
I’ve always known that on my father’s side, his mother’s folks came to Texas as part of Steven F. Austin’s Original 300. On his father’s side, his great-grandfather had immigrated from Norway, landed in New Orleans in 1848, and enlisted in the U.S. Army, where they Anglicized his name from Johannes Oleson to John Wilson. On my mother’s side, her parents immigrated from Hungary around 1914 or so during the great migration of Eastern Europeans to America. But I know nothing else about them because they both died not long after she was born, and she grew up in an orphanage. I still haven’t been able to find much about her family, but my father’s family is different. What I have discovered and what I have come to realize is actually, to me, quite fascinating.
The first thing I’ve come to appreciate is our interconnectedness. If you are living in North America, unless you are 100 percent indigenous, then you are an incredible mixture of DNA from around the globe. Even those descended from the peoples who inhabited the continent when the Europeans arrived have DNA that can be traced back to a source not on this continent. However, my family line originated in Europe, so my ancestors and lineage trace back to the old Western countries. Over the centuries that line has been quite active when it comes to procreation.
According to one report on my father’s side, over 27,000 people living around the world are in some way related to me. Over 22,000 of those people live in the United States, and another 200-plus in Canada, and the rest are spread out over the globe. When I think about that, I realize that maybe we all have more in common with each other than the politicians would have us believe. The other significant reality is how mortal we are and how we are here for just a moment.
I have traced my family back to William Scot de Calverley, born in 1055 in Edinburgh Castle, Scotland. It has been over 950 years since he walked this planet, and multiple generations have been born and died since. The fact that thousands of human beings have passed down the DNA that helps to make my very essence is sobering. Knowing that people are being born around the globe right now who share genetic markers with me is humbling. I also realize that eventually, I, too, shall pass from this world and be no more than a note in a computer file somewhere. I also know that my daughters and grandchildren will continue to pass on some of my genetics, so in a sense, a part of me will live on, just as a part of William Scot de Calverley lives on in me.
Oh, and as to why I may be royalty, it turns out that one of my relatives was William Gates, the 1st, born in 1114 in England. His grandson was Ranulph Morgan Gates, born in 1210 at Westminster Abbey, Westminster. For all I know, his father, George Gates, could have been a stable hand, but Ranulph’s grandson was Sir Thomas Gates, born in 1260 in Kent, England, so you never know.
I did have a friend who lives in the UK tell me that if I were, I would be approximately number 12,678 in line for the throne, but since I’m a citizen of the United States, I will never ascend to the throne. Hey, it never hurts to dream.
If you get a chance, join one of the genealogy sites and discover how you’re connected to the rest of the world. Discover how you became yourself.
Peace
