The family history experts in my congregation went through some relevant apps with us, so I've been exploring. On relativefinder.org, I compared Husband's family with mine, and we found some connections. Fortunately, they were quite distant, the closest making us 9th cousins once removed. I did find that it's not just one side that has all of the connections. Going back enough generations, my dad's and mom's families connect to both Zak's maternal grandfather and paternal grandmother.
Niles Manwill - Ruth Barlow
Rena Jensen - Ruth Barlow
Rena Jensen - Margaret O'Neil
Niles Manwill - Margaret O'Neil
Niles Manwill - C. Brent Johnson
Rena Jensen - C. Brent Johnson
In fact, the only grandparents missing were Zak's Hansen and Porter lines, and my Hooper (step) and Sharp (biological) lines. The Hansen side not having any connections to my family makes complete sense, because 7/8 came from Denmark and the lone 1/8 came from Germany. The Porter line varies more, with 1/4 from England, 1/8 from Norway, 3/8 from Denmark, and about 1/4 haven't been researched enough to find the countries of origin (possibly England and Germany).
Since we're not genetically related to the Hooper line, the site likely didn't include it in the searches. We're still learning about the Sharps, but the Pedigree Pie website helps me see that some of the Sharps came from Ireland, and others ended up in Canada, although I don't know from where just yet. (I've already sent in my genetic spit sample to Ancestry DNA using my birthday money and am now awaiting the results! Expecting 99.9% British Isles, but not certain!)
Side note: I'm equally related to President Barack Obama as I am to Husband.
Part one of our journey to Eclipse Totality was from our house in Cache County on Friday to Sevier County so we could go to work then next morning. Zak and I found out his Grandma Manwill was anxious to tear down a historical outbuilding on her property to clear the way so her neighbor could use the land. Family members had decided the Saturday before the eclipse would work for the Porter and Manwill men to hammer cement and tear out the chicken wire holding the log building together. After much effort and some help from the skid steer, they separated the logs in organized piles for any future rebuilding. Grandma shared brief segments of its history, including the milling from local mountains, original build in Koosharem, rebuild on Grandma's parents' property, and her birth in that very one-room building. I love that Zak's family has so much local history in those small Sevier County towns, going back generations.
