Beth's Journal

This week's thefridayfive answers:

1. How far back can you trace your family tree?

My younger sister and I did some digging around on Ancestry.com at the end of 2023, and with some help of a distant cousin, I think we were able to trace back to our great grandfather on our dad's side, and I traced back to one set of great-great grandparents on our mother's side.

2. What is the most interesting (or strange) thing you've heard about one of your relatives?

For "strangest thing I've heard about my relatives": I think that would be all the rumors around my uncle Roy's death. (Ruth and I were really young when he passed.) It seems like different parts of the family were told different things about his death - my mother told Ruth and I that Uncle Roy was drunk while fishing and fell out of his boat and drowned, my older sister Johanna was told he committed suicide, and some of our second cousins are convinced Uncle Roy was the victim of a mafia hit. Since most of my mom's generation of the family and older are gone now, I don't know that we'll ever know the truth.

3. How do you feel about legacy names like John Henry Smith IV or naming children after other relatives?

I mean, I don't care either way - my mother gave my sisters and I variations on family names. Johanna's middle name is the same as our maternal grandma's first name, my first name was inspired by my great grandmother, and Ruth inherited our maternal grandmother's first and middle names. (Back when I was dating Franco oh so long ago, I used to joke that if he wanted a Franco III, it was going to be a dog, hah.)

4. Would you consider yourself and/or your family to be traditional?

oh no, not at all. My family is a trainwreck, and I'm about as non-traditional as it gets.

5. What is one tradition you have passed on to your children and/or plan to pass on to them?

Not having kids, so this one is kinda moot. Oh well.