It appears that the first day of the year was a big day for my ancestors to get married – 26 couples appeared on my app that screens my genealogy database for events for the specific date. The first couple listed were Nicholas Bonham and Hannah Fuller in 1658. Hannah was my 10th great aunt, the daughter of Samuel Fuller and Jane Lothrop, my 10th great grandparents. It also appears on that date that my great-great grandparents wed – Wilhelm Gotthardt Gaertner [aka William G Gardner] and Mary Ann Cummings in Hartford, Connecticut on this date in 1862. Mary Ann was William’s second wife; his first wife died in 1861. He went on to marry another Mary (divorced her} and a Margaret (she outlived him and collected his Civil War Pension). Yes, he wed 4 times.

A number of my relatives (16) ruined the New Year’s Eve partying be their parents by being born on the 1st. I wonder if any of them were the first born in their city/town/village. The first on the list was Elizabeth Jenks, my first cousin, 8 times removed, who was born in 1697. Second on the list was my 6th great grandfather, Thomas Morey, who arrived 314 years ago in Bristol, Rhode Island.

Eleven of my database inhabitants apparently decided the year was not that promising and departed this mortal coil.

I am planning on exploring the next 364 days of 2023 and see what it can provide.