I was looking at my daily notications from my genealogy app and noticed that yesterday (June 11) was the birthday of two of my 4th great-grandfathers: Simeon Botsford was born at Derby, New Haven, Connecticut in 1763; Laban Jenks was born at Smithfield, Rhode Island in 1772.

Almira Botsford (1807-1883), the daughter of Simeon Botsford, married Morris Jenks (1801-1878), the son of Laban Jenks on 20 November 1828 at Bloomfield Twp, Oakland County, Michigan. My 3rd great-grandparents.

Now, Just for the heck of it, I plugged both of my 4th great-grandfathers into my database and asked for a relationship chart. Expecting “There Is No Relationship”, I was gobsmacked to see they were 21st cousins, 3 times removed with the most common acestral couple being Robert of Normandy and his wife. For those that do not recognize Robert of Normandy, he was the father of William, The Conqueror who led the Norman Conquest of England.

This was not the BFO — I wondered why my ethniciy reports all showed Irish heritage on my mother’s side. Then, in trying to confirm a DNA match, I realized that my 3rd great-grandfather, Robert Allen, was born in Londonderry, IRELAND. I had totally ignored/forgotten this fact. I guess I need to pay more attention to reviewing origins of my ancestors.