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JUST WHO ARE MY RELATIVES ?

et’s take a little break from family history for a moment and explore the
world of family relationships; particularly, let’s look at some of the terms

Lused to describe relatives and their relationship to you.

What do you think of when you hear the word blood ? I suppose there are many
philosophical things that can be said and have been said about that word. It has
several definitions and is used in a variety of ways in the English language. For
example we use the term blood relative. What is a blood relative?

The partial dictionary definition of relative is:
One related by kinship, common blood, origin or marriage.

The partial dictionary definition of blood is:
1. The fluid consisting of plasma, blood cells and platelets that is circulated
by the heart through the vertebrate vascular system.
5. A descent from a common ancestor, parental lineage.

So, your blood relative is one who shares the same blood line ; i.e. you and they
descended from a common ancestor. In one sense, if you hold to the concept of
Adam and Eve, every human who has ever existed is a relative to every other

human because human blood originated with them.

World history is replete with accounts of cultures who kept strict records of their
blood lines. A good example is the Israelites (the Jews) in the Old Testament
Bible. Other examples are the royal families in Europe and elsewhere where
the royal lines were kept pure. Animal breeders keep exacting records of blood
lines. Blood is a major characteristic in kinships.

So called pure blood lines were, and in some cases still are, very important to
many societies. But, not so much in America which has a unique history created
by unique people with unique ideas of the identity and worth of a man or

woman regardless of who his parents were or where he was from.

All of us have some understanding of kinship and relationships. We all

Ch. 11 Pg. 1