Page 275 - Cousins - Celebrities, Saints & Sinners

So, what does this pursuit of family relationships really mean? How similar are these distant
relatives to us? Do we still share DNA with them?

One thing I have learned in pursuit of this genealogy hobby of mine, is that there are few
absolute truths. As I grew up with my maternal grandparents’ side of the family, I was vaguely
aware that I somehow didn’t totally fit it and something, or some part of me was missing… As
my own family grew up, and I watched them become closely tied to and proud of their
mother’s side of the family, I began to realize how little I and they knew about my Armstrong
side of the family. As my parents divorced when I was a child and I grew up with my mother’s
family, I knew almost nothing about the Armstrong side of the family and often wondered what
kind of people they were. This is what gradually pushed me toward genealogy research. Family
is important and just because they are no longer alive and we never got to know them, does
not make them less so. My Armstrong research has led me to conclude that they are, indeed, a
family to be proud of. They have participated in events that have shaped our way of life - the
American Revolution, the War of 1812, the Civil War, and World Wars I and II. They were
farmers, civil servants, members of law enforcement, explorers, soldiers and doctors; poor and
affluent; sinners and saints, and I learned enough about them to be proud to be counted
among them.

How about the cousins we meet in this book? Do we share any familial traits with them? Could
we possibly have inherited some trace DNA that would allow us to draw a gun as fast as cousins
Wyatt Earp or Wild Bill Hickok? Is there an untapped chromosome in there somewhere that
allows us to croon like cousins Bing Crosby or Andy Williams or Rock N Roll like Cousin Elvis? Do
we possess the “right stuff” like cousins Neil Armstrong or Alan Shepard? How come we didn’t
inherit a bit more of that DNA sexuality that we supposedly share with cousins like Marilyn
Monroe, Ava Gardner and Errol Flynn? How did we miss out on those attributes that defined
our presidential and royal cousins George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy and
Queen Elizabeth Windsor of England? Should I have followed cousins Ted Williams into a career
in baseball, or Arnold Palmer in golf, or maybe football like Y. A. Tittle?

While most of us recognize that family traits do exist and can be shared, it is also true that a
person’s DNA is diluted by about 50% as a new bloodline enters the family mix every
generation. DNA is measured in terms of “centimorgans” that are imbedded in varying numbers
of chromosomal “segments.” Normally, the more centimorgans and segments you share with
someone, the more closely you are related. For example, my children all share over 3400
centimorgans spread over 58 to 67 segments with me, and similar numbers with their mother.
My half-sister Judy and I share 1974 centimorgans over 57 segments. First to second cousins
shown share up to 492 centimorgans and up to 27 segments. According to Ancestry.com, these

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