52 Ancestors Week 51: Cousins

From Amy Johnson Crow: The theme for Week 51 is "Cousins." The neat thing about this theme is that we genealogists know that everyone is our cousin! That definitely opens up the possibilities for who to write about! Whether you focus on a close one or someone who is barely attached to your family tree, share the story of one of your cousins this week.

I swear there were like thirteen cameras on us when this picture
was taken. Not pictured: Three other cousins and my brother.

    When you're a little kid, your cousins are usually the first friends you ever make. No one else can help you make sense of your large family like your cousins. Though, if you're the second oldest of the cousins like I am, you might find yourself a loss for words when weird things start happening. If you think about it, once you get started on your genealogical adventure, you cast a wider net and end up finding cousins you've never met before. That gives you a larger scope of just how massive your family  truly is and let's be honest it can be very daunting.

    Growing up I knew my parents' cousins and once I started really getting into my family tree, I found second cousins in Europe. We always knew that they were out there somewhere. It was just a matter of finding them and making contact with those "long-lost" relatives. Europe isn't the only place I found second cousins and beyond, though. On my mother's side you would only have to travel to the far away land of Nova Scotia to find a second cousin or two.

No, seriously. That isn't coastal Maine....

    Nova Scotia is a good three hour ferry trip from Maine and it's where my second cousin once removed, Janine Saulnier lives. The story of how I met her online is interesting. It all started back in 2017 when I was just starting out on my genealogical adventure. She was friends with my uncle Bob who had moved to New Brunswick and he put the word out saying that I was looking for information about the family.

    I had no idea who Janine was and eventually she sent me a message and we began talking about family history.

    Janine descends from my great-grandfather Alfred Hamel's sister, Aurora, Like him, she was born in Allenstown, New Hampshire and eventually she made her way to Amesbury, Massachusetts where she married a man named Leo Thimot in 1924 and had six children with him there including Janine's mother. Some time after the 1930 census she and her family moved to Little Brook, a town in southwestern Nova Scotia's Digby county. There, Leo and Aurora added three more children to their growing family.

Don't ask me what the numbers mean. I have
no idea.

    Like me, my cousin is very interested in family history and right from the beginning she would send me many, many pictures. One of the best ones she had ever sent me was this picture of my grandparents, Robert and Natalie at her parents' 40th wedding anniversary party. As you can tell by the photo, the party took place around Christmas. Talk about timing! 

    I'm not entirely when this picture was taken. Part of me wants to say this was taken in the 1960s because my grandmother's hair hadn't completely gone white at this point. I don't remember her with dark hair at all. So, I think that be a good guess. This pic, though was only the beginning of all the treasures she had in her collection.

    Janine has amassed quite a pictures herself and she needed my help identifying people in various photos taken around Christmas.

    Pictures like this one were taken in the 1950s and she had no idea who the lady on the left was. I told her from left to right we had my 2nd great-grandmother Georgianna Ross, my great-aunt Doris, my great-grandmother Clara and my great-aunt Norma. I should probably digitally remove the numbers on the photos! Shouldn't be too hard!

    Oh! And it should be noted that Janine was the one who gave me my grandparents' wedding picture. It was the only one she had and the only one I knew about until I saw a colorized version among my grandfather's possessions later. She gave it to me as I wanted a picture of my great-uncle Alfred.

    The exchange of pictures isn't the only thing we've done since we met. No, there were stories to be told and questions to be answered.

    One of my big questions was always "Why did Aurora and her family go to Nova Scotia?" Simple question, right? After all her brothers Alfred and Eugene stayed in the Merrimack Valley. Why did she move so far from her family? Naturally, I asked and the only answer I got was "They wanted to go to Nova Scotia". No big secret here. No scandal. Sometimes history is that cut and dry. I had to accept that fact even though I suspect ecnomic conditions in Amesbury in the 1930s may have pushed her to move.

My mom and aunt Susan were at the 40th, too?!

    I think that's probably the best answer I can come up with. Some people just feel like moving and sometimes money may play a role in the move. You just never know unless you ask someone. As long as they're availible that is!

    As far as Janine goes, I have added her as a friend on Facebook and we talk from time to time. Sometimes I'll share some genealogical finding with her and sometimes she'll send me a few pictures.

    It's nice to have a cousin in the family who is also passionate about family history because while you can talk about the craziness in the family, you can talk about what got us there to begin with. Best guess is someone drank the water from the Merrimack. ;)

    Janine is just one of my many amazing cousins and I'm glad we're in contact because the pictures she shared with me are amazing. I only hope that she liked the pictures I shared with her. Lord knows I have a lot and the pictures she has helps to fill the well...let's call them "plotholes" in my family story. I had no idea my mother and aunt were at her parents' 40th wedding anniversary and she had no idea who Georgianna "Little Grammy" was. I guess the surprises work both ways!

    Cousins are indeed awesome and I'm fortunate in that I have so many members of the family who are willing to talk family history or just talk about random stuff. This is probably why it's a good idea to never try to do family history solo. While you may find bits of information here and there, all you're really getting are the cold facts and not the stories behind the facts. Genealogy can be lonely if you don't connect with a family member and you may be missing out on a few key bits of information you need to correct a few plotholes in your family story.

See ya next time!

    

The children of Leo Thimot and Aurora Hamel.