Cousin coupling #8 was hiding in plain sight. Mary McCracken, the bride in pairing #6, was the daughter of Martha Pearl Vestal and Robert McCracken. Martha’s mother was a Chamness, and a distant relative of my mother’s. Robert McCracken, meanwhile, was a distant relative of my father’s.

Genealogically speaking, that means Mary McCracken is both my 2nd cousin. 5x removed on my mother’s side and my 2nd cousin, 6x removed on my father’s side. That’s really meaningless when you stop to realize that Mary’s husband, Nathan Chamness, was her 2nd cousin not much removed at all.

I read somewhere that back in those days a popular game played at family reunions, a.k.a. weddings, was called “Pick-a-Wife”.

Here’s the upd8d list. From left to right, mom’s relative, then dad’s, with my relationship to each of them in brackets:

1. Florence Schwartz (2nd cousin, 2x removed) married Edna Duesenberg (1st cousin, 2x removed)
2. Irene Rohlfing (3rd cousin,1x removed) married Herbert Biesemeyer (1st cousin, 2x removed)
3. Dwayne Kersten (2nd cousin, 1x removed) married Celeste Sprick (3rd cousin, 1x removed)
4. Patricia Kersten (2nd cousin, 1x removed) married Glenn Bolm (4th cousin)
5. Brenda Schroeder (3rd cousin) married Shane Bunge (4th cousin)
6. Nathan Chamness (2nd cousin, 5x removed) married Mary McCracken (2nd cousin, 6x removed and 2nd cousin, 5x removed)
7. Joseph Chamness (1st cousin, 6x removed) and Ruth McCracken (1st cousin, 7x removed)
8. Martha Pearl Vestal (1st cousin, 6x removed) and Robert McCracken (1st cousin, 7x removed)

Kenfolk: Both sides
Relations: Cousins galore
Common ancestors: Many, many, many – some counted twice