I had no intention of posting yet another tale of my cousins marrying each other so soon, if at all. But this was too rich to pass up. Plus, it ties the knot, so to speak, between my first two postings on the same topic.

I introduced 1st cousins and star-crossed lovers William McCracken and Abigail Holladay in my second posting. They are both from my father’s side of the family. William’s niece, Mary McCracken, is my 2nd cousin, 6x removed. She chose as her spouse Nathan Chamness. They were married in 1819.

If you’re following along, in my first posting I presented a list of five pairs of cousins – one from each side of my family – who were married.

This is officially #6 on that list because Nathan Chamness is my 2nd cousin, 5x removed on my mother’s side of the family.

Finding this solidifies something I’ve suspected for some time – that my Chamness ancestors most likely knew my Holladay, Fayle and probably Trantham ancestors because they were all living in the same general area of North Carolina in the latter half of the 18th century. Marriage brought the two families together in 1819, and again almost 150 years later when my parents exchanged vows.

In any event, I am beginning to wonder if the attraction between my relatives is coincidence or genetic.

Here’s the updated 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)

Kenfolk: Both sides
Relations: Cousins
Common ancestors: Too many to name