Donald Ross
My sister gave me the Christmas gift of 23andMe about 2 years ago, this was something that I had never thought much about before this, but my older sister had done it and was keen for me to do so, to see how it all tied into our Genealogy.
Well of course when you have the package in your hand and your family is pressuring you to do it, there is not much option other than to just do it!
When the results came back, I glanced through them and did not really pay a lot of attention to them. I had done what I was supposed to do, that was enough as far as I was concerned. Imagine my surprise when I received an email about two weeks later from a second cousin who wanted to contact me.
It turns out this lady was the granddaughter of a lady we knew growing up as Aunt Nanna and she lived in California. Aunt Nanna was a cousin of my father’s who had moved to California as a young woman on her doctor’s recommendation because her asthma was so bad. We knew very little about her, apart from the odd pictures that she would send. She was married and had some children and the amazing thing is that my father wrote to her every week in life. Do you remember the old airmail letters? …Yes, he sent one every week.
I communicated with my new found cousin by email and she sent me a picture of her grandmother along with a bit more information which was all news to me. She also included her name, Catherine Murray, and her phone number, along with a picture of herself and her partner, John. So, I decided that I might as well call and talk to her in order to get to know more about her. It turns out that she had made contact with my cousin in Wisconsin but not much contact all in all. I did tell her that I would try to arrange a meeting here in NC, hopefully in the spring, and she was delighted. My cousin in Wisconsin and my sisters were all in favor also. However, my cousin in Wisconsin was also getting ready to downsize and move into a smaller apartment, which meant that dates were not easy to try and pin down at that point.
Springtime came and went and the rest of 2021 was crazy for us: a trip to Auburrn, Indiana in Early June, a trip to NY in the middle of June for Nancy, then a trip to Bowling Green, Kentucky at the end of June for a wedding (one of our SCOT Members). In July and early August, there were several social events locally. Also in August we had another trip to New York for Nancy’s High School reunion. We also had a long time trip planned to a Car Show in Tampa Florida to which we were driving my 1964 Morris Mini Minor.
I realized about a week before we were due to leave for Florida that Catherine lived in Florida and I thought that she had mentioned that part of Florida. I then mentioned to Nancy that I should at least contact her to let her know our plans and location to see if there was any chance that she could possibly meet up with us! I called her from work that morning and we talked about our plans and she said that she was only about 2 hours from there and she would certainly see if there was a possibility of them getting to see us.
When I got home from work and opened up my home computer there was an email from Catherine. They had booked a hotel about fout miles from ours, as ours was full and they would be coming up on Friday morning to see us and spend some time.
This is when you start to think, oh dear, what if this goes really badly!!
The time came to leave home in the Mini for Tampa. We had planned on taking two days to drive to our location, and not using the interstate, which certainly made it a much more pleasurable trip. The little car did fantastic and we made it to Statesboro Georgia before stopping for the night. Then, up in the morning and made it the rest of the way by about 3:00pm. I have to admit I was very happy with the little car.
We got checked in and registered for the event which we had already paid for, but had to go through the formalities, etc. A couple of drinks, dinner, and an early night.
The next morning we wandered around town after breakfast. I planned to be back at the hotel by lunch time, as that is when I expected Catherine and John to show up, which they did pretty much as I expected.
Well there was absolutely no need to have worried. We had a wonderful meeting and we all felt so comfortable as if we had known each other for years. At the end of the evening, they arranged to come back around lunch time on Saturday and spend some time at the Car Show. Catherine’s older brother Phillip, was planning on joining us, which he did and once more just an incredible visit.
Phillip and his family are planning on coming here over Christmas with a view to possibly moving into this area to be near Duke Hospital. Sadly, a long story concerning their daughter’s health, but we will be happy to do all we can to help them.
Catherine and John, as well as Phillip and his wife, are planning on coming to our Burns Night at The Country Squire. This will be a great opportunity for them to meet my sisters, along with my son and grandson.
Who would have ever thought that sending out my sample to 23 & me would result in finding relatives that you were not acquainted with, but also such wonderful people.
Just another small chapter in the amazing life of Donald Ross!!
This was taken shortly after we arrived at the Hotel
Our new extended Family Members