08 July 2011

Kissing Cousins

I know that most families have at least one couple in their tree that along with being husband and wife also happen to be first cousins. Although, it may not have been too unusual a century or so ago, from today's viewpoint, it is still a shocking discovery.

I recently discovered just that sort of situation. The most shocking thing about the find is that is came from a side of the family that I would have never expected. The Wright's of Graves County, Kentucky, were by most accounts, very upstanding citizens. The local precinct was named after them, one donated the land and building for the community church (of which he served as pastor), one was a dentist, ect. So here is what I found...

William James Wright and Catherine Sibert were the parents of Josiah Thomas Wright. William's brother was Rev. Robert Thackston Wright. He and his wife, Eleanor Brame, had a daughter named Fredonia. When Fredonia was 23 years old she married her first cousin, Josiah Thomas Wright. He was 22.

3 comments:

Love your blog. I found you through findagrave. You had taken a photo of one of my ancestors. Thanks.
 
Thanks for the comment! I need to post more often... I'll work on it.
 
I don't have any first cousin marriages, but I've got a few third and fourth! I've also found that my families that traveled together to new places intermarried, as if they didn't trust their new neighbors for awhile.