The Mixing Pot

 

     Up until about Twelve years ago, I didn't really care much about the ancestry of the family. I knew we were Irish and that was good enough for me but then my sister and cousin just had to know who was who, who did what to whom and why, ect, ect.  Sis and cousin Madelen Ruth have scoured archives and cemeteries in several states in their quest to know our ancestors and as much as they know they are still on the hunt. 

     Up until now the family tree was a collection of stories, inuendo, rumors and gossip with some truth thrown in for good measure but now we have names dates and places as far back as the 1600's. I can't say that all members of the family have been fine upstanding citizens but so far none of us have been hung as horse thieves although in my youth I was certain there were one or two of those in the past.

     One grandmother was publicly whipped for saying bad things about King George of England about the time of the American Revolution, her husband was found guilty of burning down an old cabin so he could get the nails. Then there was another woman who was drawn to men like a firefly, she had more husbands that Sis.

     For many years now Uncle Pual has told us that the Wade side of the family had Choctaw Indian blood and Cousin Gail claims that Grandpa Riggan was three quarters Cherokee Indian. Admittedly grandpa's facial features do have a roughhewn to them and his face was always tanned from being a farmer but that is about as far as it goes.

      A few years back Sis and brother Pat sent in blood samples to find out just where we did come from. Turns out we are not as much Irish as I had hoped although the Riggan's did come from the British Isles. The Wade side of the family are British. Then we have some Eastern European, a little Mediterranean and Scandinavian. The Irish part most likely has some Scottish blood blended in and one page I read on the internet says we may have come from the French Huguenots who fled France to avoid the inquisition, then avoided a similar fate by fleeing England to Ireland / Scotland.

     But nowhere is there any Native American blood found in our DNA. Speaking for myself, though I have had the desire to scalp a few people, the desire was usually squelched with a cold beer or two or more. 

     Our lineage has been mingled with so many other families over the centuries that we can't say that we are from any one country and by the time a few more centuries pass it will again mingle with more. So, like I said before rumors, gossip and a strong desire are not enough to make it so, we are what we are and I for one am quite proud of my heritage, we are the product of pioneers looking for a better life and willing brave a new world to get it. The fact that I am here is proof that our bloodline is strong and it will endure future generations even though their name may not Riggan or Wade.