Leslie, As I recall, in genealogical circles this phenomenon is known as "pedigree collapse." I still recall discovering that one of my wife's ancestors was her sixth (? I think) great-grandfather seven times over. Regards, Ted Snediker -------------- Original message -------------- From: "Leslie Hope" <leslie@lahope.com> > > theoretical ancestors you would have in that generation, it exceeds the > number of people living in that year on earth!> > > The reason, of course, is that we have multiple lines from the same > ancestors. For me, this applies even as recently as the 17th century. > Besides my Dutch colonial roots, I'm also descended from the first settlers > of the Massachusetts and Plymouth Bay colonies. When I look at my forebears > who settled Nantucket, approximately 10 families in the beginning, some of > them already related, I have multiple lines of descent from all of them. > > Leslie Hope > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > DUTCH-COLONIES-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message