Monday 16 July 2018

Just By Chance

Have you ever thought about the decisions your ancestors made (or were made for them) that affected your life?

It amazes me to think that my great great grandfather was sentenced to death by hanging for larceny.  A stay of execution saved him from the gallows and sentenced him to transportation to Australia instead.  He subsequently fathered four children, three of whom survived to have large families of their own.

All of his descendants, hundreds - perhaps thousands, exist because of the fateful stroke of a pen that stayed his execution. If he had not survived would his wife have married someone else and had other children?  It is totally mind-boggling to ponder these possibilities.

And this is just one of the historical global and personal events that resulted is each of us being here.

Is it any wonder that knowing our family history is so fascinating?  Not only does it show us who our ancestors were, their stories reveal how the events of their lives and the decisions they made affected us.

One final thought.  Our lives and our decisions will affect our descendants. What a responsibility!

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