My Scottish grand-mother told us that her father was an only child and he had 22 brothers and sisters. Even as youngsters we found that pretty preposterous. Well, she said, his mother had 11 children and then her husband died, and her father had 11 children and then his wife died, so they married each other and my great-grandfather was their only and last child. So, naturally, I wanted to know all about these 22 half-siblings. I was only 14 when I started out on the quest and it took me about 20 years to track all 22 of them down. By then I was heavily addicted and now, well into the last quarter of my century, genealogy continues to inhabit much of my waking moments.
Brian - Vancouver, B.C.
