People you know who turn out to be distantly related to you.

[GrahamH]

I was born in Glossop, Derbyshire. When my Mum's family moved there from Worcester my Granddad was told by a neighbour that if he wanted to say anything about a local to say it to him - because all the locals were related but the neighbour was an incomer as well.

The story turned out not to be so far fetched. Glossop only started to expand, population wise around the turn of the 19th century with the coming of the cotton industry. The old families who lived there beforehand were all related to each other through marriage.

[kiwihalfpint]

When growing up, I knew a family, whose mother's maiden name was the same as mine, we always said there was no connection, went to school with the children.  Roll on many years to about 1995, when a couple of names kept popping out of my tree at me,  always drawing me to it every time, so I had to do further digging, and hey bingo, 3rd cousin 1x removed. 

Mr KHP's Uncles wife, is related to another set of my cousins, on their other side of the family.

[pharmaT]

I've had a few moments.  Discovered I drove past my first cousin twice removed's house every time I went to work.  Until this point neither of us had even known the other existed.
ague
Then several years ago a colleague was talking about getting forms etc ready for changing her name after getting married.  I had said "what's your name going to be?" and it was a name that was familiar to me.  Turned out her fiancé was my then husband's second cousin.  Again they didn't know each other.

Then a similar situation to Xin.  I grew up in a small town/large village.  I was always referred to as the interlouper as my parents were from else where.  Also as far as any of us in the family knew we were the very first in our family to live in the county.  Then a few years ago, several years into my research I finally identified one of my 3x grt grandfathers as a man from the county.  This opened up a whole new area of research and I was able to trace the family back in the area to the 1600s.  So my family had actually been in the area as long as or even longer than the people telling me I wasn't welcome.

[andrewalston]

In the area to the west of Chorley, virtually every family is related to every other via at most two marriages. A pair of my great grandparents originate from a village there and I noticed the same surnames marrying in to both of their lines, so I investigated. Yes, these others were related, and it turns out that my great grandparents were actually 5th cousins.

If I investigate on behalf of friends, they seem inevitably to have ancestors in that area, and I can tie them in with my own tree.

I looked into the tree of my best friend from primary school, and discovered links again. Then I found that his mother's direct ancestors had once farmed at Astley Hall Farmhouse, now home to the research centre for the Lancashire Family History & Heraldry Society.

[coombs]

I am a distant relative of the Krays as said, and also to Patsy Kensit. When she featured on WDYTYA, I probed further and found she and I both descend from John and Sarah Sparkes of Finchingfield, Essex. And her dad was an associate of the Krays.

For instance you may know a local family that can be quite rough and ready, but you socialise with one of 2 of them who are not as bad, and one of them asks your help in doing their family tree, then you find that their great gran had the same distinctive surname as one of yours, and you are related to the family.

Many people must move to areas of the country where they have some ancestors from, and any of their neighbours are distant rellies, and they dont even know it. And the distant cousins can be doctors, police officers, lawyers, millionaires even.

[sallyyorks]

My children are distantly related to the other parent of their own children. My Grandchildren are obviously already cousins, but they are also distantly related to the 'aunties and uncles' you wouldn't usually be related to by blood but still call 'auntie and uncle'

Two lines on one of my Grandchild's tree, one from each parent, joins up at about the year 1800. I'm directly related to both his parents, though one of course much more distantly.

Another Grandchild, both his parents are also related but not from my side of this childs tree. Their tree joins at about 1770

Hope that makes sense 

[Chilternbirder]

I have been contacted by a second and a third cousin through Ancestry but never discovered anybody that I already knew was a distant relative. Both my parents families moved around a fair bit so for the last three generations neither have never been in the same town.

I am relieved to say that the husband of Priness Eugenie is not one of my Brooksbank third cousins. I was a bit worried when I first saw the wedding announced.

[Finley 1]

My children are distantly related to the other parent of their own children.

     

xin

[Dyingout]

I have been drinking with a friend for 20 odd years. Meeting up in the local pub. Nothing strange there then.
Until one day, I was contacted by his cousin to say, that our family trees were linked?
You see I was born in East Anglia and had no ties to Kent, as far as I was concerned apart from immediate family.
But it seems one of my distant cousins of the late 1800's, was in the army, at the local garrison met and married a local girl and as they say the rest is history.
Well family history.