Thank You for Having Sex

Nobody wants to imagine their parents having sex, let alone their great-grandparents going at it like rabbits.

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However, you wouldn't be here if your great-grandparents (and thousands of your other ancestors) hadn't had a "roll in the hay," so to speak.

Now that I've placed that unwelcome image into your heads, perhaps it's time we switched gears.

Returning to  your great-grandparents now, although thankfully not to their sex lives...

A study by Ancestry shows that 1/5 of Americans don't know the names of any of their eight great-grandparents. Take a minute to think if you can name yours. Time's up! Were you able to name any of your 8 great-grandparents? (If not, contact me and I'll tell you who your great-grandparents were on your Culbert side of the family.)

It gets worse...

The study shows that a third of Americans are unable to name all four of their grandparents! The study didn't include Canadians but for all we know, we may be just as clueless. 

The study goes on to say that many people would like to know more about their grandparents.

So if you have memories or stories you'd like to share about your grandparents for publication on the Culbert Family History blog, please contact me at this email address:

Or if you're a grandparent who would like to share your own stories or write a biographical piece for your descendants, please get in touch.

Note: If you suffer nightmares from now on due to the image of your ancestors "making whoopie," please do not send me your therapy bill.

Double Your Ancestors, Double Your Fun

We have HOW many ancestors?

Mary Ward and John Culbert: just TWO of our thousands of ancestors

You're aware that you have 2 parents (obviously) and 4 grandparents. But have you ever considered how many more ancestors you have?

Starting with yourself, double the number as you go back with each generation.

You = 1 person
Parents = 2 people
Grandparents = 4
Great-grandparents = 8
2xGreat-grandparents = 16
3xGreat-grandparents = 32
4xGreat-grandparents = 64
5xGreat-grandparents = 128
6xGreat-grandparents = 256
7xGreat-grandparents = 512
8xGreat-grandparents = 1,024
9xGreat-grandparents = 2,048 
10xGreat-grandparents = 4,096

By the time you get to your 38xGreat-grandparents, you have over a MILLION ancestors.

The mind boggles. At least MINE does.

I'll leave it up to you to do the math if you want to go back further with this chart since I can only go so far without losing count (and losing my mind.)

It's been said that our ancestor John Culbert wasn't good at math, and that his wife, Mary Ward ran the household finances. So if math skills are inherited, all I can say is "Thanks for nothin', John. Of all these ancestors I have, I got your math skills."

I know the names of my 4 grandparents and my 8 Great-grandparents. I know all 16 of my 2xGreat-grandparents but there's one whose last name I haven't been able to confirm. However, once I get to my 3xGreat-grandparents, I can name only 22 of the 33. And beyond that, the names and numbers start to dwindle. How many of your ancestors can you name?

Four Generations Photos

In August, I asked you to send photos showing four generations together.

The first photograph is from the collection of Mert and Muriel Culbert of Lucan. It was taken in the early 1940s at Poplar Farm (the Culbert homestead) near Lucan, Ontario...

The oldest member of the family is Jane (Fairhall) Culbert, seated in the rocking chair. Technically, she's not a Culbert descendant since she married a Culbert but her husband Richard Culbert died a decade earlier, in 1932. Seated beside Jane is her son, Myron Manford Culbert. Seated in front of Myron is his son, Kenneth Arthur Culbert. The baby is one of Ken's two sons; I'm not sure whether it's Cam or Greg.

On the back of this photo, Myron's son Mert Culbert wrote, "The four generations. Dad says he looks as if he is catching flies"...

"Dad" is Myron Culbert who's seated on the left of that photo with his mouth open.


Our next photo was taken in 1946 and sent to us by Carole (McLeod) Cox of Winnipeg, Manitoba...

The oldest family member (again) is Jane (Fairhall) Culbert. Standing behind Jane is her son, George Arthur Culbert. On the far right we see Arthur's daughter, Jean Elsie (Culbert) McLeod. The little girl is Jean's daughter, Carole Ann Jean McLeod (now Carole Cox.)


The next photo was sent to us by Betty (Carscallen) Marmura of Antigonish, Nova Scotia and was taken around 1938...

The oldest family member is once again Jane (Fairhall) Culbert. Behind Jane is her daughter, Hulda (Culbert) Carscallen whom you'll remember from her years in China. Beside Hulda is her son, Charles Newton Carscallen. The baby is Elizabeth "Betty" Carscallen (now Betty Marmura.)


Jane (Fairhall) Culbert makes yet another appearance in this photo sent to us by Wendy (Carscallen) Boole of Ottawa, Ontario. It was taken around 1944...

 
Standing behind Jane is her daughter, Hulda (Culbert) Carscallen. Seated beside Jane is Hulda's daughter, Kathleen Ethel "Kay" (Carscallen) Gowland. The little girl is Kay's daughter, Patricia Jane Gowland (now Pat Rowell.)


Here we see the same four members of the Culbert family, taken at a different time than the photo above...

And finally, the Westell Family. This photo, taken in 1948 was sent to us by Don Jarrell of Courtenay, British Columbia...

The oldest family member, Omar Westell is seated, centre. On the right is Omar's son, Oran Westell who you'll remember as the lighthouse keeper in Kincardine, Ontario. On the left is Oran's brother, John Russell "Jack" Westell who you'll remember for his work as a spy during the Cold War. The baby is Jack's son, Ian Westell.

Thanks, everyone for your photos!

Four Generations Update

In yesterday's post, I mentioned that the British Royal Family now spans four generations...

...and I asked you to send me a photo showing four generations of Culbert descendants all together.

UPDATE: You might have a photo of four generations together but one of those people is the spouse of a Culbert descendant. That's fine too. It's rare to have four actual Culbert descendants all in one photo.

So send what you have to me before the end of August and I'll publish your photos. Thank you!

Four Generations

The British Royal Family now spans four generations...

Do you have a photo (from any era) showing four generations of Culbert descendants all together? 

If so, please send it to me by the end of August and I'll publish all the photos in one post.