You Can't Deny Your Heritage

I went to a meeting for my church calling last Thursday night. At the end of the meeting, I was talking to one of my most favorite people in the world, Berta Whitney. She reminds me so much of my great-Aunt LaPrele it's unbelievable. She grew up with my great-Aunts Fannie and LaPrele. Berta's father was LaPrele's mission president in Mexico City. She remembers my great-Grandmother, Lucy Macdonald Bluth. We often talk about "Grandma Bluth" and being down in the colonies of Mexico.

In the process of talking with her, I told her about a street in Mesa that bears the name of "Macdonald". I was explaining to Berta that that was my family's name. Another sister standing there and I had the following conversation:

Krsitine: "Well that's MY family name. That's the name of my great-great-Grandfather, A.F. Macdonald."
Me: "Wait a minute. A.F. Macdonald as in Alexander Findlay Macdonald?"
Kristine: "Yes! Which line are you from?" (A.F. Macdonald had 5 wives - 4 of them had children)
Me: "I'm through Fannie VanCott." (4th wife)
Kristine: "I'm from Agnes Aird." (2nd wife)

Yep, we both realized that although from different women of the family, we were, and are, in fact related through the same great-great-Grandfather. How weird is that?!?!? We never would've known that we were related unless we were talking about family histories, temple work, and actually knowing some of our family history. It was so cool and sooooo neat to know someone from a different line, but still related to me - no matter how distantly or "removed" it may be.