 Northwest Ohio, 1855
oldest known family photo, seven generations!
1700s Peter Sunderland and Katherine Hollman-Sunderland had a daughter Isabell Sunderland-Russell-Washburn (pictured here 1855, at 66 years) had 8 kids.
Isabell is mother to Susanna Russell.
Susanna Russell is the first white child born, 1818, in what became Allen County, Ohio. Susanna is younger sister to Juliann Russell.
Isabell is mother to Juliann Russell 1700s
Grandmother to William Russell Cochran
Great Grandmother to Ulysses Marriott Cochran 1800s
Great Great Grandmother to Ruth
Great Great Great Grandmother to Mary 1900s
Great Great Great Great Grandmother to Joesph
Great Great Great Great Great Grandmother to Nicholas
Great Great Great Great Great Great Grandmother to Joshua 2000s
Webmaster's note: Any good artist strives to incorporate the subliminal into his or her multimedia presentations -- and this pyramid is a great example.
WE TRULY STAND ON THE SHOULDERS OF OUR ANCESTORS.
CAN YOU IMAGINE?
If you or I are represented as the top block in this pyramid, all the mothers and fathers who got us to this point over hundreds of generations may be imagined as building blocks to create this symbolic metaphoric image.
JUST DO THE MATH, for example:
- Each of us has a biological mother and father.
- Our two parents have four parents between them (our paternal and maternal grandparents).
- Those four grandparents have eight parents between them (our great grandparents).
- Those eight parents (our great, grand parents) have 16 parents between them.
- Those 16 parents (our great, great grandparents) have 32 parents among them.
- Those 32 parents (our great, great, great grandparents) have 64 parents among them.
- Those 64 parents (our great, great, great, great grandparents) have 128 parents among them -- that generation was born around 1850!
That's only the proverbial "seven generations" -- mathematically representing the 128 biological mothers and fathers that every person has in his or her Family Tree.
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18-GENERATION, 360-YEAR MODEL
One stone block equals one grandparent
Experts say there are some 2.3 million stone blocks in the Great Pyramid of Giza (photo above).
To visualize your ancestors -- only the biological parents who got you here over the past 420 years -- from about 1605:
If you counted only the last 21 generations of YOUR Family Tree -- you have exactly 2,097,152 maternal and paternal grandfathers and grandmothers -- nearly completing the Giza model.
I cannot think of an analogy for 600 generations... maybe the stars in our galaxy?
But the number defies human comprehension....
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ANCESTOR Calculator
fact check: |
| Each generation doubles your direct maternal/paternal ancestors -- the parents who got you here.
Example: Your parents provide 2 ancestors (mother/father).
Your grandparents provide 4 maternal/paternal ancestors.
Your great grandparents provide 8 ancestors.
Your great, great grandparents provide 16 ancestors....
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GENERATION
YOU
born 2025 |
ANCESTORS:
0
|
Your Parents
2005, 1 gen. |
2 |
GrandParents maternal/paternal pairs
1985, 2 gen. |
4 |
Great GrandParents
1965, 3 gen. |
8 |
Great Great GrandParents
1945, 4 gen. |
16 |
Great Great Great GrandParents
1925, 5 gen. |
32 |
Great Great Great Great GrandParents
1905, 6 gen. |
64 |
GGGGG GrandParents
7 Generations, 1885 |
128 |
GGGGGG GrandParents
1865, 8 gen. |
256 |
GGGGGGG GrandParents
1845, 9 gen. |
512 |
GGGGGGGG GrandParents
1825, 10 gen. |
1,024 |
GGGGGGGGG GrandParents
1805, 11 gen. |
2,048 |
GGGGGGGGGG GrandParents
1785, 12 gen. |
4,096 |
GGGGGGGGGGG GrandParents
COLONIAL INVASION (California)
1765, 13 gen. |
8,192 |
GGGGGGGGGGGG GrandParents
1745, 14 gen. |
16,384 |
GGGGGGGGGGGGG GrandParents
1725, 15 gen. |
32,768 |
GGGGGGGGGGGGGG GrandParents
1705, 16 gen. |
65,536 |
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGG GrandParents
1685, 17 gen. |
131,072 |
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG GP
1665, 18 gen. |
262,144 |
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG GP
1645, 19 gen. |
524,288 |
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG GP
1625, 20 gen. |
1,048,576 |
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG GP
21 Generations, 420-YEAR MODEL
1605 |
2,097,152 |
20 Greats Grandparents
1585, 22 gen. |
4,194,304 |
21 Greats Grandparents
1565, 23 gen. |
8,388,608 |
22 Greats Grandparents
1545, 24 gen. |
16,777,216 |
23 Greats Grandparents
25 Generations, 1525 |
33,554,432 |
| Those 33.5 million grandparents are only the latest 25 generations of biological parents who are directly responsible for your life.
They represent 500 years (from about 1525), based on 20-year reproduction cycles -- you could recalculate on 18-year cycles, but I chose 20.
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The ground on which we stand is sacred ground. It is the dust and blood of our ancestors.
- Chief Plenty Coups, Crow (1848 - 1932)
We all grow up with the weight of history on us. Our ancestors dwell in the attics of our brains as they do in the spiraling chains of knowledge hidden in every cell of our bodies.
- Shirley Abbott (1934-2019)
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This photo is one of the 500 scans and digital restorations I did for a 45–minute family documentary movie DVD.
My Mama told me this image of her Great Great Great Grandmother came to her from a visiting relative discussing their genealogy work -- my mother only had a crappy Xerox copy -- but it connected a dot in the family tree -- and makes a point here.
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