Boleyn on BOTH sides...?

In reference to my previous post about the adult daughter moving in being short-term....uh...NO! She's still here! And I am showing my inability to set myself a routine, Guess I've always been a bit of a free-spirit, I'm adaptable and deal with life as it comes.

Recently, I've found myself spending less time on Facebook and more time on Ancestry. It's the best way to lessen the stress of living in a world gone insane....this sad, new America, Trump's version of America. For a few hours a day, I can pretend the world isn't an ugly place full of ignorant, judgemental, selfish people. For a few hours a day I can lose myself in history, MY history and my family's history, a time when life was simpler and moved at a slower pace. I realize they lived a harsh life at times and often faced adversity, but the slower pace appeals to me.

As in everything, I've jumped around in my genealogy research, digging into one family one day and another the next (adult ADD? Hmmm...). I SHOULD be more disciplined and consistent, but.... (How did I EVER manage to complete my Master's degree? If not for heavy reliance on an hourly Daytimer, I probably wouldn't have!) In the past week, I have researched: (1) my Dad's Sand Prarie township (Tazewell co, IL) family, (2) My Maternal Newman line (discovered a 2nd possible link to the Boleyn family!) and (3) once again attempted to discover ANYTHING about my elusive  great-great Grandfather William Edmond Gardner, to no avail....

About that Boleyn family link... Odd story. In 1983. while living in Woodward, OK, my sister-in-law passed some paperback books on to me. I fell in love with one, a somewhat fictionalized, but mostly historically accurate account of the life of Mary Boleyn, sister of the ill-fated Anne Boleyn. It was called "Passion's Reign" by Karen Harper. It began my long-lasting fascination with Mary Boleyn and her life. Fast forward 30 years, I am following my Dad's Maternal line back in time... Sanderson...Shay...Lash..Cobb...(side note: the Cobb line leads to 4 Mayflower ancestors: John Howland and the Tilley family)...Rich...Saltonstall...West....Knollys...Carey....Boleyn....?....wait...WHAT? NO WAY! Mary Boleyn is my 14th great-grandma....wow! After a 30 year obsessive interest in her family's life, that's eerie. I have a shelf of books on her, her sister and the family...now, my family. That was 2013. This past weekend, digging in my maternal Newman line....Newman...more Newman...Waterbury...Shelton....BOLEYN....? I start chuckling out loud...no way? Again? Both sides? On this side, Mary is a 1st cousin 13X removed. Her uncle, Sir William Boleyn is my 14th great-grandfather.  That makes her grandfather, Sir Geoffrey Boleyn my maternal 15th great-grandfather  AND my paternal 16th great-grandfather. Genealogy is like that at times...you begin to feel these invisible ties to long-dead ancestors, as you learn about their lives, their families, and their struggles, sometimes you even discover their long-buried secrets. I LOVE history, especially personal history. You almost feel like they are guiding you to find them...(or NOT in my great-great grandpa Gardner's case..he's hiding! Come on, William Edmond, help me out here! ). More later...hopefully...