# How Diverse Is Your Family?



## OneEyedDiva (Dec 1, 2019)

I only had one child and he has 5 children. But on my birthmother's side (the family I was raised in by my wonderful parents, her uncle and his wife) my family is very large. On my biological father's side...not so much.  I have cousins who's spouses are Chinese, Japanese, both German and American Caucasians as well as Dominican. They all had children.  My two great grand nephews' mother is Mexican.  My maternal grandmother said we also have Indian (from India) and Hispanic roots and a family historian says we have German and Native American blood as well.

We have diverse religions as well....Christians (Methodist, Catholic, Baptist), Muslims and Mormons. Our occupations vary from laborers and civil servants to doctors, lawyers and entertainers: singers, recording artists, movie/T.V. actors.  We don't do the "4th cousin twice removed" thing. If you're blood...you're blood. With our family it's hard to keep track anyway.  And my "half sister" and I simply refer to ourselves as sisters when we speak of one another to others.

Tell us about the diversity (or lack of) in your family. Is your family large or small?


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## Aunt Bea (Dec 1, 2019)

I come from a large family that is, for the most part, made up of very vanilla blue-collar Protestants that don't stray too far from where they were born.


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## fmdog44 (Dec 1, 2019)

My family tree is tough to trace because my grandfather changed his name fearing persecution for being a German.


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## george-alfred (Dec 1, 2019)

I have Scottish-Irish-Manx what a mixture eh.


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## Pinky (Dec 1, 2019)

My OH is Scottish-Canadian. I'm Japanese-Canadian. Our son-in-law is Polish-Cdn. Nephew's
spouses are Polish-Cdn, Egyptian/Danish-Cdn. and Turkish born, Cdn. Relatives are Muslim and
Catholic. It's a wonderful potpourri of cultures (and food) when we get together.


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## hollydolly (Dec 1, 2019)

OneEyedDiva said:


> I only had one child and he has 5 children. But on my birthmother's side (the family I was raised in by my wonderful parents, her uncle and his wife) my family is very large. On my biological father's side...not so much.  I have cousins who's spouses are Chinese, Japanese, both German and American Caucasians as well as Dominican. They all had children.  My two great grand nephews' mother is Mexican.  My maternal grandmother said we also have Indian (from India) and Hispanic roots and a family historian says we have German and Native American blood as well.
> 
> We have diverse religions as well....Christians (Methodist, Catholic, Baptist), Muslims and Mormons. Our occupations vary from laborers and civil servants to doctors, lawyers and entertainers: singers, recording artists, movie/T.V. actors.  We don't do the "4th cousin twice removed" thing. If you're blood...you're blood. With our family it's hard to keep track anyway.  And my "half sister" and I simply refer to ourselves as sisters when we speak of one another to others.
> 
> Tell us about the diversity (or lack of) in your family. Is your family large or small?


 out of curiosity are we likely to know your relations who are singers , recording artists, and actors? ..anyone well known?


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## Lc jones (Dec 1, 2019)

English ancestry of which we are proud and we are also very proud that our family can trace it’s history back to the Revolutionary War.


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## Keesha (Dec 1, 2019)

What family? No aunts, no uncles, no cousins, didn’t know the grandparents. So I don’t know. 
All British as far as I know.


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## Gary O' (Dec 1, 2019)

Lesseeee...lessee....

Mom's side;
German, German, and more German

Dad's side;
Irish, English, 

and 

.....some sorta Mongolian tribe of the Oriats ('forest people')
Not sure how that happened
But, 

it is what it is




Of late, things have been a bit more diverse

Afro, Mexi, Erin, Anglo...maybe others, but.... thankfully.... none have come forth


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## Sassycakes (Dec 1, 2019)

*Both my Parents were Italian. Most of my cousins on my Dad's side married Italians, with the exception of me and my sister who married Irishmen. My cousins on my Moms side married people of different Nationalities. The funny thing is that most of my cousins on my Dad's side don't speak to one another,but my cousins on my Mom's side stayed happily married,and never lost connections with their brothers or sisters like the cousins on my Dad's side.*


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## RedAlert (Dec 1, 2019)

I have nine bi racial great grand kids.
One grand child is also bi racial.


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## Catlady (Dec 1, 2019)

My immediate family (parents, their parents, my sister) are all Italian from middle Italy.  According to Ancestry.com I have a smidgen of middle east and greek blood.  My daughter married this guy with English and Italian ancestry.  I have a lot of cousins in Mass but we're all estranged because of distance.


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## peppermint (Dec 1, 2019)

My Family are Italian and so is my husband's family, Italian....Some Aunts on my Dad's sister's side, married Men from another country....
Dad had 9 sister's and brother's....Mom, also had 10 sister's and brother's....My parents died....Mom at 72 yrs old and Dad 89 yrs old....
My older brother, also past away....I have my dear younger brother, he is 6 years younger than me....We are very close....He has 2 children
that have children....5 young cuties...And both have wonderful spouses...
My husband's brother died 2 years ago, November....His wife is still alive....She has 3 girls married and all have children....and spouses...
We have a daughter and a son, both married, both have 2 kids each....We have a wonderful daughter in law and a wonderful son in law....
My grandson is getting married next August to a wonderful girl....


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## Judycat (Dec 2, 2019)

One of my grandchildren is African American. Another is Mexican. We have Middle Eastern blood on my dad's side. My oldest son looks like Mohammed bin Salman.


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## Jackie Blue (Dec 2, 2019)

Texans and everyone else.  LOL   I joke - we have some Arkansasians in our family tree of life.   Talk about diversity!


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## RadishRose (Dec 2, 2019)

Only child here. Both sides of my family were from central Europe of Slavic countries.


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## Pepper (Dec 2, 2019)

RadishRose said:


> Only child here. Both sides of my family were from central Europe of Slavic countries.


Didn't you say you were Italian?


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## RadishRose (Dec 2, 2019)

Pepper said:


> Didn't you say you were Italian?


No @Pepper, I grew up among many Italian families/neighborhoods.   
Catlady (aka PVC) is Italian, as is Bonnie.


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## Pepper (Dec 2, 2019)

Thanks.  Thought I remembered the Italian neighborhood stuff.  And Peppermint & Sassy said they are.


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## CrackerJack (Dec 2, 2019)

My Mother's side are Grandpa was Irish from Co Wexford,  Grandma, London England. My Dad's side all Londoners from the East End. A bit of French way-way back.


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## Uptosnuff (Dec 2, 2019)

I am the second youngest of six kids.  My mom always said her family was Irish, but after talking to some cousins, we determined she was a mixture of Irish, Welsh, Scottish, etc.  She came from a family of 7 kids.  My dad was Hungarian.  His parents immigrated to the USA in the early 1900's.  He was one of 9 kids.  Tons of cousins, aunts, uncles.

I then found out, after I had been married a couple of years, that the man I thought was my biological father wasn't.  My younger brother and I are the only full siblings we have.  A shock to say the least.  And I wonder how often this type of thing happens.  Maybe without anyone knowing.

I have a whole other family out there I know nothing about.


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## RadishRose (Dec 2, 2019)

@Uptosnuff , just curious.... how much does this matter to you now? I think I would be consumed with curiosity, at least at first.

Has this revelation changed the family dynamics between you and your "adoptive" father's people? Did he know? How about your brother?

Please don't feel pressed to answer.


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## Marie5656 (Dec 2, 2019)

*My mothers side was Polish, my Father's Italian. Both sets of grandparents came over through Elis Island.  My cousin did an Italian family history. They were from Sicily, so yes, some "wise guys".  There is some Greek too, but my cousin was not able to exactly trace that lineage.
Nothing spectacular in either side. Though a cousin in my dads side is a big deal at MIT.  If you Google Meditech, his name will pop up as founder.*


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## Pepper (Dec 2, 2019)

I did look him up, Marie, and he has quite an interesting story!  I know MIT very well.

eta--he gives a history of your family in NY in an interview for MIT Infinite History.


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## Uptosnuff (Dec 2, 2019)

RadishRose said:


> @Uptosnuff , just curious.... how much does this matter to you now? I think I would be consumed with curiosity, at least at first.
> 
> Has this revelation changed the family dynamics between you and your "adoptive" father's people? Did he know? How about your brother?
> 
> Please don't feel pressed to answer.



I'm not sure if it has changed the dynamics of the family on my dad's side.  I still feel close to some of those cousins and they have never mentioned it.  I'm not sure they even know.


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## Llynn (Dec 2, 2019)

My Maternal side family generations:  Great Grandparents, Grandparents, Mother, aunts and uncles, and my cousins all had blue eyes and were all of NW European heritage. When we started hatching kids, my generation brought some darker eyed genes into our club. One cousin's wife, a beautiful Japanese American girl frequently made jokes about being the only brown eyed person at our family doings. We all loved her.


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## Fyrefox (Dec 3, 2019)

I'm largely 3/4 German and 1/4 English, with a DNA test done by my sister who married someone of Italian background revealing some Irish and French from many generations ago.  The latest arrival to the U.S. came in the early 20th century.  I have a nephew married to an Indian lady who moves easily between American and Indian cultures...


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## OneEyedDiva (Dec 3, 2019)

hollydolly said:


> out of curiosity are we likely to know your relations who are singers , recording artists, and actors? ..anyone well known?


Holly before I give that information, let me explain that I don't reveal my real name on sites that I use a screen name. The reason is that something called Botnets scan the internet and gather information which they then put into search engines. Another reason is due to the private nature of things discussed on this and another site for Boomers, On the other site, we are a very close knit "family" and get real personal sometimes. Never would I want the Botnets to connect the two.  Also, they tend to hook words and phrases together that were spoken by or from someone else's site just because of a commonality (ie: we commented on one another's work on Broadjam or Facebook). Also, pictures of my family member have been shown on search engines when I've searched myself.  That kind of creeps me out!

That being said, I will message you about my cousin Tony and I (we are recording artists) because Tony has our family surname.  These cousins don't have our surname...Cousin Keith is definitely well known since he has acted in close to (if not) 200 T.V. shows and movies plus has done theater.  Never met him but talked with his grandmother (who was one of our family reunion regional coordinators) countless times on the phone. I sent her my CD to take to him when she visited him in Cali. The one reunion he was able to attend (in Connecticut about 16 years ago) is where another cousin I never met who lived in Hartford approached him (at the urgings of our cousin Bernadine) and told him about her desire to become an actress. He offered to help her get started and invited her to stay with him and his wife. She babysat for them in between looking for gigs. The story was told to me by his grandmother,

Here are their Wikipedia links where you can see Keith's extensive Filmography and Kendra's works.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_David 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kendra_C._Johnson
I'll write a separate response with a video of my cousin Daniel on The Voice, Germany.


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## OneEyedDiva (Dec 3, 2019)

hollydolly said:


> out of curiosity are we likely to know your relations who are singers , recording artists, and actors? ..anyone well known?


I met my cousin Daniel when a group of us headed down to South Carolina by bus for our 2015 family reunion. He came from Germany just to be with us. None of us, not even his grandmother (the excited, brown woman in the video) knew of his singing aspirations at that time. It's a trip that he prefers to be a crooner rather than sing today's music.  Daniel is doing gigs in Europe and is working on an album.  Not well known yet....but praying he will find the success he deserves.  His grandmother keeps me posted about his endeavors. He's a very nice young man and we're very proud of him.  His mother and (half) brother are also cheering him on.


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## hollydolly (Dec 3, 2019)

I totally understand your reticence about having your real name and details on the forum..( believe it or not the name I use is total invention too, altho' it looks real).... 

I'll look forward to your PM..


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## OneEyedDiva (Dec 3, 2019)

Judycat said:


> One of my grandchildren is African American. Another is Mexican. We have Middle Eastern blood on my dad's side. My oldest son looks like Mohammed bin Salman.


Well then your oldest son is a handsome young man then.  bin Salman kind of reminds me of a young version of my 2nd husband.


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## Judycat (Dec 3, 2019)

Thanks Diva. He has the brown skin and the dark beard, all that's missing is the ghutra.


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## Pepper (Dec 3, 2019)

Whoa!  Despite his looks, which please many people, bin Salman is a murdering cutthroat.  I'm sure your son is a lovely person, I'd concentrate on that.


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## Lakeland living (Dec 3, 2019)

Ok, now......English, French and American Indian. Something going on way back when at the wood pile.   lol
Now, what does that all add up too??


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## Nautilus (Dec 3, 2019)

We're both very normal English/Irish/German mongrels however, all our relations are weird.


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## toffee (Dec 4, 2019)

I have irish/English in my genes- not really such a thing as a true saxon ' Viking era saw to that ...


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## Pepper (Dec 4, 2019)

Lakeland living said:


> Ok, now......English, French and American Indian. Something going on way back when at the wood pile.   lol
> *Now, what does that all add up too??*


A human being.


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## Lakeland living (Dec 6, 2019)

Pepper, I think that was the first time anyone ever called me that...lol


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## OneEyedDiva (Dec 10, 2019)

Gary O' said:


> Lesseeee...lessee....
> 
> Mom's side;
> German, German, and more German
> ...


Why do you say "thankfully...none have come forth" Gary?


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## OneEyedDiva (Dec 10, 2019)

Uptosnuff said:


> I am the second youngest of six kids.  My mom always said her family was Irish, but after talking to some cousins, we determined she was a mixture of Irish, Welsh, Scottish, etc.  She came from a family of 7 kids.  My dad was Hungarian.  His parents immigrated to the USA in the early 1900's.  He was one of 9 kids.  Tons of cousins, aunts, uncles.
> 
> I then found out, after I had been married a couple of years, that the man I thought was my biological father wasn't.  My younger brother and I are the only full siblings we have.  A shock to say the least.  And I wonder how often this type of thing happens.  Maybe without anyone knowing.
> 
> I have a whole other family out there I know nothing about.


I know how you feel Uptosnuff.  I found out on the day of my 16th birthday party that the person I thought was a beloved cousin was actually my birth mother and my parents were actually my grand uncle and aunt. My bio-mom died very young at age 25 from kidney disease so she was already gone when I found out. The psychic part of me suspected they were not my "real" parents since I was very young.  I was too young to know the word "biological" at the time.  Blessedly they were great parents.


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## Uptosnuff (Dec 10, 2019)

OneEyedDiva said:


> I know how you feel Uptosnuff.  I found out on the day of my 16th birthday party that the person I thought was a beloved cousin was actually my birth mother and my parents were actually my grand uncle and aunt. My bio-mom died very young at age 25 from kidney disease so she was already gone when I found out. The psychic part of me suspected they were not my "real" parents since I was very young.  I was too young to know the word "biological" at the time.  Blessedly they were great parents.



Sounds like everything turned out alright for the both of us.  I had a very stable, mostly happy childhood, considering the circumstances.  Although I was totally ignorant.  

Interesting about the "psychic part" of you that suspected.  I didn't suspect a thing.  Absolutely clueless, but my younger brother always thought we were adopted when we were kids.  We did not look like any of our siblings, and they were so much older than we.


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## Duster (Dec 10, 2019)

According to genealogy records, most of my English/Irish/Scottish family came to the US in the 16th century.  The German and French arrived in about 1830. I used to be part Native American, but one of my dad's cousins had a DNA test and concluded there was no Indian blood in the family, only tall story tellers.


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## Gary O' (Dec 10, 2019)

OneEyedDiva said:


> Why do you say "thankfully...none have come forth" Gary?


The ones accounted for are more than enough.
They've all but done me in.
Unsure of what/who's out there, sprung from my loins during the early 'busy' season of thoughtless premature manhood


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## OneEyedDiva (Dec 15, 2019)

Gary O' said:


> The ones accounted for are more than enough.
> They've all but done me in.
> Unsure of what/who's out there, sprung from my loins during the early 'busy' season of thoughtless premature manhood


ROFLM*O!!! Gary...you crack me up.  Well then....I guess it is a good thing nobody else has shown up.


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## debodun (Dec 16, 2019)

Both sides of my family, especially my father's, were not very endowed in the child producing area. My mother had 3 brothers and I have 5 cousins between them. My father had 2 sisters and a brother. The brother never married or had kids, one of the aunts married late in life and had no children. I have three cousins from dad's other sister. So, in total bllod relatives - 6 aunts & uncles and 8 cousins. I am an only child on top of that.


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## RadishRose (Dec 16, 2019)

OneEyedDiva said:


> I met my cousin Daniel when a group of us headed down to South Carolina by bus for our 2015 family reunion. He came from Germany just to be with us. None of us, not even his grandmother (the excited, brown woman in the video) knew of his singing aspirations at that time. It's a trip that he prefers to be a crooner rather than sing today's music.  Daniel is doing gigs in Europe and is working on an album.  Not well known yet....but praying he will find the success he deserves.  His grandmother keeps me posted about his endeavors. He's a very nice young man and we're very proud of him.  His mother and (half) brother are also cheering him on.


OMG, what a voice! He's wonderful.


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## Sassycakes (Jan 4, 2020)

Llynn said:


> My Maternal side family generations:  Great Grandparents, Grandparents, Mother, aunts and uncles, and my cousins all had blue eyes and were all of NW European heritage. When we started hatching kids, my generation brought some darker eyed genes into our club. One cousin's wife, a beautiful Japanese American girl frequently made jokes about being the only brown eyed person at our family doings. We all loved her.



It's funny you mentioned Blue eyes. Both my parents were Italian and came from  large families. My Mom had 5 brothers and 6 sisters. All the boys had blue eyes and all the girls had brown eyes. Out of over 40 cousins on my Mom's side I was the only girl with blue eyes. On my Dad's side he had 6 sisters and 1 brother and 30 cousins and no one on that side of the family had blue eyes. So obviously I was the odd one in the family.


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## jujube (Jan 4, 2020)

We're a Heinz 57 Variety family.  

On my mother's side, it's mostly English and German.

On my dad's side, whooo boy...…  It turned out that  my dad was adopted (just found that out a few years ago).  His biological father was my "grandfather's" brother, so the bloodline is the same there.  We had to throw out all the genetic info on my "grandmother".  My biological grandmother's family was mostly English.  I have a paternal great-grandmother who was a Melungeon (Scottish, Black and Cherokee Indian) and according to the ancestry test my sister did, we are also part Bangladeshi (WHAT?).

My two great-granddaughters are mixed-race.

As I said.....Heinz 57 Variety.  We're mutts.


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## Rosemarie (Jan 5, 2020)

Let's just say that the ads on tv which are supposed to represent modern Britain certainly do not represent mine. We are proud of our Celtic heritage and are keen to keep it that way.


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## OneEyedDiva (Jan 12, 2020)

RadishRose said:


> OMG, what a voice! He's wonderful.


Thank you Rose!


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## Pinky (Jan 12, 2020)

OneEyedDiva said:


> I met my cousin Daniel when a group of us headed down to South Carolina by bus for our 2015 family reunion. He came from Germany just to be with us. None of us, not even his grandmother (the excited, brown woman in the video) knew of his singing aspirations at that time. It's a trip that he prefers to be a crooner rather than sing today's music.  Daniel is doing gigs in Europe and is working on an album.  Not well known yet....but praying he will find the success he deserves.  His grandmother keeps me posted about his endeavors. He's a very nice young man and we're very proud of him.  His mother and (half) brother are also cheering him on.



All the best to Daniel - he has a fantastic voice, and is very handsome! I wish my nephew were here to translate the German for me! One of my other nephews has been in the local music scene here since he was in his teens .. not an easy industry to break into, so - all the very best to such a talented young man. I love seeing his mother's joy.


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## OneEyedDiva (Jan 13, 2020)

Pinky said:


> All the best to Daniel - he has a fantastic voice, and is very handsome! I wish my nephew were here to translate the German for me! One of my other nephews has been in the local music scene here since he was in his teens .. not an easy industry to break into, so - all the very best to such a talented young man. I love seeing his mother's joy.


Thank you Pinky!


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## Rojo (Jan 15, 2020)

I am a German/Irish/native American mutt. I married a Cuban. Nephews and nieces are African American.


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## pleinmont (Jan 15, 2020)

My husband and I have three birth daughters, we adopted two lads with special educational needs, the younger one has Down's Syndrome, we also fostered another boy with DS. Our two younger girls married and have children, our eldest grandson has just had his 18th birthday.

I have three siblings who I don't see very often as they don't live anywhere near us, we keep in touch by e-mail and phone calls. I have a number of nephews and one niece, whom I haven't seem for years, I am a great aunt too. I have many cousins, but only in touch with one of them. I still have one uncle and one aunt who are alive and in their 80s.


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## JaniceM (Feb 19, 2020)

OneEyedDiva said:


> I only had one child and he has 5 children. But on my birthmother's side (the family I was raised in by my wonderful parents, her uncle and his wife) my family is very large. On my biological father's side...not so much.  I have cousins who's spouses are Chinese, Japanese, both German and American Caucasians as well as Dominican. They all had children.  My two great grand nephews' mother is Mexican.  My maternal grandmother said we also have Indian (from India) and Hispanic roots and a family historian says we have German and Native American blood as well.
> 
> We have diverse religions as well....Christians (Methodist, Catholic, Baptist), Muslims and Mormons. Our occupations vary from laborers and civil servants to doctors, lawyers and entertainers: singers, recording artists, movie/T.V. actors.  We don't do the "4th cousin twice removed" thing. If you're blood...you're blood. With our family it's hard to keep track anyway.  And my "half sister" and I simply refer to ourselves as sisters when we speak of one another to others.
> 
> Tell us about the diversity (or lack of) in your family. Is your family large or small?



Unfortunately, my family anymore is quite small, as everyone in previous generations has passed away, but I do have many cousins.
I agree with your dislike of the word 'half,' it makes it seem as if either a person or relationship isn't important, so I've never used that term.  
As for diversity, though, my family's always been wonderfully diverse-  ethnically, racially, and religiously.  And as far back as my knowledge goes, those 'differences' were never an issue.


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## Em in Ohio (Mar 17, 2020)

OneEyedDiva said:


> I only had one child and he has 5 children. But on my birthmother's side (the family I was raised in by my wonderful parents, her uncle and his wife) my family is very large. On my biological father's side...not so much.  I have cousins who's spouses are Chinese, Japanese, both German and American Caucasians as well as Dominican. They all had children.  My two great grand nephews' mother is Mexican.  My maternal grandmother said we also have Indian (from India) and Hispanic roots and a family historian says we have German and Native American blood as well.
> 
> We have diverse religions as well....Christians (Methodist, Catholic, Baptist), Muslims and Mormons. Our occupations vary from laborers and civil servants to doctors, lawyers and entertainers: singers, recording artists, movie/T.V. actors.  We don't do the "4th cousin twice removed" thing. If you're blood...you're blood. With our family it's hard to keep track anyway.  And my "half sister" and I simply refer to ourselves as sisters when we speak of one another to others.
> 
> Tell us about the diversity (or lack of) in your family. Is your family large or small?



I envy you!  I was raised as an only child.  My brother, 15 years senior to me, had Down's Syndrome and was institutionalized before I was born.  He had a great sense of humor and loved to dance.  Historically, my grandparents and parents were Hungarian.  My mother was a Catholic hypocrite and my father was a saintly agnostic.  For the good news, neither were racists or bigots.  My 3 grand-kids are bi-racial (Caucasian American and African American.)  I would welcome more diversity (and more people in general) in my family.


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## Ken N Tx (Mar 17, 2020)




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## OneEyedDiva (Mar 17, 2020)

Empty said:


> I envy you!  I was raised as an only child.  My brother, 15 years senior to me, had Down's Syndrome and was institutionalized before I was born.  He had a great sense of humor and loved to dance.  Historically, my grandparents and parents were Hungarian.  My mother was a Catholic hypocrite and my father was a saintly agnostic.  For the good news, neither were racists or bigots.  My 3 grand-kids are bi-racial (Caucasian American and African American.)  I would welcome more diversity (and more people in general) in my family.


Empty, at least there *is* good news regarding your family. I was raised as an only child as well.  A friend helped me find my half sister in 1998, a couple of years after my uncle told me of a half sister who had died and a half brother. It's funny, he never mentioned the sister I wound up meeting first. And I had been seeing my brother for a couple of years but didn't know who he was. He lived in the same senior building as my parents. I always assumed this man was visiting his parent(s) when I'd see him in the elevator. I became quite close with my sister and brother.  I had another half brother who lived in south Jersey. My husband and I went down to meet him but we never became close.


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## Ruthanne (Mar 17, 2020)

My late husband was african american.  My family of origin is slovak/hungarian as has early origins in asia and africa.  My nephew's girlfriend who I think he will marry is of korean descent.


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## Em in Ohio (Mar 18, 2020)

OneEyedDiva said:


> Empty, at least there *is* good news regarding your family. I was raised as an only child as well.  A friend helped me find my half sister in 1998, a couple of years after my uncle told me of a half sister who had died and a half brother. It's funny, he never mentioned the sister I wound up meeting first. And I had been seeing my brother for a couple of years but didn't know who he was. He lived in the same senior building as my parents. I always assumed this man was visiting his parent(s) when I'd see him in the elevator. I became quite close with my sister and brother.  I had another half brother who lived in south Jersey. My husband and I went down to meet him but we never became close.



It would be wonderful to discover an unknown sibling.  Unfortunately, there was never any indication that such a person existed in my family.  My parents were next-door neighbors who met in their teens.

I had false hope raised in my early twenties when people started telling me that they had spotted me at places that I hadn't been. Evidently, I had a look-alike somewhere!  I really hoped it was an unknown twin! I even asked my aunt, who denied the possibility.

How did you figure out that the man you saw for years was a sibling?  That is fantastic!  Through gene testing, my friend discovered that her brother was NOT a blood relative last year.  It was a shock to them both, but changed nothing.  ~ Em


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## Nate007 (Mar 21, 2020)

A mix of English and German mostly.  I'm interested in doing an ancestry test just to learn more about my lineage.  My gf is Chinese so future generations will have a more varied mix.


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## C'est Moi (Mar 21, 2020)

Nate007 said:


> A mix of English and German mostly.  I'm interested in doing an ancestry test just to learn more about my lineage.  *My gf is Chinese so future generations will have a more varied mix.*


Are you planning to start a family?


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## C'est Moi (Mar 21, 2020)

My immediate family is fairly diverse; my daughter's partner is black but they don't have children yet.  I have a grandbaby who is a beautiful Mexican/American mix.   The rest of us are assorted caucasian mongrels.


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## Nate007 (Mar 21, 2020)

C'est Moi said:


> Are you planning to start a family?



I would like to


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## C'est Moi (Mar 21, 2020)

Nate007 said:


> I would like to


Not something you often hear on a seniors forum.   Welcome aboard and good luck.


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## Nate007 (Mar 21, 2020)

I'm 61.  Still able to and wanting to start a family.  Thank you


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## Em in Ohio (Mar 21, 2020)

C'est Moi said:


> My immediate family is fairly diverse; my daughter's partner is black but they don't have children yet.  I have a grandbaby who is a beautiful Mexican/American mix.   The rest of us are assorted caucasian mongrels.


In the dog world, it is known that mongrels are generally healthier.  I hope that applies to people, too!


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## JaniceM (Mar 21, 2020)

Empty said:


> In the dog world, it is known that mongrels are generally healthier.  I hope that applies to people, too!


It's beyond insulting to refer to human beings as 'mongrels.'


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## C'est Moi (Mar 21, 2020)

JaniceM said:


> It's beyond insulting to refer to human beings as 'mongrels.'


Not if you have a sense of humor.


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## JaniceM (Mar 22, 2020)

C'est Moi said:


> Not if you have a sense of humor.


That same 'excuse' can be used for any derogatory remark.


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## C'est Moi (Mar 22, 2020)

JaniceM said:


> That same 'excuse' can be used for any derogatory remark.


People looking for a reason to be insulted can certainly find one.


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## OneEyedDiva (Mar 22, 2020)

Empty said:


> It would be wonderful to discover an unknown sibling.  Unfortunately, there was never any indication that such a person existed in my family.  My parents were next-door neighbors who met in their teens.
> 
> I had false hope raised in my early twenties when people started telling me that they had spotted me at places that I hadn't been. Evidently, I had a look-alike somewhere!  I really hoped it was an unknown twin! I even asked my aunt, who denied the possibility.
> 
> How did you figure out that the man you saw for years was a sibling?  That is fantastic!  Through gene testing, my friend discovered that her brother was NOT a blood relative last year.  It was a shock to them both, but changed nothing.  ~ Em


My (late) friend who knew everything and everybody found out my sister was best friends with one of my cousins. My cousin, who never realized my mother (who she grew up very close to) and father weren't my biological parents. She, against the advice of her husband, facilitated my sister and I meeting and the three of us went out for dinner. My sister who is the consummate hostess planned a breakfast at her house for me and my brother. He didn't show. She gave me his number, I called him and using my baby voice, I asked for him by his last name. She was right...he had a voice like Barry White. When he said yes I'm Mr. XXXXXX I told him I was his baby sister. He cracked up and we hit it off right away.  The next time she invited us over, he came and was the one who opened the door for me. When I stepped in I said "I know *you!!"* We laughed and were close ever since. Unfortunately I attended his funeral on my 60th birthday.


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## JaniceM (Mar 24, 2020)

In case there's anyone who's not aware of this, some c/p from politifact.com/factchecks:


"That’s what the Nazis called Jews to justify the genocide of the Jewish community..They called them _untermenschen_, subhuman mongrels..

The words subhuman and mongrel were used interchangeably but generally had the same derogatory meaning.

David Myers, a historian at the University of California at Los Angeles, said Adolph Hitler used the word "untermensch" or subhuman in his book _Mein Kampf_ in 1925.

"From that point forward, it was part of the Nazi lexicon," Myers said. "That and ‘mischling’ or mongrel, were intoned with daily regularity by the Nazi propaganda machine."




More than the fact that this term has been used on this forum was the "mindboggledness" over the "Likes" those posts received.  Not only is it considered acceptable, but the approach I've heard has become common-  a person is only 'choosing to be' insulted by it..  Perhaps individuals who take that approach would have taken the same approach to all the human beings who were 'offed' in Nazi Germany?!  I kinda thought most people here were better than that..  but I guess I was mistaken.


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## Pepper (Mar 24, 2020)

JaniceM said:


> I kinda thought most people here were better than that..  but I guess I was mistaken.


I guess that's your first mistake.  Humans have proven what they can do over & over again.  And why us, why would we be better?  

Janice, I don't believe anyone using that term here was of ill intent.  They were being humorous, IMO. Maybe their humor fell flat for you.  I'm a Jew.  When I was 13 my family and I were verbally attacked by a full busload of people for being Jews.  Long story.  Have lots of personal stories on this topic.  Think I'm saying I know something about racial hatred.  Maybe careless, maybe insensitive, but ............ no more to say on the matter.


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## C'est Moi (Mar 24, 2020)

JaniceM said:


> In case there's anyone who's not aware of this, some c/p from politifact.com/factchecks:
> 
> 
> "That’s what the Nazis called Jews to justify the genocide of the Jewish community..They called them _untermenschen_, subhuman mongrels..
> ...



Oh, get over it for heaven's sake.  I used the term "mongrels" in jest about my own family; there was no ill-intent.  You need to find a sense of humor and stop being so dramatic.   A mongrel is just a "mixed breed," which I'd venture to say ALL OF US ARE. 

And FYI, I am definitely a good person so you don't need to be so disappointed in humanity.  Good grief, what a load of B.S.   If your mind is so easily "boggled," I truly pity you.

@OneEyedDiva -- sorry the thread was side-tracked.


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