| I was exploring some ancestral lines of a
woman I know in Colorado, and I stopped to read
about one of her ancestors. He was Major-General
Thomas Harrison, and he was a judge at the trial
of King Charles I of England who was executed in
1649. But another one of this same woman's
ancestors was King Charles I of England. So at
least two of her ancestors were very different
participants in an important historical trial.
This is a recurring theme I see often when
connecting so much ancestral history. The further
one looks to the past, the more ancestors one
will find on opposing sides of any issue or
battle.
For instance, people who consider themselves
to be of Scottish ancestry generally like
cheering for William Wallace's side when watching
"Braveheart". They assume all their
ancestors were on the Scottish side on the field
of battle.
Not true. I believe it is extremely unlikely,
if not impossible, for anyone to have had
ancestors on one side of the field without having
ancestors on both sides of the field (even Prince
Charles, try a 25 generation ancestor view,
Presidential PIN 3575).
Although I haven't zeroed in on the exact
century, I believe there is a point in time when
anyone with any European ancestry had ancestors
on both sides of every battle fought in Europe.
My estimate is that nine centuries ago is a very
safe bet.
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