My sister Marcia has become the keeper of the photos. This is primarily a function of birth order. The youngest and still in high school, she moved to North Carolina with our parents in 1974. Leslie and I were at colleges in upstate New York.
Our mother (d. 2011) had a slew of photos inherited from her mother (d. 1983). Virtually all family photos in this blog from the 19th and 20th centuries were scanned by Marcia or her daughter.
Hmm. I just noticed the matrilineal line of the pictures.
The photos have helped identify what some of our ancestors looked like, such as our great-grandmother Lillian Archer Yates Holland and HER father, James Archer.
My sisters and I are still doing near-weekly ZOOM meetings initiated by Marcia. We have talked some about our roots, though not in an exceptionally systematic way.
DNA comparison feature
According to an email I got about a month ago, Ancestry.com has a new DNA comparison feature where one can see how their DNA results line up next to their matches or compare results with anyone else who has shared their results with me.
I decided to look at my sister Marcia’s DNA compared with mine. I’m more Irish, while she’s more English. We’re equally Cameroonian, but I show more Nigerian, while she’s more Beninian.
I understand the vagueries of chromosomes, but I’m nevertheless fascinated by them.
The photo
The picture in this post is on the Clinton Street bridge, as any Binghamtonian could tell you. She’s facing west. The bridge over the Chenango River is just over a mile from our house at 5 Gaines Street. Perhaps it was taken for her birthday, though l cannot be sure.
Today is Marcia’s XXth birthday. Happy birthday to the one who’ll always be my baby sister, no matter how old she gets. I love you, dear.