While listening to an older episode of Extreme Genes I was reminded about the RelativeFinder site. The site pulls from you FamilySearch Tree and gives you clues to persons of interest to whom you may be related.
I have to say I take any leads I get from FamilySearch with "a grain of salt". I have personally discovered some very erroneous connections to my own family members. However, it is a clue to possible directions to follow when looking for parentage to a known family member.
Well, I was looking through the extended list of possible groups you can look at and saw the Salem Witch Trials. I had commented to a friend recently that it would be interesting to find a connection to the trials but I doubted there would be as I was sure my lines did not date back that far. But, I figured why not look just in case. I was heartbroken to find possible distant relatives on both sides of the story - 2 accused and 3 magistrates who played a part in the trials. I checked the charts showing the links between myself and each person and I could recognize most of my side almost up to the connecting person.
I know I said I would talk about both the "heroes" and the "scoundrels" in my family but I am not sure I can pursue these lines. I am not sure I can endure the sorrow I will feel for the wrongfully accused or rage I will feel for the accusers and judges.
For now, I will put these in my "maybe one-day" file and continue to work on fleshing the stories of closely related families.
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