Facebook Cousins

Yesterday morning, I decided to check Facebook before heading out to church. There was the beginning of a discussion on a photo that Pam Sayre had posted about a photograph of Linda Woodward Geiger and a Perkins cousin and his wife that she had met at the Museum of Appalachia during the FGS Conference in Knoxville. Linda had posted a comment about being descended from John Perkins and Judith Gater of Ipswich, Massachusetts. I quickly chimed in "Cousin Linda" for I, too, am descended from that couple. It wasn't long until Polly Kimmitt joined those claiming kinship. After comparing lines of descent, we discovered that Linda & I are 9th cousins once removed (with the common ancestor being the immigrant John Perkins and his wife Judith Gater), Polly & I are 9th cousins once removed (with the common ancestor being the immigrant's son John Perkins and his wife Elizabeth Evelith), and Linda & Polly are 9th cousins twice removed with the common ancestor being the immigrant once again. Since then, Bill West has also claimed to be our cousin. We'll have to calculate the degree of kinship when we have his line of descent. Now the really interesting thing was coming up with a way to cite a comment on a Facebook photograph that would meet Evidence Explained standards. I don't claim to have done it the way Elizabeth might have, but I came up with a way to do it since it is temporary documentation anyway (and not on my direct line).

Update (9/7/2010): Bill and me are 10th cousins once removed. Bill & Polly are 11th cousins. Bill and Linda are 9th cousins twice removed. Other Perkins cousins found are Melinde Lutz Sanborn, Natalie Cottrill, and Randy Seaver. We don't have enough info at the moment to calculate the degree of relationship to the last three. Natalie and Bill do share a descent through John & Judith's daughter Mary.

Update (9/9/2010): Randy Seaver and Linda are 9th cousins twice removed. Randy, Bill, and Polly are 11th cousins. Randy and me are 10th cousins once removed.