Meeting my new cousin

A while ago I wrote about how my blog led me to make contact with a cousin I didn't know.  I had written posts about my genealogy research and of my trip to Switzerland to visit the town of Othmarsingen where my great grandmother was born.  My new-found cousin, Gail, had stumbled upon my blog when looking for information about her ancestral town... which happened to be Othmarsingen also.  After reading my posts she realized that her great grandfather, Jakob Marti, and my great grandmother, Susanna Marti, were brother and sister.  That makes us third cousins.  We exchanged numerous e-mails, and today we got together to meet face to face. 

Gail lives less than ten minutes away from my house.  We spent over two hours pouring over the genealogical research that we have gathered.  She had a lot of information that I did not have.  For example she had found the records of our great great grandparents' journey across the Atlantic.  They sailed with their six children on a British ship called "The City of Antwerp".  They embarked from the port of Liverpool and arrived in New York on May 20, 1873, less than a month after leaving Othmarsingen.  I can only imagine what a traumatic experience it must have been to leave everything behind and begin a new life in a new country. She also had a lot of information on the descendants of her great grandfather, Jakob.  She did not, however, have any information on my great grandmother Susanna or her descendants, so I was able to provide her with that.

Gail is a lovely person, and it's a great pleasure to connect with a new (albeit distant) family member.

 

 

Gail gave me a copy of this photo of Jakob Marti (1856-1918).  He would be my great-great uncle.