Intermarrying.

[Mary from Italy]

I've been having fun untangling the Inman, Hutchen and Philp families in NSW, Australia.
Mary Ann Hutchen married John Philp, and her sister Grace married Andrew Inman. Their brother Thomas married Elizabeth Ann Adams, and another brother, Harry, married Sarah Ann Elizabeth Adams.

Grace and Andrew Inman had 8 children, only three of whom married people with a surname other than Hutchen or Philp. Their oldest son Thomas Andrew married twice: his first wife was Alma Hutchen, daughter of Grace's brother Thomas Hutchen and Elizabeth Ann Adams. Alma's brother George Hutchen married Thomas Andrew Inman's sister Mabel. Alma died, and Thomas Andrew Inman married Martha Agnes Philp, the daughter of Grace Inman's sister Mary Ann and her husband John Philp.

Agnes Inman, another daughter of Andrew and Grace, married Daniel Sylvester Philp, brother of Martha Agnes. Martha was Daniel's second wife; by his first wife, Maud, he had a daughter Dulcie Philp, who married William Henry Inman, another son of Andrew and Grace.

Lila, the youngest child of Andrew and Grace, married Reuben Philp, who's no doubt related to the other Philps, but I haven't worked out how yet.

[Merry]

Originally Posted by Shona

Nope - can't work that out [head spinning and scribbling furiously].

Shona, you make me want to try my 'helpful reminder to myself' on you!! I had to turn the following into a hand drawn tree to make sense of it!

Robert Lewis Packer, the second husband of Mary Bush nee Crawley (mother of Mary Ann Bush) is the brother of Hephzibah Packer, who, at her second marriage became the second wife of James Beard, the father of John Beard (by his first wife), who in turn was the second husband of Mary Ann Bush. Mary Ann was Robert Lewis Packer's stepdaughter and her first husband was Robert William Cotton, son of William Cotton (brushmaker) and Emma Packer. William Cotton and Emma Packer named their second son John Hazel Cotton , so it is probable that Emma was related to Hephzibah, as Hephzibah's father was named Robert Hazel Packer. I believe Hephzibah Packer, Robert Lewis Packer and Emma Packer were all siblings (or half siblings), the children of Robert Hazel Packer.

[Janet]

You're scaring me, the lot of you! How will I ever get my own family tree straight if this is what a typical one looks like?

[Olde Crone]

Ha, Merry, thought it was only me who had these tortuous notes!

("He is not however, the son of George Holden - that John married his brother's wife's aunt, who was the grand daughter of John's mother's brother's half sister.....")

OC

[Merry]

Mine are all about the same lines too. Quite contagious! Are yours mainly Holden?

[Shona]

The OH's Irish tree has me going around in circles.

Matthew McCrudden married Ellen Treanor. Their son Matthew married Bridget Murphy and they had a son called Matthew who married Margaret Treanor. Matthew and Bridget's son Michael married Bridget Treanor, while daughters Ann and Kate married Treanors. Two other daughters married Mohans.

Merry's example takes some beating!

[Olde Crone]

Holdens do it in spades but the Greens of Gawsworth are trying very hard too! In fact, whenever a widow opr widower remarries, I look to the other spare widows and widowers and pair them off! I'm often right.

OC

[Merry]

*shuts eyes and puts fingers in ears* *la, la, dee dah* ........*opens one eye*.....

*reaches for a pencil and a large sheet of paper*

But of course, secretly, it's these lines we like the best! (excluding OC's Greens of course!)

[Nell]

What I do find intriguing is that the most complicated inter-marrying in my and ex's trees are Londoners. You'd think there'd be more of it in a small village where there's less choice of spouse, but it appears to be the reverse.

[Asa]

I've found that too, Nell - over several generations too