Looking Way Back Is Soooo Interesting!

When I was a little girl, I'd get very, very dark when we went on our yearly vacation to the beach. Mind you, this was before sunblock. Thank goodness I tanned and did not burn. Here's a picture of my mom, my older sister Jane and me in Florida, I think.

Through my teenage years I'd literally bake in the sun. I remember at my high school graduation the girls wore white gowns and the boys wore black. This was the year just before mandatory desegregation. I think there was one African-American guy in our class. At graduation in that white gown, I looked like the token A.-A. girl! I had always heard the rumor that there was Indian blood in my family, but I never got down to the truth. My brother Adger has become very involved in our genealogy. He called today with stunning information. On my mother's side, there was a woman named Elizabeth Gunn who was 100% Cherokee. No wonder I get dark when I'm out in the sun! Now I'm wondering . . . when Mom and Dad took us to Cherokee, N.C. almost yearly . . . . .

Was this our uncle????

Adger also shared with me that on my father's side, there is a full-blooded Puerto Rican. Ok, another reason for dark skin. Does this mean that I have a new cousin?

Que pasa? Javy Lopez!

It's common knowledge among us Rucker's that our ancestor, Peter Rucker, left Germany for the U.S. in a beer barrel. I wonder if he drank himself across the Atlantic? This is where I put my foot down. I am NOT related to Mr. Mustached Mean Monster Hitler. Ain't gonna happen. But, the Rucker's do have German lineage.

So what do you get if you cross an Cherokee, a Puerto Rican, and a German? You get Chad, Mark and Abby Rucker. Or we could say they are "CheroRicoGerms". Sounds like a bad flu virus. Have you checked your genealogy lately?