I can't believe it

[aautomo884]

So My MIND has just been blown, and now I'm going to blow all of yours!

 

Many of you may not know this, but I have a very rich family history that dates back to the Mayflower. My ancestors are well-known historical figures, and socialites, so I really wanted to complete a family tree for my children and grand children. I spent a great deal of time from 1999-2002 painstakingly researching my entire family tree. There was not a lot of information available online at the time, so most of my energy was spent in Church of Latter Day Saints plowing through thousands of microfilms and ordering census records and newspaper articles. Back then there was software called family tree maker. I bought it, and painstakingly entered all of the information, then saved it onto a floppy disk, and printed a hard copy, which were over 100 pages. When that computer died, I saved it. It is still in my basement to this day. The floppy disk is just plain obsolete.

So yesterday Tom and I were discussing my upcoming BLA (which he is terrified about, poor thing). I was at the computer and he was sitting in an adjacent chair. He looked up over my computer and said "now with all the time you have spent in this office researching Cushing?s, pouring over medical data, chatting with friends, and visiting the boards over the years, you never looked up and wondered, am I related?" I looked up and my jaw dropped. I did a quick Google search on Harvey Williams Cushing, and what I saw before my eyes sent chills up my spine. I looked at Tom and said OMG his family is from Hingham Mass. Needless to say I spent most of my morning researching his family tree, and yes, we are related! You could blow me over with a feather! Isn't that something? The neurosurgeon who discovered Cushing?s disease would have a descendant that would be stricken with Cushing?s herself. That's not the only odd thing about this. At the risk of sounding a bit looney, I began having symptoms right around the time that I received the family heirlooms and pieces of furniture that drove me to doing the genealogy in the first place. Weird, oh and when I met Tom, he had a 1988 Ford F250 that he was piecing together, the front fenders were zebra striped cuz he bought a truck from Six Flags Great Adventure safari park that he was using for parts. CREEPY!

So I know have a new hobby, inputting my WHOLE family tree onto Ancestry.com. I can't believe how much information is available now, it's absolutely incredible. What I researched today would have taken me weeks in the 90s. Although distant relatives, here is how the good Doctor and I are related (the short version):

Matthew Cushing and Nazareth Pitcher arrive in Hingham MA with their 5 children the oldest being Daniel (from my line) and his youngest brother John (Harvey's line)

 

Daniel had Theophilis, who had Abel, who had Jonathan, who had Sarah, who married William C Torrey, who had Sarah who married Albert Farrar, who had Henry, who had Clayton, who had Clayton Jr, who had LIL OL ME!

 

John Cushing had Matthew, who had Josiah, who had David, who had Dr David, who had Dr Erastus, who had Dr Henry Krike, who had Harvey who discovered that LIL OL TUMOR IN MY PITUITARY!

 

So there u have it folks, distant cousins! Isn?t it cool?

 

 

 

This is a historical document that states that My Great Grandfather Head Senior Buyer for Bergdorf Goodman, husband of Maud Becker daughter of C A Becker who was the Co founder of what is now known as Chase Manhattan Bank is a direct descendant of Col David Cushing?s of the Massachusetts Militia and a member of the Son?s of the Revolution.

 

 

This is a Hepplewhite Federal Secretary Desk that has been in my Family since the Late 1700?s. The family members who have owned it are typed on the back of a drawer (you can see Sarah Cushing from the Harvey Cushing line) and my ancestors have carved their names though out the large drawers. This desk was featured in House Beautiful along with some other pieces I have been given in the Estate of Henry Farrar found in the Nov 1911 issue.

 

 

This is Historical Document declaring that my Father is a member of the General Society of Mayflower Descendants.

[MelissaTX]

This is very cool, Cyndie! We have another thing in common! I'm on ancestry.com right now, researching my many ancestors. I am taking as many lines back to Europe as I can, then I pick up the next one and research until I can get that one back to Europe. I'm having a lot of fun!

 

Is there a search box some place where you can see lineage between two people?

 

I'm super exciting for you! This is very cool!

[mrsb91986]

Wow Cyndie!!! That is sooo very cool! How unbelievable the coincidence of the dr and you being the patient! Well I haven't shared this with many people but about 3 hrs ago I saw a psychic/medium and she said that a dr. Was there urging me to continue on this testing journey. We do not have any dr.s living or deceased in our famies and all Drs we have had are still living. So Cyndie your relative came through to encourage me to get help. Lol

[twinkie]

Whepa! Too very cool! BTW, you can now go to lds.org to do geneology for free also---this is the website of the church you did most of your original research through.

 

I am soooo impressed! My church, the same as above, is VERY into family history and I am intimidated as heck by all of it. You are awsome!

 

love,

melly

[DebraC]

I have found Genealogy very addicting! After my kids came, I just don't have much time to work on it. I had several versions of FTM. My DH bought me a newer version last year, but I have yet to work with it. I've been wanting to join Ancestry.com. Do you like the format as well as FTM was. I hope I can just transfer the files instead of typing it all in again. Now that my kids are a little bit older, I might have more time to get back into it.

 

That is so cool that you found a link to Dr. Cushings! Small world! I love the desk!

 

I'm a Mayflower descendant myself. I haven't registered yet, but my cousin is.

[aautomo884]

I have found Genealogy very addicting! After my kids came, I just don't have much time to work on it. I had several versions of FTM. My DH bought me a newer version last year, but I have yet to work with it. I've been wanting to join Ancestry.com. Do you like the format as well as FTM was. I hope I can just transfer the files instead of typing it all in again. Now that my kids are a little bit older, I might have more time to get back into it.

 

That is so cool that you found a link to Dr. Cushings! Small world! I love the desk!

 

I'm a Mayflower descendant myself. I haven't registered yet, but my cousin is.

 

Hey Deb, we may be related too! who is your ancestor from the Mayflower? I found today that Ancestry is completely different the FTM. You can't find "how your related to a particular person in Ancestry". IN FTM you could find a person, and then it would tell you the relation, IE 4th cousin twice removed, ya know?

[Nan]

Very cool...

 

Now you know he is

"with you"

for your upcoming

surgery.

 

Spooky.

[LilDickens]

Wow, that is awesome! I love genealogy, but lately cannot do anything with the memory.

 

 

Not to boast, but here is a site I built several years ago....I am of the David Renfrew line. He started the booming oil town . Now , it is all gone but the bridge and the passing train. One man even moved a whole house down to Renfrew! I researched them after I moved to Franklin Co, PA and discovered we were from here by an Museum called the Renfrew Museum in Waynesboro, PA.

 

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~genkim/RenfrewFranklin/main.html

 

 

 

Renfrew City, PA

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~genkim/Renfrewnews/growth.html

[SusanM]

Congratulations on your ancestry search and discoveries! Isn't it fun!

 

After watching NBC's Who Do You Think You Are, I went on Ancestry.com and discovered that others had built pieces of my family tree (on one side) and I just had to put them together. It went all the way back to Germany in 1607.

 

Now that you have that informaton about Harvey Cushing, do you feel any better about your BLA?

[casperslove]

Wow Cyndie!!!! That's AMAZING!!! I guess I'll have to check out ancestry.com too!

[aautomo884]

Wow, that is awesome! I love genealogy, but lately cannot do anything with the memory.

 

 

Not to boast, but here is a site I built several years ago....I am of the David Renfrew line. He started the booming oil town . Now , it is all gone but the bridge and the passing train. One man even moved a whole house down to Renfrew! I researched them after I moved to Franklin Co, PA and discovered we were from here by an Museum called the Renfrew Museum in Waynesboro, PA.

 

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~genkim/RenfrewFranklin/main.html

 

 

 

Renfrew City, PA

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~genkim/Renfrewnews/growth.html

 

Very COOL!

 

Congratulations on your ancestry search and discoveries! Isn't it fun!

 

After watching NBC's Who Do You Think You Are, I went on Ancestry.com and discovered that others had built pieces of my family tree (on one side) and I just had to put them together. It went all the way back to Germany in 1607.

 

Now that you have that informaton about Harvey Cushing, do you feel any better about your BLA?

 

Ha ha Susan, too bad the neurosurgery failed me the first time. I don't think either Tom and I are going to feel better about it until it's over ya know? I hate the choice that is before me, and I wish there were other "less radiacal" options, but there isn't, so I'm ok with it now. Of course, I'm the one that is suffering day in and day out. Tom on the other hand would rather me stay JUST the way I am. He's pretty scared, and that's SO not like him, it sorta breaks my heart.

 

XO

[Jeanie]

Very cool!! You have inspired me to look up my family history!!

[DebraC]

Hey Deb, we may be related too! who is your ancestor from the Mayflower? I found today that Ancestry is completely different the FTM. You can't find "how your related to a particular person in Ancestry". IN FTM you could find a person, and then it would tell you the relation, IE 4th cousin twice removed, ya know?

 

William Bradford. It's my mom's dad's side of the family.

 

That's too bad it doesn't have that function -- perhaps if enough people contacted them about it, it would be added. Do they have a map option where you can see the world and dots of the places where you have records of? That is something that would be fun to see. I found two different sets of families that lived in the same town.

 

I'm mad I got into it after some key family members had passed away. They would have known a lot of information that would help a lot.

[MelissaTX]

I am so thrilled to see so many of us interested in genealogy! It is a fun way to pass the time indoors on the computer when it is so difficult for all of us to go outside and be with other people. Plus, it is super rewarding and such a treasure to pass down to all generations.

 

I, too, am watching the Who Do You Think You Are show on NBC on Fridays. Here is the link to the show for those who may be interested: My link

 

Have any of you tried the website, Find a Grave.com? I have found some relatives' tombstones there, and it has the vital info listed, of course. You can request photos to be taken of your ancestor, and then people post it. What a wonderful free thing to give a person! When I get better, I plan to take photos at some of the cemeteries located near me, to help others looking for relatives from far away.

[cjs]

Very cool! I'm a genealogy addict too.

 

That's how I learned about Cushing's. A long lost relative of my dad's gave me some pictures of my Great grandparents and relatives. They were HUGE people with HUGE goiters.

I started researching their medical records and found they had diabetes, hypothyroid, chron's disease and 2 deaths were ruptured bowel

[Fitz]

Wow, Cyndie, my mom has an ancient secretary that looks almost exactly like the one in your picture in her hallway. She had it refinished, though, after she had it shipped from her childhood home in CO, so it is probably worthless. Through the internet, I found a long lost cousin, who had done extensive work in geneology and traced our family line back to 1666 when the Spaniards were coming over to colonize Mexico. In fact, our line is thought to have originated with a Franciscan monk.

 

Pretty cool with the Cushing's link.

 

Sheila

[JenS]

I have been working on my family tree too. I did what Susan did with the DNA and found a lot of distant cousins as I did the health and historical data. So I needed more of a tree so I started one in ancestry.com as well and using a lot of the rootsweb.com free and family sources, I got parts of my family back to the 1600's to England and Germany. The parts in Russia were killed off in the revolution so I am not sure how much information I can get from them. I am still tracking the Swedes.

 

I have a a big family connection to the Putnam family that moved here from Aston Abbots founded Salem, Mass - one was General Israel Putnam who was a revolutionary army general and others were the involved in the witchcraft trials (ack!).

 

The search is fun but it does get rather wild when your brain is fuzzed.

[aautomo884]

Very cool! I'm a genealogy addict too.

 

That's how I learned about Cushing's. A long lost relative of my dad's gave me some pictures of my Great grandparents and relatives. They were HUGE people with HUGE goiters.

I started researching their medical records and found they had diabetes, hypothyroid, chron's disease and 2 deaths were ruptured bowel

 

 

Wow hun, that is incredible. Unfortunately for me, I am the eldest of a very old generation. So it's difficult to figure out what my great grandfather died of when it was 1931. Everything was heart failure or consumption on the death certificates.

 

I did learn that my Grandmothers Only sibling died of Kidney failure at 46, and had "Uncontrollable Hypertension" (probably due to hyperparathyroidism) and My Grandmothers 1st cousin died of pancreatic cancer in 1963 at 52yrs old (probably due to an islet tumor in the pancreas). His son, my dads first cousin died of complications from untreated cushings disease in 2009 at 54 yrs old. My Dad has hypercalicemia but haven't caught a high PTH, and frankly he's too old at 75 to have him poked around. Top that off with my Parathyroid tumors, my Pituitary tumors right side, now left...and there you have it folks, MEN 1. My family was NOT prolific what so ever probably due to MEN and prolatinoma's which don't have any real side effects except infertility. Interesting stuff...

 

I have been working on my family tree too. I did what Susan did with the DNA and found a lot of distant cousins as I did the health and historical data. So I needed more of a tree so I started one in ancestry.com as well and using a lot of the rootsweb.com free and family sources, I got parts of my family back to the 1600's to England and Germany. The parts in Russia were killed off in the revolution so I am not sure how much information I can get from them. I am still tracking the Swedes.

 

I have a a big family connection to the Putnam family that moved here from Aston Abbots founded Salem, Mass - one was General Israel Putnam who was a revolutionary army general and others were the involved in the witchcraft trials (ack!).

 

The search is fun but it does get rather wild when your brain is fuzzed.

Jen, I have a small line in the Putnams as well. If I recall, It was a marriage to one in the late 1700s. I'd have to sift through the paperwork to find exactly who it is. I'm so bummed that Ancestry took over FTM and didn't retain the trees.

[JenS]

Oh man if we are related, that would be funny! If you find the name, let me know.

 

I have tons and tons of paperwork on the Putnams since my great-grandmother was a Putman and one of her sisters did a whole geneology in the 1930's. They actually went around and found many of the grave stones to get information. They spread out all over too - going to Ohio and to Vermont. I have not been able to digest the whole thing. There are tons of letters and a lot of anecdotal information which makes it very interesting.

 

I have only found an aunt that died of an adrenal tumor so far. Looking at the tree though you can see that in some cases only 50% of the children survived but that may have been par for the course at the time. My grandfather lost his older brother to malaria as a baby in Massachusetts (who knew that was in Massachusetts!) and my grandfather later traveled the world and got the same disease himself. I am still entering data so I have no really looked at the full picture yet.

[gmcook3]

Cyndie, how very cool! You truly are Cyndie Cushings (in a way)!

[Kathryn G]

You are truly a Cushing! Wow! That is very neat that you have been able to trace back your roots and also find that you are related to the man who discovered this disease.

Kate G

[betseebee]

Very interesting Cyndie. I joined ancestry.com a few years ago, after being inspired by my in-laws detailed work on their family tree. They also trace their roots back to the Mayflower and a signer of the Declaration of Independence (last name Whipple). They are related to a mother and a daughter who were the last ones tried as witches in Salem, MA. The mother was executed but her daughter was not.

 

My ancestors on my mother's side were cast out by Sir Francis Drake to the Caribbean Islands and in the 1700's some of them were sea captains who ran guns to the Americans fighting the Revolutionary War, for which they were punished.

 

When I went to have my second pit. surgery with Dr. K. of San Francisco we stayed in a hotel in Fremont, CA. The exit right before our hotel's exit was called "Cushing's Parkway." I wonder if that was named after your relative?

[Nillie]

That is some amazing stuff Cyndie!!! You have inspired me to look into my ancestry as well. Maybe my brother in law (last name is Cushing) is related to you and Harvey too. I should find out. That would be so cool.

 

I am just so impressed by all of you who have searched out ancestors. I am with Melly, I have been so intimidated by the process, I never tried. And, others in my family and relatives have already traced most of it anyway. Now all I have to do is read it!! I do know that my husband's family is related to some Kings in Europe. I will have to ask him which ones as I can't remember. The Bishop in my church encouraged me to look into my ancestry when he heard I was battling Cushing's disease. He said I maybe if I found some things in common with health and other things, it could help heal from the emotional effects.

 

I have some ancestors that kept journals....you guys are getting me excited to read them!!