A Little Help from a Relative

Entry #2: A Little Help From A Relative

One of the best ways to learn about your family is to talk to people who are the farthest removed from your line. The more distant the cousin, the more likely they will tell you the juicy tidbits you want to know. The more closely related they are, the less likely they will be to give you more than names!

I learned alot from my distant cousin, Elsie. Elsie and I are related many times over through various marriages. Because she lived in the same neighborhood as my Pacheco's when she was a child, and moved back there after marriage, she knew the Pacheco clan pretty well. Many of them were daily visitors to her house. Her children went to the same schools as theirs. They went to the same church and participated in many of the same neighborhood events.

Elsie was friends with Ida, wife of Jose A. Pacheco. The Cosma's were Elsie's cousins. In her opinion, Ida was a Cosma, but she had no idea who she belonged to.

Without my asking, Elsie tracked down one of Ida and Jose's daughters. She and this daughter knew each other from way back. According to the daughter, Ida was a Camara, but NOT a Cosma. Say what???? How could that be possible? If true, this meant that Ida Drew and Jose's wife were two different people. It also meant there were more than one Camara family (aka Jacinto da Camara and Cosma's)