If you've ever wondered if or how you are related to someone you associate with your family, RootsMagic genealogy software may be able to help you to define that relationship. All the names and data we have accumulated for over 4,500 people have been entered into the program. By selecting two names that are included in that database, it will create a chart showing your exact relationship or tell you if there is no genetic connection.

As I was growing up, a lady named Caroline Brown (right) and her husband, Bill, attended every Heiden Family Reunion that I could remember. She was a "life of the party" type of person always laughing and having fun and Bill was always filming the activities with an 8 mm camera.

When I would ask people how Caroline was related, they would invariably say something like "Oh, she's a distant relative." or "Caroline is a shirt tail relation." I never found anyone who could give a full answer and, at the time, I was a little kid too shy to just ask her.

Eventually, I found out that Caroline's maiden name was Laas. Well, when I entered my name and Caroline's into RootsMagic, it produced the chart below:

[Note: Thanks to Caroline and others, we have some of these old family home movies and we will get them changed into a digital format soon so we can add them to the website.]

So, it turns out that I am Caroline's third cousin, once removed. My great grandmother Rika (Knaack) Heiden (left) and Caroline's grandmother, Dorothea Roggelein were first cousins. Her great grandmother and my great, great grandmother were sisters back when they were born in the early years of the 19th century over 200 years ago.

If you have similar questions about a distant relative or "mystery person" in the family, I would be glad to help you get an answer. Send me an EMAIL and we can work on it together.

Dorothea and Rika were from the same small village in Germany. Dorothea came to the U.S. in 1867 and settled in Monroe, Michigan. In 1873, Rika and her family followed and also found their way to Monroe.