Funny Friday Finding Family

"It's a Small World After All" keeps going through my mind today, as does "We Are Family."

My husband was going through the online sign up list for tee times and spotted the name "Byron Calcote."  The only slot open Saturday morning was in that group, so he signed up for it.  Since we don't see the surname Calcote very often he told me about it, adding "wonder if we're related."  He also said he had played in the group behind Byron's group the other before, but didn't know Byron's last name at the time.

Naturally I pulled out my copy of Calcote Family Journey by Frances Calcote Brite and looked in the index.  There was a Byron Calcote on page 116 of the book who was interviewed in 1985 or 1986 in Sweetwater, Texas and was the grandson of Levi Garrett Calcote.

We looked up Byron's phone number in our resident phone book and called.  Yes, he was the same Byron Calcote!  After a few minutes, Joe handed the phone to me so I could find out a little more and take it from there.  I learned Byron also has a copy of the book and has attended the Calcote reunion in Brookhaven.  He told me his group came to Texas, but when I looked in the book and saw Levi Garrett Calcote was born in 1862 in Milam County, where my Robbins line had settled, I was really surprised. 

Other coincidences are that I grew up in Abilene, near Sweetwater where Byron lived.  My grandfather and Byron's grandfather both died in Abilene, Texas.  Now Byron and I have both retired not far from where our ancestors lived over 150 years ago.  I've teased my husband that some day I just might find that our families knew each other "way back", so these coincidences were fun to find.

Byron's father was James Ed Calcote, son of Levi Garrett Calcote, son of Levi Gibson Calcote and his second wife Hellena Mathis.  Joe's line goes through his mother, Myrtice French, daughter of Ollie Mae Calcote, daughter of William Harrison Calcote, Jr., son of William Harrison Calcote, Sr., who was the eldest son of Levi Gibson Calcote and his first wife, Mary Rounsavale.

They decided the easiest way to describe how they're related is "distant cousins".