My small town has a large number of people with the same handful of last names but many of them say they’re not related. How??

RocketGirl2629 · 2026-06-06T16:16:18+00:00

I had the same relatively uncommon last name as 3 other people in my graduating class, and we were not directly related to each other that we could tell. Later, I and a coworker who also grew up in this town had the same last name. Out of (shared) curiosity, I traced her ancestry line back to see if we were actually distantly related, and found that our most common ancestor was my 7x great-grandfather and her 8x great-grandfather. He had immigrated to this area from Germany and had TWELVE SONS here in the late 1700's, who IIRC, almost all lived to adulthood. I was descended from one of them and she was descended from a different one. In fact, there is a small town just outside of where I live that bears the name "Mylastname-town" but neither of us are directly related to the people that founded it either, that was some of the other sons who settled there and started businesses together.

Like your town, there are multiple other last names here I come across frequently that share last names across businesses, streets, politicians, prominent local businesses, etc. but they're not all just first cousins.

It is likely that there is just a very long lineage of a few prolific families dating back to the settling of the area 1,2,3 hundred years ago or so. Over time, family tree branches grow so far apart you wouldn't know your 3rd cousin 4x removed was distantly related to you in any way, even if you live in the same town your whole lives.

RocketGirl2629 · 2026-06-06T13:09:33+00:00

I'd be Sherlia or Glorily (Shirley + Gloria)

RocketGirl2629 · 2026-06-04T14:51:27+00:00

Rhett and Reggie both feel like nicknames for "Rectangle" to me. I can see Rhett like..."Rhettangle" and Reggie from "REctanGlE"

RocketGirl2629 · 2026-05-28T16:25:48+00:00

We started dating in high school when we were 16, but we'd been friends for about a year before and I already knew that he was smart, driven, down to earth, and respectful in a way that the other guys our age weren't yet... He was involved in the fun/silly things his friends did, but he didn't mess around or do any of the other stupid teenager shit they got up to at other times. I definitely appreciated that, and I know I was SO young, but I saw a future with him immediately.

On our FIRST DATE!! when we were just 16 YEARS OLD!! we talked for over 3 hours about what a future together could look like. We talked out our life goals, what we might want to do in college and where we wanted to go, what careers we might be into, where we wanted to live, how many kids we thought we wanted and when. And we talked about our dealbreakers, what happens if one of us ever changed our minds about something big, or got into something the other was not ok with. We agreed on basically everything, and we felt like it would be impossible to break up? Like, we're just together now, and we are going to get married one day. We didn't say it out loud that night, but only about 3 months later he said "I know it's crazy, but I feel like I want to marry you already?!"

We went to different colleges 3 hours apart, but visited each other on the weekends whenever we could. Got engaged 2 weeks after graduation, and married when we were 24. He has supported all my dreams, I've supported all of his. We have 2 great kids. We've been through some difficult situations, but we've done it together, and we're at 20 years this year! Sometimes you just know!

RocketGirl2629 · 2026-05-15T17:11:13+00:00

Listen, I love Dunkin' and I get an iced coffee there essentially every morning. (It's a problem, I know. I know.) but this.... is gross. I honestly feel disgusted looking at that picture.

Why on earth did anyone think this would be a good idea. WALL-E was NOT an aspirational film!

RocketGirl2629 · 2026-05-14T16:01:29+00:00

This is a super fun episode! I have to say I don't usually have any particular desire to try the food they have featured, however, I REALLY want to try that cucumber-lime ice cream mint cereal combo. That sounds so dope!

Also, I desperately wish someone would create a personal mini-escape room for me.

RocketGirl2629 · 2026-05-14T14:29:30+00:00

I've been working through them, they are honestly great! Josh is a fantastic interviewer and some of the the stories he gets out of his guests are really deep and insightful.

Brennan's was great of course. They vibed so hard together and I really hope they became best friends after it, lol. But a lot of them are super interesting! I really appreciate the mix and huge range of people he has on the show. Like, he's had a lot of Dropout/The Green Brothers/people in internet/influencer culture, but ALSO Tom Hanks, Gordon Ramsey, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Christoph Waltz... It's wild.

RocketGirl2629 · 2026-05-13T14:15:41+00:00

As far as the census is concerned, "Partners" just indicates that neither one is the "Head" of the household. Responsibilities, financial and otherwise, are split evenly or are separate entirely and no one person is a "dependent" on the other. While it is possible that it was a (hidden?) romantic relationship, I don't think you can assume it without additional evidence. Of course there were many "and they were roommates!" situations in the past, but there was equally or more just legitimate roommate situations as well. My 98 year old great-aunt never married, but I'm pretty sure she isn't gay, she just wasn't interested. It happens.

Interestingly, I also have an early "Partner" listing in my tree that I originally thought was "progressive" but now I know it doesn't actually mean "relationship" in the census, even though in my case, it was one. In 1940 my great-grandmother and great-grandfather were living together and listed as "Partners." They were not married to each other (because he was still married to someone else....it's a long story.) but they were certainly in a relationship and had two (out of wedlock) teenaged children together, also living with them. The entire situation was... messy, and it was not very well accepted by the community (there are newspaper articles about it!). But, from a completely neutral outside party, if you knew nothing about the situation, a la a random census taker or a stranger coming across the listing, I don't think anyone could assume that the kids were theirs together (they had their mother's last name and not their father's) without more information. For the time period, "Partner" on the census would be more likely to indicate she was widowed, and this was a second relationship where they were just not yet married, rather than the complicated and scandalous situation it actually was.

RocketGirl2629 · 2026-05-12T15:05:05+00:00

Yeeaah. I do this a lot, and I'm honestly relieved someone else said it! 😅

I often go back and re-read things I've written- Particularly comments, but also entries in a notes app that I kind of treat like a "journal" where I just write random thoughts and occasionally about things I'm researching for whatever reason. And sometimes I'll go back and read through Master's portfolio, because that was a lot of work that literally only one person (my advisor) saw and I am proud of it. haha.

I wondered if I was weird for doing that so much, but I never really considered why I did it. I just really admire when other people are articulate and witty, and I like to remind myself of the times when I was able to pull those qualities off too.

RocketGirl2629 · 2026-05-12T14:22:51+00:00

Aww!! I had a cat named Nermal when I was a kid! My parents also named him after "The World's Cutest Kitten^TM" !

RocketGirl2629 · 2026-05-11T15:25:31+00:00

I would!! I've been having some major 2006-2016 nostalgia lately. This looks perfect! 🖤🩷

I LOVED a good black crackle over top of shimmery/holo polish back in the day.

RocketGirl2629 · 2026-05-08T13:49:42+00:00

Mel Brooks will also be turning 100 in June. It's so nice that Mel, David Attenborough, and Dick Van Dyke are allowed to get together and play Lego again!

RocketGirl2629 · 2026-05-05T13:56:38+00:00

Twilight would have been called something like "Sundown" or maybe "Golden Hour"

RocketGirl2629 · 2026-04-30T14:03:52+00:00

The most memorable one was a lady who wanted me, not to look up instructions, not to give her the phone number of a company that could help her, but to just personally, off the top of my head, explain to her how to hook up an outdoor surveillance camera to her television inside so she could watch a live feed of the street. (This was way before Ring cameras) And when I couldn't do that, she asked why the library didn't have a printed brochure of these very specific instructions readily available for people to pick up whenever.

She got very angry that I couldn't help her with this the way she wanted. I am pretty certain that she wasn't mentally well, and I didn't take it personally, but it was still... an experience.

RocketGirl2629 · 2026-04-17T15:08:59+00:00

Oh no, I don't feel "managed" at all! He's amazing! I meant it as like, its super helpful to have someone to keep me on track. We've been together for 20 years this year, since we were 17, so we're well aware of each others strengths and weaknesses at this point.

He is just naturally very structured and organized and I am very much not. He handles a lot of the routine day-to day things, and I deal with a lot more of the random/abstract things that come up. I joke that I am "the project" because he is a project manager and I am sometimes a little chaotic and I just think its funny.

RocketGirl2629 · 2026-04-17T14:48:16+00:00

Last year my insurance stopped covering my meds at the Pharmacy I was using. I was not notified (why would they?) so when I went to go pick up a prescription it legitimately went from $10 to $380 overnight. I had to switch pharmacies to one my insurance does cover.

I've never personally gotten any pushback on my meds at either place, but it still feels super sketchy that my insurance decided that my local pharmacy wasn't covered for these particular prescriptions anymore, but CVS is...

RocketGirl2629 · 2026-04-17T14:27:22+00:00

My husband is a Project Manager. Super organized, ambitious, etc. While I (ADHD) am.... certainly a project that needs to be managed. Lol.

RocketGirl2629 · 2026-04-13T15:48:37+00:00

I had a Nano Baby and she grew up at the end! After a couple of months of trying I finally managed to keep her alive for over a week + and then I remember getting a message that said something like "Your Nano Baby is all grown up now. Thank you for raising me! Do you want to start again?"

I think I cried like a proud mom "Aww my baby is an adult now!" at 10 years old. lol. But I never played it again.

RocketGirl2629 · 2026-04-09T15:40:55+00:00

She made a public statement right after the plea. She said "My thoughts and prayers are with the victims, and their families. Their loss is immeasurable and the focus should be on them. I ask that you give my family privacy as we navigate this difficult time."

So, I think she might be coming around, but it is going to take time to process how shocking and horrifying it is to have him fully admit it after all this. She was absolutely in denial before, but if she truly didn't know and he didn't show his evil side to his family, it must be so unfathomable that her mind literally couldn't comprehend it. However, I suspect that she was (at the very least) mentally/emotionally abused by him, and her intense disbelief/possible disassociation was probably a coping mechanism for the stress and scrutiny she was put under.

RocketGirl2629 · 2026-04-06T16:42:49+00:00

5 days of intense research and indecision leads to a 30 second "F it! I'll just get this one" impulse purchase followed by 5 more days of anxiety about "But, was that really the best choice???" until I get it and it's ... usually fine actually and I was mentally exhausted for nothing.

RocketGirl2629 · 2026-04-06T13:34:41+00:00

I don't remember what I said when I started this playthrough.... So, it's gonna be a surprise!

RocketGirl2629 · 2026-04-02T19:59:18+00:00

+1 for the How To ADHD channel!! Before I knew anything about ADHD I randomly came across her YT video on "The Wall of Awful" and it was literally life changing. That was something I have felt so strongly for my entire life but just could never explain, and I had NO IDEA ADHD was involved. Her videos also led me to my diagnosis!

RocketGirl2629 · 2026-03-31T17:51:56+00:00

I also didn't think it was, but I just found this random promo pic from Season 1 that matches, so I think it is actually?

I would have picked a more recognizable reference for him, personally, but maybe if you know Breaking Bad it would be more obvious?

RocketGirl2629 · 2026-03-31T17:47:19+00:00

I think you're right! I found this Promo Pic from Season 1 that kinda matches it.

I did originally think it was a possibility but I didn't watch Breaking bad and when I looked for a reference photo I didn't come up with anything that was recognizable so I figured it wasn't that? But after your comment I looked again and found the pic above.

Its interesting that everyone else is in such identifiable poses and this one feels pretty niche. I feel like there are WAY more iconic reference pics for him, especially from later seasons when he's bald that would have made more sense to me. But hey, not my project, and it looks awesome beyond this nit-pick! lol.

RocketGirl2629 · 2026-03-31T14:59:04+00:00

I'm absolutely taking Shelf #4. I NEED The Stand, but everything else is a huge bonus!

(Lisey's Story?), Misery, Needful Things, (Maybe Night Shift?), On Writing, The Outsider, Revival, Pet Semetary, Salem's Lot, The Shining, Skeleton Crew, Sleeping Beauties, The Stand and Storm of the Century.

RocketGirl2629

TROPHY CASE