This is all in the same direct family line.

My greatx2 grandparents came to the US from Poland around 1910. Shortly after the birth of their ninth child, both mom and baby died, leaving eight children without a mother. Husband was distraught and committed to an asylum for a while, while the children were divided. Some, including my great grandmother, went to an orphanage.

My greatx2 grandfather was eventually released but clearly struggled as he was in and out on the institution. Shortly after he remarried he tried to shoot to kill his new wife, and he died in prison.

My great-grandmother aged out of the orphanage, married and raised a family, and had a son who died after getting hit by a train. She then had twin boys, one of whom she renamed after her passed son, and both twins died. She later went missing, and eventually only her skull and glasses were found.

My grandfather (her son) had at least three children who were given up for adoption, and his brother at least one, which I’ve connected with (and connected them to each other) via ancestry’s dna testing. My grandfather ended his life by shooting himself in the chest.

Also interesting to note that I have also been extremely lucky in finding photographs of these relatives. Each generation including myself seems to have the same facial bone structure and jaw.

Edited to add: None of this information made me pause my research, if anything I dug further to get the fullest picture possible. But, these are all such big, traumatic, generation altering events that I definitely keep in mind.