Siblings Marrying Siblings

Okay, quit going eeeewwwww, I don't mean a brother marrying a sister, but rather a two Edelen siblings marrying two Boarman siblings. 

When dancing with the ancestors, you'll find - well, at least I found - that families marry families. As I've pointed out, five of the Halterman siblings (part of my paternal line) married five of the Lane (also part of my paternal line) siblings. Same thing with the Smith and Gribble siblings (also my paternal line). 

So, when updating my family tree the other day, I came across the Boarman/Edelen connection. 

The connection goes like this . . . 

Major William Boarman - m - Sarah Linle (first) and Mary Jarboe (third)

William Boarman II (1654), son of William Boarman and Sarah Linle 

John Baptist Boarman (1689), son of William Boarman and Mary Jarboe

William Boarman II (1654) - m - Jane Neale (first) and Mary Pile (second)

William Boarman III (1680), son of William Boarman and Jane Neale

Thomas James Boarman (1703), son of William Boarman II and Mary Pile

John Baptist Boarman (1689) - m - Elizabeth Edelen (1693), daughter of Richard Edelen and his first wife Anne Maria Neale

William Boarman III (1680) - m - Monica Turner

William Boarman IV (1710), son of William Boarman III and Monica Turner - m - Winifred Edelen, daughter of Richard Edelen and his second wife Sarah Hagan

Thomas James Boarman (1703) - m - Jane Edelen, daughter of Richard Edelen and his second wife Sarah Hagan

As you can see, the Boarman and Edelen families joined three times: 

John Baptist Boarman (1689) - m - Elizabeth Edelen (1693)

William Boarman IV (1710) - m - Winifred Edelen

Thomas James Boarman (1703) - m - Jane Edelen

John Baptist Boarman was a half-uncle to Thomas James Boarman and William Boarman III and a 1/2 great uncle to William Boarman IV.Whew! There's a reason I sometimes need an Excel worksheet to track my ancestors. Oy!

Now, my direct descent continues through Thomas James Boarman and his marriage to Jane Edelen, but, I found it quite interesting the many marriages between the Boarman and Edelen families.

So, when dancing with the ancestors don't be surprised if you come across siblings from one family marrying siblings of another family. Back in the day, marriages between families were quite common, especially if they shared a religious affiliation and, at the time in Maryland, especially if they were Catholic since that wasn't a preferred religion back in the day. In fact, my ancestor William Boarman I spent 30 days in jail for being Catholic. Go figure.