Sinclair and all,
To the contrary, although the 1st cousin 4 times removed may seem very
remote- consider this: The 1st common relative of Thomas Saint Clair and
Gilbert DeClare (b 1291) is Richard DeClare and Maud DeLacy. Richard DeClare
and Maud DeLacy are Thomas Saint Clair's
great-great-great-great-grandparents; as each person had 64
great-great-great-great-grandparents that would mean that in reference to his
great-great-great-great-grandparents-Thomas Saint Clair has 1/64 Saint Clair
blood, 1/64 DeClare blood unless there is repitition in the gene pool. We
tend to associate with our surname so strongly that we often forget that our
genetic makeup reflects an equal portion of each and every grandparent in our
past. Of course, there are exceptions that skew the percentage- like having
more than one Sinclairs/SaintClairs in our direct lines, and artificial
genetic manipulations.
It is this that keeps genealogist looking for one more generation; we find
one ancestor and then have two new one to look for....
Marilyn