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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
I'm from the impoverished aristocracy. The back staircase in the family castle has been slowly crumbling for a century but no one's done anything about it, because no one has that kind of money. Plus, my uncle who lives there cares more about his prize-winning horses and hunting hounds.

The solution, as it always is, is to marry a wealthy commoner to inject some cash. I have a Jewish-American ancestor who was willing to cross the Atlantic, live in a pile of stone, get preferential seating in social settings and have a titled attached to her name, in exchange for money (a la Downton Abbey). That sort of thing was not uncommon.

Fortunes wax and wane at every generation. Some my parents' generation are middle class, some are downright poor (on government aid, etc). I married well. My cousins did not, but are doing OK.

When I look at this across hundreds of years of family history, individual outcomes seem quite insignificant. I find it a relief, as in, it's not all on me.
[/quote]

You’ve obviously watched too much Downton Abbey and read to much Jane Austin - especially if your an American talking about a family castle!  I have family that came over on the Mayflower and my mother is an immigrant.  Like many Americans we’ve had a steady influx of immigrant blood through the years (you know, white protestant blood like Scottish or English); until my mother who is white but Catholic (gasp).  I’m sure if I cared about genealogy someone in my history has a castle, but it’s not something anyone in this century of America thinks about.[/quote]

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