#52 Ancestors - FIRST

   What came to mind FIRST was FIRST born.  We have all heard the theories about FIRST born and the personality characteristics that they typically exhibit. Some of these characteristics are: reliable, conscientious, structural, cautious, controlling, achieving.  I'm a FIRST born as is my father. So I decided to see how many generations back this FIRST born streak goes. But I'm going to go forward to with my grandson and then back.

                                      1 Nathan - first child of   (also first grandchild and great grandchild)
                                         2 Jeannie - first child of (also first grandchild and great grandchild)
                                             3 Lynda - first child of
                                                  4 Arnold Sargent 1923-2008 m. Esther Jane Moehlmann

So there are four generations of FIRST born. Does that increase the likelihood of the characteristics? It's not evident at this point. Nathan is a pretty laid back kind of 19 year old.  Then I decided to look at all of his great-great grandparents to see if any of them were FIRST born. And guess what - there were more on the maternal side.

         5 Alfred Moehlmann 1896- 1974 - Nathan's 2nd great grandfather (father of Jane)- son of
            6 Frederick August Henry Moehlmann- (1868-1941) - Nathan's  3rd great grandfather - son of
               7 Frederick Henry Wilhelm Mohelmann (1837-1911)- Nathan's 4th great grandfather

Frederick Henry Wilhelm Moehlmann, Sr. certainly had many of the characteristics generally applied to first-born's.  At the age of 30 in 1867 he married and immediately embarked on an adventure. He and his bride boarded a ship at Bremen Germany and immigrated to the United States. He worked on the railroad when he first arrived and then for 25 years at a hat factory. They raised nine children. By the early 1900's he owned his own business, a cigar stand in the federal courthouse.  He was certainly reliable and achieving.

Whether it is nature or nurture or simply an unproven theory, looking at birth order and personality characteristics is intriguing especially when there are seven generations.

Frederick Henry Wilhelm Moehlmann

Ida Sophia (Krentler) Moehlmann

                                You can only have one first born child.

                You may love all your children deeply 

   and with passion. 

  But there is something 

                     unique about the first born.

                                              Raymond E. Feist