Family History.

[)wardy(]

I am fascinated by Uncle Raymondos family tree being full of proper gypsies living in vardos (thankyou for the word by the way). What a colourful chap he is!!!

So my question is what has research or your family heritage turned up for you.

I lost my my great great grandfather in the Battle of the Somme (along with 20,000 other Brits) and have a few military legends from a distant past. But nothing much more to report.

Any good, sad or happy or interesting stories from your history?

[-Zorro-]

what big ears youve got

[Mr Tall]

I'm 1/2 Irish and 1/2 Indian and both parents are good storytellers.

My dad says his family descends from the Mongols and that his great great grandfather was a pirate.

Mum tells us a story about how her dog used to catch 2 buses to pick her up from school.

So can't really trust my sources

[Octavius]

Well nothing that I would care to share here. I shall retain my usual equanimity to avoid any recognition, presupposed prejudice or abuse.

[porfavour]

Just a couple of weeks ago I thought I'd start a family tree, working backwards from my mother.
Discovered I was first registered with her maiden name, as she wasn't married, so was re-registered with her husbands name. Who isn't my real father (but that's another story).
Found out my nan had not been married twice, as we first thought, four of her children had been born out of wedlock and two had died at less than a year old.
Then discovered my mum had had a baby before me, that she had given up for adoption. So I investigated further to try to find him.
That is when I stopped........
He's my cousin, as she had given him to her older brother and his wife. And nobody is meant to know.
It was looking all a little bit too dangerous, with so many skeletons in cupboards, and people likely to get hurt.
Shame, would make a good book.

[noxlumos]

Irish and a wrecked Spanish sailor ( whether he was shipwrecked or just hammered I dunno) for me.
My wife's family tree is fascinating, she's russian/romanian Jewish on one grandparent's side, Old English arostocracy on another, a descentdant of Anna Tepes on a third ( believed a great odd granddaughter of Vlad the Impaler) and a total mystery on the another.
I love anyone's family history, it's always fascinating.

[porfavour]

)wardy(
did you discover you used to be (wardy) and wardy, or am I getting you mixed up with other people with similar names?

[ummmm1]

My great great great (and so on) Grandfather James Graham was hung drawn and 1/4 for treason. He was eventually given a pardon and his portrait hangs in Warwick Castle.

[sleepyj]

i would not want to know about my family tree . my family that are living are bad enough .

[)wardy(]

I think this is the 12th different name. I keep getting banned for being me.

[snagged]

pmsl sleepy!

[idalovett]

I have a very famous ancestor (the wrong side of the blanket) but thats about it.

[R~B]

my family tree stopped when i found out we originated from dudley!!

[-Zorro-]

I can trace my ansestors all the way back to Adam.....Adam Smith

[raysparx1]

The only problem I have tracing them wardy is the fact that all though all births since 1837 (i think) were supposed to be registered most of my family could not read or write and were moving around so we can only go back a little while, all I know about mine is they were what was called General Traders, ( like steptoe I suppose) then they went Hop picking in kent or to Horse fairs etc but it is Fascinating, I have lived in about 14 different places myself so a bit if it is in me I suppose.

[spudqueen]

Well my Grandmother worked on a travelling fair and was shot in the head by a drunk who missed the target on the shooting range. This was in the days when they used live bullets! She was taken by horsed ambulance (can you imagine - down those cobbled streets ~ yeuk) to Burnley hospital where they managed to save her life. My Grandad was shot in the chest in WW1 and also survived so it's a miracle I'm here at all!

[curlyfilm]

my mum's dad, wanted to retire as he 60, but was not allowed as he could not verify his age, as he only had his army records, that just said he declared he was 15 on joining, he had never gone home since he was 14, so he returned to the church near where he born, to collect a birth certificate, only to find that his mother still lived in the same house he was born, he had not seen her since he was 14, the funny thing was that he was actually a year older than he thought, though he got his pension back dated

[Goodsoulette]

MY great grandfather was a methodist minister, and when his daughter got pregnant with my grandpa at 16 by someone the church found undesirable, allowed to stay with him but wouldnt let her marry the blokey.
Someone on my dads side was hung for stealing a sheep.
My grandads cousin was in dads army.
A few greats back (im not sure how many) uncle was Cecil Rhodes.

[Barmaid]

My great great grandmother collected husbands. She seems to have enjoyed getting married, without the necessary formality of being widowed or divorced. At last count 6. Her brother left his wife and young family to seek his fortune in the USA. It appears he was murdered there, although his mistress was acquitted of the crime on the basis that he killed himself - by shooting himself twice in the head.

[Pippa68]

One of my ancestors is on an English banknote.

Anyone care to guess?