I was looking through my family's history and reading some of the stories, such as one ancestor that got washed overboard from the Mayflower and subsequently pulled out of the drink, to another that was a shipwright in Nova Scotia and his contributions to the science.
There was one group I am related to who lived in Northern England and began killing tax collectors. They had a sentence of death passed on the whole family, so they legged it into Scotland for a few generations, then crossed to Ireland, where after another few generations, got shipped to Tasmania as seditionists.
I know there are probably some really cool ancestor stories here on Dakka. I opened this thread so people can share some, so have at it!
.

I'm related to one of the men who signed the deceleration of independence.

Being descended from the Normans of Sicily;

About a decade before he left for the Crusades, Bohemond had been engaged in ongoing conflicts with the Byzantines in Greece. During this time (about 1083 I believe) he received some Byzantine dignitaries who were trying to arrange a peace settlement. They basically offered Bohemond and the Normans nothing in exchange for an end to hostilities, which he took as an insult. He sent the men from his tent to where their horses were being kept by some Norman knights. As they approached one of them was stoking the Horses mane. It was a beautiful horse, with very white coloring and strong legs (words of Kenneth Harl here). The knight said "you have a lovely horse." He then promptly punched the horse in the face so hard it fell over and then died.

Is the story true? No idea. But it certainly says "don't feth with the Normans"

Other than that the best I got is that my mom's side of the family came over on the Mayflower, and my grandfather was the first man to lead Green Berets in Vietnam. One of his cousins is Lawerence N. Guarino, who was shot down during the war and wrote A P.O.W.’s STORY: 2801 Days in Hanoi

Martin Bormann :-\

I descend from the inventor of shirt printing.

My Great-Something Cousin was on the whaling ship Essex when a whale breached on it. He died of dehydration, and was eaten by the survivors of his lifeboat.

John Alden came over on the Mayflower. He was a cooper.

Bear with me now. Everardus Bogardus was one of the founding members of New Amsterdam.

I'm really freakin' American.

I come from a long line of blacksmiths and bastards. I guess blacksmiths really get around.

 Chowderhead wrote:
My Great-Something Cousin was on the whaling ship Essex when a whale breached on it. He died of dehydration, and was eaten by the survivors of his lifeboat.

John Alden came over on the Mayflower. He was a cooper.

Bear with me now. Everardus Bogardus was one of the founding members of New Amsterdam.

I'm really freakin' American.

My ancestor from the Mayflower was John Howland.

Some info about your ancestor:




http://mayflowerhistory.com/alden/

A list of people you are related to through John Alden:

http://mayflowerhistory.com/famous-descendants

My ancestors come from lines of both Polsih and Lithuanian nobles who went around and fought pretty much every neighbouring country

A story that I heard growing up:

An ancestor of mine (I think a multi-great grandfather) fought for the Union during the Civil War. At the end of the war, he went home, traveling by foot. Towards the end of his journey, he traveled past dark and finally bedded down to sleep beside a fence.

When he woke up he realized he had slept just a few hundred yards from his house. He could have just walked home and slept inside, but he didn't realize how close he had gotten in the dark. I always thought that was pretty funny.

I have an ancestor who fought in the revolutionary war, war of 1812 and tried for the civil war but got turned away for age. Also, my ancestors have a book written about them

My great-grandfather blew up a bridge so the Germans couldn't use it.

My grandfather survived... a lot during WW2. Germans, Russians. Could fill a thread about him P
His brother fought alongside the French Army at the Sloedam in Zeeland, where remnants of the Dutch army made a last stand alongside the French army. He was injured, and my grandfather and his parents had to look for him at night, searching through the bodies.

Not too sure about longer ago, but there's Dutch nobility somewhere, and Swedes. According to dentists I have that Hapsburgher-family chin, so that may be something. I'm also likely descended from Charlesmagne... like most Europeans

 Sasori wrote:
I'm related to one of the men who signed the deceleration of independence.

I am as well, John Hancock was my great-great-great-great-great-great- grandfather.

I am related to one of the Salem Witch Hunters, don't know much about him but he was one of the first to come out and admit what they were doing is wrong.

Also related to Aseline the Wolf, a Crusader of the fourth Crusade, I believe.

I expect a LOT of tall tales in this thread.


For my part, My great, great uncle (iirc) went down with the HMS Hood.

Once you go back past 8 generations you are pretty much related to everyone...

I'm descended from these noble geniuses: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pazzi
Suffice to say, we weren't the smartest at times... though we do claim ancestry to Julius Caesar! (like all noble Italian families did back in the day, because "hail Caesar!")
The Pazzi line can be traced back to the dark ages, though finding out much about our family is rather difficult, due to the fact we were also excommunicated by the Church for trying to assassinate the Pope at one point... (oops!)

On my mum's side, my great granddad joined the Canadian military at 15 at the outset of the Great War. He fought in all of the 4 major battles, including being among the charge at Vimy Ridge - Canada's greatest victory of the First World War.
Sadly I never really got a chance to know him, as he passed when I was only about 2 and half years old.

My granddad was a dispatcher during the second world war. Unlike my great granddad though, he never really talked about any of what he did, though his back was badly scared by a German flamethrower.

I have had a member of my faimly tree in every major war that the UK and England has ever forght since the Civil War

 Ribon Fox wrote:
I have had a member of my faimly tree in every major war that the UK and England has ever forght since the Civil War

Even that one faought over the tea crumpets?

No, thats the one with Parliment and the Crown :p

 SilverMK2 wrote:
Once you go back past 8 generations you are pretty much related to everyone...

Pretty much true.

I think someone did the math and found out that you are related to someone twice over if you go back a certain number of generations.

 SilverMK2 wrote:
Once you go back past 8 generations you are pretty much related to everyone...

To an extent.

I think it would take more than 8 generations to connect someone living in Sweden to someone from Vietnam(provided they were both ethnically "pure")

Once you hit the 1800s or so the number of generations to relate to everyone else increases drastically.

Mostly prisoners, I think a few came over during the gold rush but mostly prisoners.

One of the ancestors on my father's side was sent over for sedition (usual Irish stuff basically). Another one tended the horses for Hume and Hovell, got a great deal of land out of it in the Hunter Valley, which he gave to the church once he died.
I may also have some relation to the officer involved in the Fitzpatrick incident. But that's something we don't touch with a 10 foot pole.

On my mothers side I have a couple of great great uncles who fought in France in WW1.

Smugglers, soldiers (WW1, Irish Civil War, and Vietnam), rebels, police, jail breakers, sailors, servants, carpenters, one grandfather was present when the German North Atlantic U-Boat fleet surrendered, and I had relatives on the Lusitania when she was sunk

I'm black, so. lol

 BlaxicanX wrote:
I'm black, so. lol

I had afriend in New Oeleans who was "Black", that saw roots with some buds. This encouraged them to research their familie histories, which revealed that pre Civil War, his family owned his friend's family!

I'd like to do that someday. I know that my great-great-grandmother on my Dad's side was a slave. Beyond that, my family history past my grandparents is more or less a mystery.

My mothers side of the family descends from the Normans that attacked England in 1066. Ironically my fathers side of the family descends from the Saxons that lived where my mothers side of the family attacked.

Their marriage ended up just the same.

My ancestors are all dead. D:

 BlaxicanX wrote:
I'd like to do that someday. I know that my great-great-grandmother on my Dad's side was a slave. Beyond that, my family history past my grandparents is more or less a mystery.

This happened to my nephew who is black/white. They wanted to do a history thing on his fathers family. But when they called the grandmother, she knew nothing beyond her life, no stories or anything like that.
I find it odd. But she was just in the time possibly when her parents could have been slaves.

 Ashiraya wrote:
My ancestors are all dead. D:

Were they killed by the Harkonnen's ninjas before your eyes?

 hotsauceman1 wrote:

 BlaxicanX wrote:
I'd like to do that someday. I know that my great-great-grandmother on my Dad's side was a slave. Beyond that, my family history past my grandparents is more or less a mystery.

This happened to my nephew who is black/white. They wanted to do a history thing on his fathers family. But when they called the grandmother, she knew nothing beyond her life, no stories or anything like that.
I find it odd. But she was just in the time possibly when her parents could have been slaves.

Yeah, that's kind of my fear. That there'll be a record down to the slave era, at which point any trace'll disappear.

I'd be more interested in the history of my African ancestors, frankly. Were any of them individuals of high status in African tribes/states? etc

 BlaxicanX wrote:

 Ashiraya wrote:
My ancestors are all dead. D:

Were they killed by the Harkonnen's ninjas before your eyes?

 hotsauceman1 wrote:

 BlaxicanX wrote:
I'd like to do that someday. I know that my great-great-grandmother on my Dad's side was a slave. Beyond that, my family history past my grandparents is more or less a mystery.

This happened to my nephew who is black/white. They wanted to do a history thing on his fathers family. But when they called the grandmother, she knew nothing beyond her life, no stories or anything like that.
I find it odd. But she was just in the time possibly when her parents could have been slaves.

Yeah, that's kind of my fear. That there'll be a record down to the slave era, at which point any trace'll disappear.

I'd be more interested in the history of my African ancestors, frankly. Were any of them individuals of high status in African tribes/states? etc

Although, like that commercial said, you could find something great in your history.

The furthest back we can trace the history of the family on my dad's side is to Virginia, but the courthouse that housed most of the records was apparently burned down. Beyond the family name being an obvious bastardization of a Scottish name, and supposedly that missing link was the same generation that came here, we don't really have much else to go off of. The current assumption is criminals that fled to the new world, though that assumption is mostly tongue-in-cheek. Mostly.

My mom's side features someone who was committed to an insane asylum and another who was allegedly a lieutenant for Capone.

Relapse wrote:

I know there are probably some really cool ancestor stories here on Dakka.

I am directly related to the first living being ever.

Being Scottish, perhaps oddly, I've always actually been slightly irritated by many peoples focus on Ancestors. The amount of times I've heard, after I've started speaking, "hey, you're Scottish, awesome, my family owned a castle in Scotland back in the old days."

I'm barely able to suppress the now after the 20th time hearing this.

Like others have mentioned, that's just how Families + Time works.

If you want to tell me a story about your family history, stick with up to your grandparents grandparents as an absolute limit, - Even then, assuming I can count, you're basically talking about 32 different people. - 4 sets of Grandparents, each with 2 parents, with 4 sets of grandparents each. That's a heckuva lot of fowk. Going back even further, even just in a direct-ish line, just gets truly silly.

So, for Pete's sake, stop boasting to me about it, it's not impressive.


Err, sorry everyone, but that ramble was actually a little cathartic.

 Compel wrote:

Err, sorry everyone, but that ramble was actually a little cathartic.

I'm glad you feel better. I think a big part of it is people just want to know where they come from.

 BlaxicanX wrote:
Were they killed by the Harkonnen's ninjas before your eyes?

All of them. Dx

Despite being mostly shy and quiet, my ancestors were Vikings. Not quite sure, but from what I heard, I think one of them was named Harold Fair-Hair.

My great grandfather, father's side, was a prohibition era moonshiner.

My grandfather, mother's side, was an errand boy for the Capone Gang.

I'm guessing the latter hauled some of the product of the former.

My people were sent to London by William the Conquerer as spies. I guess they flipped because when he invaded they ran to Ireland rather than complete the sabateur part of their job. At some point the family hit upon hard times and left Cork county for the U.S...during the potato famine I believe. That's my dad's side, mom's mom was native american/getman and grandpa was of welsh descent.

My ancestors were the well known people involved in that famous incident.

This actually reminds me of a joke a co-worker said "Whenever I asked my White friends what they are they say Everything"

Lets see, on my moms side Im related to a couple Presidents of the Dominican Republic, as well as one of the assassins of a certain Dominican dictator (Trujillo).

On my dads side, my ancestors:
1. Fought against the soviets and hungarian coconspirators during the Hungarian Revolution
2. Fought alongside Soviet forces against German forces during the invasion of Hungary during WW2
3. Commanded a German SS panzer unit during Operation Barbarossa

Did I mention that all three of those things are attributable to the sane person (my grandfather)? Looks like he had trouble picking sides lol.

Going back a bit further the family was supposedly, at one point, in possession of chemical factories which during ww1 were accused of using the bodies of dead allied soldiers to produce fertilizer.

Really, I dont know all that much about my family history, kinda sad :/

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
I have an ancestor who fought in the revolutionary war, war of 1812 and tried for the civil war but got turned away for age.

Forgive me if I find that unlikely, assuming he was born in the last year of te Revolution he woulf have been just 3 years shy of 80 at the outbreak of the Civil War. Like really, for this to be realistic he woulf have had to have been insanely long lived.

He lived 102 years.
But it is just a story My dad told me

 BlaxicanX wrote:
I'd like to do that someday. I know that my great-great-grandmother on my Dad's side was a slave. Beyond that, my family history past my grandparents is more or less a mystery.

If you go to an LDS stake center, chances are they could set you up. They have access to some of the biggest amounts of geneology data in the world.

My dad's kin were Scottish Loyalists who left Scotland to persecute the Irish in Ireland. After a generation or two they were rounded up for horse thievery and sent to Australia.

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
He lived 102 years.
But it is just a story My dad told me

Well in that case it becomes a bit more realistic a story, though not necessarily more believable (because really, 102 years old during a time period when the average life expectancy was half that is insane to think about)

 Grey Templar wrote:

 SilverMK2 wrote:
Once you go back past 8 generations you are pretty much related to everyone...

To an extent.

I think it would take more than 8 generations to connect someone living in Sweden to someone from Vietnam(provided they were both ethnically "pure")

I think that limitation was implied

My grandad was part of a platoon of infantry that was surrounded by the japanese for like 6 weeks, caught malaria and ended up in port morseby getting upset at his future wife for the fact he had NO CHRISTMAS DINNER.


3 ancestors were drafted for the battle of waterloo, one was a cannoneer, one was a foot soldier and the last was an officer. The officer was the only guy who survived the battle.

I hark back to Clan Baine, and an Irish tailor who came to Australia in the second fleet.

My great-great uncle died in Auschwitz.



Fell out of a guard tower.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
I wheel that joke out every time this thread is rehashed!

 Albatross wrote:
My great-great uncle died in Auschwitz.



Fell out of a guard tower.

That just sounds embarassing XD

"Dear Mr. and Mrs. Albatross, I regret to inform you your son has died in the line of duty."
*tears* "At least he died fighting for his country."
"Well, he fell from a tower and died guarding one of our facilities. The nearest enemy combatant was a whole country away."
"..."

When my dad was in the 82nd, he landed in a tree during a practice jump, got tired of waiting for someone to find him, cut himself down and promptly broke his angle on a rock at the bottom. My grandfather got a purple heart in Veitnam but he refused to accept it because he was injured when he slipped in some mud and fell back onto a coincidentally pokey stick that pierced his right buttock. My great grandfather on my mom's mom's side died during the Korean war; he had a heart attack on the way back

I'm pretty sure I'm a bit like Lieutenant Dan. I've had a member of my family injured or killed in every American conflict but never from combat or anything the opposing force did XD.

My recent ancestors are the usual line up of mild wartime heroics, my American grandfather managed to be present for pearl harbour, Omaha beach and the Ardennes, but usually on the periphery of them, he hid in a crater after morning mass at pearl, transferred to Europe, landed on D+1 and fought in the 2nd infantry division, so he wasn't in the thick of the Ardennes fighting. He did seduce and bed a famous actress who was entertaining the troops though, which makes him a real American hero in my books. I probably also have uncles and aunts in Germany and Hawaii that I don't know about.

chaos0xomega wrote:

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
He lived 102 years.
But it is just a story My dad told me

Well in that case it becomes a bit more realistic a story, though not necessarily more believable (because really, 102 years old during a time period when the average life expectancy was half that is insane to think about)

Just gonna point out (cos this thing always irks me), that life expectancy of any time period 100+ years ago was brought down significantly by high infant mortality rates.
Generally speaking, if you lived past 10 you would be ok

I don't think I've any famous ancestors. I mean if you go back far enough, I'm a Kennedy and they were a part of the O'Brien clan that was pretty influential in parts of the west of Ireland, but given that they were provincial cattle lords at the best of times, that's not that impressive and is basically true of everyone with any Irish ancestry.

Going back as far as great grandparents, my Dad's family were pretty much all poor farmers or itinerants and my mam's family were slightly richer farmers or fishermen.

My mam and my Dad were born 2 days apart from each other and were 2 of only 3 children in the maternity ward at the hospital.

When my family settled in NZ during the 1800s they owned the whole town I live in today. They got it through the land lottery that was going at the time.

Over the centuries the land was split through sales and marriage arrangments and now we only own the houses we live in. Although there is a street named after our family where the first house of the town was built by a great great (many greats) grandfather of mine.

Sucks, but is interesting.



My Step Moms Great Grandparents housed Jews in Holland (his house is still there, nearly unchanged) from the Nazi occupiers . We met some of the survivors a few months ago. He used to blow up trans and rail roads as well to stop the germans. But doesnt really count as they arent my ancestors.

My great uncle was a FIFA ref and came up with the idea of the red and yellow card (well it was his wifes idea but he got the credit).

He then got involved in Soccer in the US and I believe they still hold a Ken Aston cup in his name the funny thing is I can't stand football lol.

His brother was a Lancaster pilot during WW2 and always had the most fascinating stories. Sadly his flight book disappeared but someone seems have uploaded some of the stuff he wrote down.

http://www.wartimememoriesproject.com/ww2/allied/royalairforce/61sqd-raf.php#raston

He passed away a few years ago and I never got the opportunity to visit his home in South Africa but did get to share a drink with him for the first and last time when he last came over to England.

 Swastakowey wrote:
When my family settled in NZ during the 1800s they owned the whole town I live in today. They got it through the land lottery that was going at the time.

Over the centuries the land was split through sales and marriage arrangments and now we only own the houses we live in. Although there is a street named after our family where the first house of the town was built by a great great (many greats) grandfather of mine.

Sucks, but is interesting.



My Step Moms Great Grandparents housed Jews in Holland (his house is still there, nearly unchanged) from the Nazi occupiers . We met some of the survivors a few months ago. He used to blow up trans and rail roads as well to stop the germans. But doesnt really count as they arent my ancestors.

Here is an article of the Jewish girl who was hidden http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/4798137/Hidden-baby-meets-her-brothers


The first house of Paraparaumu by a direct ancestor in 1890. "Mr J W Howell's whare, the first bach at Paraparaumu Beach in 1890. The bach was located at what is now the corner of Howell Road and Marine Parade. G H Howell Collection"



And a picture of my family during that period at a wedding 20 years later



They are from a photo album called the "howell" Collection, but I have yet to find it outside of a few pictures. I may as well check out the local library to see if they have the collection.

One of my great grandmothers (fathers side) was a drunk and Irish.

I don't know that much more about that side of the family since no-one talks to anyone else because of real and perceived slights.


No idea about my mothers side, I may have to check up on it.

I come from barbers, coal miners and teachers out of the holler of West Virginia. The barber took a spin over the pond and fought in a few trenches, and the coal miner saw Queen Elizabeth's coronation parade while on a stop from his US Navy destroyer. He was not, of course, the Captain of the vessel, but one of the mechanics.

My other grandfather joined the army and served in the Korean War, and enjoyed the dubious distinction of being shot up by a VK sniper- he was shot six times over the course of a few hours. He only shared the story with anyone a few years back.

My wife's mother was orphaned because her parents disappeared in a plane within the Bermuda Triangle.

Hmmm, mine were from england. I think they were goldsmiths and before that they used to be nobles. It's all somewhere on the net, can't find it. But it's all pre-1550.

I had a great grandfather who had the dubious honour of being buried alive twice - he had some close calls with WW1 artillery, but was lucky enough to be dug out, and I think the second time he picked up enough shrapnel to get sent home - Although it's been a while since I heard the story, so I can't remember the exact details.

Beyond that, it's all farm labourers and the like on my mum's side, railway workers, funeral directors and stonemasons on my dad's - so pretty nondescript as a rule

Relapse wrote:
I was looking through my family's history and reading some of the stories, such as one ancestor that got washed overboard from the Mayflower and subsequently pulled out of the drink, to another that was a shipwright in Nova Scotia and his contributions to the science.
There was one group I am related to who lived in Northern England and began killing tax collectors. They had a sentence of death passed on the whole family, so they legged it into Scotland for a few generations, then crossed to Ireland, where after another few generations, got shipped to Tasmania as seditionists.
I know there are probably some really cool ancestor stories here on Dakka. I opened this thread so people can share some, so have at it!
.

You and I both have an ancestor that came over on the Mayflower. Mine was Edward Doty. He was an indentured servant to Stephen Hopkins and was the second to last person to sign the mayflower compact.

Edward Doty later became a wealthy land owner, but his argumentative nature and display of temper caused him to be in the Plymouth court many times over the years.

Doty was one of the Mayflower passengers that have left an extensive record of his personality. He had a quick temper that often was out of control and had many business dealings that in some cases bordered on the fraudulent. Other troublemakers were often removed from Plymouth (i.e. Isaac Allerton was forced out) but Doty lived there throughout the rest of his life.

Doty's first problem with the law came just after the Pilgrims had begun constructing their settlement. The early eighteenth century notes of Thomas Prince describe an incident of June 18, 1621 when the first duel (with a sword and dagger) was fought in New England between two servants of Stephen Hopkins, Edward Doty and Edward Leister. The duel ended with one being wounded in the hand and one in the thigh. Their punishment was to be tied head and feet together for twenty-four hours without meat or drink. But soon their master Stephen Hopkins, apparently taking pity on their "great pains", made a "humble request, upon promise of a better carriage" and they were released by the governor.

My mother's side has a fair amount of eastern European nobility in it. A good deal of Prussian noble houses, and a direct line into the Romanov family that diverges in the early to mid 1800's. My great grandmother and her family fled Russia during the March revolution, and while most of my family stayed out, she and a few others returned in May and were then killed during the interim months between the 2 revolutions.

My father's side? Ireland and the Isle of Mann. Came over in the late 1800's. That's about it.

More recent was my grandfather who served as an MP in WWII. There's currently a family split over some real donkey-cave crap from one of my uncles, and we've only now been able to get a hold of his WWII papers.
Landed DDay+3, fought in the Bocage, the Bulge, and the crossing of the Rhine. We found out 2 months ago he was awarded the Silver Star for being a sharpshooter.
He always refused to talk about the war, and ended up becoming a pacifist upon returning home.

All my Ancestors are dead, true storey.

 adamsouza wrote:
All my Ancestors are dead, true storey.

I'm sorry to hear about your loss of your parents.

One of my ancestors was the very last Boyar: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fyodor_Alexeyevich_Golovin)
And another of my ancestors was head of Catherine the Great's household: (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_von_Sievers_%28Staatsmann%29)
And another one of ancestors was an officer in the Imperial Army who shot his commander during the Russian Revolution and led his regiment to become Red Army partisans in Crimea against Baron Wrangel (yay rebel scum)

And one day two of my ancestors decided to marry each other, thus founding an obscure subbranch of an obscure noble family with a silly hyphenated surname (probably in a failed attempt to make their family seem at least a little bit prestigious )

One of my great great uncles who fought for the Union in the Civil war was on a forced march through South Carolina that was causing several men to fall out because of heat exaustion with him being one.
According to his letter, the families in the area were coming out later in the day and cutting the throats of the soldiers as they lay there, helpless.
In his case, he was taken in by a family that hid him and nursed back to health so he could a few days later go back to his regiment.

My family came from France, our surname was originally spelled "Chevillot" my family moved into a German neighborhood (my Great Grandmother was German) and they proceeded to change the last name to the four letter name it is now.

My grandfather was a lab assistant (at least from what I've been told) on the Manhattan Project, and is also responsible for about 7k patents for the corporation he worked for. Those are probably hearsay from my father trying to inflate the image of his father. I never knew my grandfather as he passed away when I was about 1 year old. BUT the one thing I do know is that there is a chemical process named after him (using his last name). That I do know is true because there was a court case in which a Japanese company sued for something or another because they had developed the same process that he did for cheaper, but the quality was not the same so the corporation that my grandfather worked for won the case.

That's pretty much all I know about my family history.

 kronk wrote:

 adamsouza wrote:
All my Ancestors are dead, true storey.

I'm sorry to hear about your loss of your parents.

Thank you. I appreciate your sympathy.

I was attempting humor, but I forget my brand of humor is sometimes a bit dark for general consumption,

My grandmother, great grandmother, and great great grandmother were all born United States Citizens, but were raised on the island of St. Michael in the Azores. They would pop over to the states to have their kids and then go back to the island to raise them. My Grandmother broke the cycle by having my father on the island, and then shortly later, moved permanently to the United States.

My Grandparents had been sweethearts since they were tweens, my Grandfather having worked on my Grandmother's Father's farm.
My Parents dated all through middle school and highschool, and married shortly after graduation.
My four brothers, and I, all married the first woman we were romantically involved with after graduating highschool.
Three of my bothers actually married their highschool sweethearts.

Can trace back to a soldier who was part of the Norman Invasion.

I refer to my son as the guarantor of cessation of hostilities of the US Civil War. On my side, he's related to Mary Todd Lincoln. My ex-wife, on the other hand, is related to Jefferson Davis.

 adamsouza wrote:

 kronk wrote:

 adamsouza wrote:
All my Ancestors are dead, true storey.

I'm sorry to hear about your loss of your parents.

Thank you. I appreciate your sympathy.

I was attempting humor, but I forget my brand of humor is sometimes a bit dark for general consumption,

My grandmother, great grandmother, and great great grandmother were all born United States Citizens, but were raised on the island of St. Michael in the Azores. They would pop over to the states to have their kids and then go back to the island to raise them. My Grandmother broke the cycle by having my father on the island, and then shortly later, moved permanently to the United States.

My Grandparents had been sweethearts since they were tweens, my Grandfather having worked on my Grandmother's Father's farm.
My Parents dated all through middle school and highschool, and married shortly after graduation.
My four brothers, and I, all married the first woman we were romantically involved with after graduating highschool.
Three of my bothers actually married their highschool sweethearts.

I had a brother in law and sister that lived in the Azores for a few years. They loved the land and the people there.

odds and ends i've heard from family
we had someone at custer's last stand (given claims of however many great grandfather whoever marrying a lovely native american girl, i can't say which side)
there was a pro league baseball player back in like the 20's
on my mom's side of the family (the irish side), we apparently have some connection to the people behind some cigarette company in ireland

I have a great-great grandfather who was awarded a couple of Knight's Crosses (I don't remember what type they were though), however, having read through his journals, and through translations of them... he apparently was in either the US Army, or the British Army in some intelligence capacity... The medals in the cabinet to this day are quite odd, to say the least

Beyond that, I've found evidence of ancestors in my line who eventually settled in the Bavarian region (both in the German and Austrian side) that took part in the Crusades. But also, a bit older than that, some evidence that shows a strong indication of being from Norway/Denmark. Honestly, I don't hold much stock in the coming from a Viking line, as when you get that old, the only way to get really reliable information is to have them be, and remain famous, which is something I cannot say for my family.

I had members on both sides go down in the HMS Hood before the families even knew of each other.

I may also be related to Lord Cutts, known as 'The Salamander', who commanded the left flank of Wellington's army at Blenheim.

My Mother's side were/are Irish. And that's all I know about that.

My Father's side: Fought with Garibaldi during the unification of Italy, avoided WWI by immigrating to the US in 1910, shot and killed one of Mussolini's facisiti (then did hard time for it, then 'vanished' after getting pardoned by the King), did some bootlegging for the mob, served in the Navy and the Army and the Navy (same guy did all three) during WWII, then did some other stuff and a few other things, then things got boring and I showed up.

 SilverMK2 wrote:
Once you go back past 8 generations you are pretty much related to everyone...

If I go back 8 generations I'm related to something called the missing link....



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 Ahtman wrote:
My ancestors were the well known people involved in that famous incident.

So you're related to the guys who did the thing?

I've honestly never cared.

My mother was a hamster, and my father smelt of elderberries. Exciting, I know.

 mega_bassist wrote:
My mother was a hamster, and my father smelt of elderberries. Exciting, I know.

Haha!

My great great uncle was Will Hay. He was a famous actor in the 1930s, but he was also a keen astronomer, and an author.

I'm related to John Alden and Priscilla Mullen/Alden. I also have a relative who was a Sargent (I think) in the Revolutionary war.

Both grandfathers fought in WWII, my dad's dad road around in PBY-Catalina's harassing shipping lanes and saving downed pilots. Mom's dad was a medic in the army, was at Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima, have a Japanese officer's sword to show for it.

Descendant wise on my mom's side, we're direct descendants of John Adams. Dad's side, the whole family was set to ride over on the Titanic but my great-great-great uncle got sick and they missed the ride (thank god, lol). I hear random stories from my dad about visiting his mother's (my grandmother) family in New York and how certain relatives didn't have social security numbers, spoke only in Italian and some last names that have shown up in mob history.

William Wallace
General George Meade of the civil war
Cecil Rhodes (south African diamond mine)

Those are my family claims to fame. And apparently some Connecticut Indian (never got a name).


Do I have any cousins on here? I met a fellow relative of WW in college, we were very close friends (he tried to set me on fire once).

I don't really know much of my family history but I do know my Great (great?) Grandfather fought in WW1 and received several medals for storming a German trench/machinegun position.
My Great Uncle also fought in WW2 and died during the D-Day landings although I can't remember which beach it was. His two brothers were still in officer training by the end of WW2. My grandfather went on to join the diplomatic corp although he died due to a blood clot sustained several years after a Skiing accident when my dad was about 5. Aside from that the only other history I can remember is some of my ancestors fought at Culloden on the Jacobean side
My mum's side were all in the blacksmith trade so they were excused and some of their ancestors were sheep & Cattle stealers.

 Frankenberry wrote:
Both grandfathers fought in WWII, my dad's dad road around in PBY-Catalina's harassing shipping lanes and saving downed pilots. Mom's dad was a medic in the army, was at Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima, have a Japanese officer's sword to show for it.

Descendant wise on my mom's side, we're direct descendants of John Adams. Dad's side, the whole family was set to ride over on the Titanic but my great-great-great uncle got sick and they missed the ride (thank god, lol). I hear random stories from my dad about visiting his mother's (my grandmother) family in New York and how certain relatives didn't have social security numbers, spoke only in Italian and some last names that have shown up in mob history.

Have you ever taken the handle off the sword? A friend of mine at work was looking at a captured sword his sister in law got from her dad. He knows a bit about Japanese culture, having lived in Japan for years, and he removed the handle. Inside was a cloth with the owner's name and were in Japan he was from. My bud went through the embassy to find the owner, who turned out to be still living, and took the sword back to Japan to return it.
I guess it was a bit of a news event over there.
It could be interesting to see if anything could be learned of the owner that way, even though he is most likely dead.

Doctadeth wrote:I hark back to Clan Baine, and an Irish tailor who came to Australia in the second fleet.

My (recently deceased) paternal grandmother was a Baine!

My grandfather worked for the (now defunct and still somewhat classified) OSS during WWII. I will likely never know the full extent of what he did; his files were not part of the huge declassification done in 2008.

Well my Great-Great uncle was made fun of by The Simpsons and Mystery Science Theater 3000 (and a few other things) because he ran for president a lot.

He starred in the first televised presidential debate. Was governor of MN (and ran for PA a couple times). Him dropping out of the race one year is one of the reasons why Eisenhower was able to win the nomination (and then presidency).

He held a cabinet position during Eisenhower's Presidency also. Probably the most well known thing he did was sign the U.N. Charter.


On the other side of my family, my grandfather worked some of the earliest computers and, unlike Al Gore, actually did help invent the internet (the precursor military stuff).

During the Cuban Missile Crisis, he and one (maybe 2) other civilians basically allowed the US Navy to actually function next to Cuba (they had computer malfunctions during testing. He did not know about the Crisis till after the fact though)

The most interesting to me about him though is during WW2 he lead a unit that liberated a town that turned out to be where his family was from (either his parents or his grand parents, can't remember)


Those are the highlights of the people closest. Through a few marriages I am related to a few US Presidents (and through a few more probably to all of them, because oligarchy). Then again, with that standard, most of us here are probably related.

My dad once knocked a man's eye out of his head, and dented a steel security door with his fist - during the same fight.

He may have also broken his hand pretty hard. He denies it.



Back further than that is all hearsay without photographic evidence.

My dad got a Purple Heart in the fight for St. Lo.

My Uncle Henry was at Pearl Harbor during the attack.

My Uncle Ben was at Liege during the Battle of the Bulge.

There is a story On my dads side of the family that the family tree was very severely "Pruned" at the Battle of Jutland

 snurl wrote:
My dad got a Purple Heart in the fight for St. Lo.

My Uncle Henry was at Pearl Harbor during the attack.

My Uncle Ben was at Liege during the Battle of the Bulge.

Really? My uncle Ben taught me about responsibility.

 timetowaste85 wrote:

 snurl wrote:
My dad got a Purple Heart in the fight for St. Lo.

My Uncle Henry was at Pearl Harbor during the attack.

My Uncle Ben was at Liege during the Battle of the Bulge.

Really? My uncle Ben taught me about responsibility.

Damn.. must be nice. Mine only taught me about rice

My grandfather flew a secret mission to canada who was being attacked by germans off the shore a year before pearl harbor happened.
And if he is to be believed he helped score the first sinking of a german submarine for the US during that mission.