Have you ever found anything surprising or interesting when researching your family history?

[momz]

I have a couple of interesting findings.

Xth great grandfather was Edward Doty, an indentured servant on the Mayflower and fought in the first dual recorded at Plymouth vs the other guy who was an indentured servant on the Mayflower. Apparently he was a bit of a trouble maker as his name appears in court documents several times.

And I have a shocker. My Xth great grandmother was convicted of witchcraft and was executed. She was hung in Concord Massachusetts not long before the Salem events. Her story is documented quite well. She spoke to a young child who later became ill and died. The child’s nurse (I assume babysitter, but not sure) pointed the finger at my ancestor, she said that when speaking to the child, she must have placed a curse on them. She was tried and hung. But later, the nurse confessed to the child’s parents that she had taken the child outside in the cold the day before. The nurse was afraid that she would be held responsible for the child’s death, so she put the blame on my ancestor instead. The nurse ended up living out the rest of her days in jail, which must have been miserable as she died there after bit much time. But, it seems the parents of the child went to great efforts to posthumously exonerate my ancestor.

 

[LuvN~Travel]

My favorite thing lately is telling anyone who will listen
that I am related to Jamie Fraser of Outlander fame! lol

We know on my Dad's side that he was descended from the
Graham family. That family goes back to a couple who
came over with William the Conqueror. (Her family was
actually one of the ruling families of Norway or Denmark, one
of those countries, have to look it back up). And according
to DNA testing my brother and sister and I are about 8th
cousins of the current Graham clan head, the Duke of
Montrose.

But, further down the line one of the Graham family
leaders had two wives. He had kids by the first wife, she died
and he married again and had kids by the second wife. The
second wife was from the Lovat/Fraser families. I was
reading some in the history (some lady took years around
the very early 1900s to research all of this) and ran across
the name Lord Lovat. I kept thinking that name sounds
familiar. So I looked it up and of all things it was also
the name of Jamie Fraser's grandfather in the book series.
Diana Galbadon apparently decided to not use just the
usual Scottish names you tend to see in books like Stuart,
MacDonald and Campbell, but really went all out on
Scottish clan names! And boy did she have fun with
my family names! So now I just claim Jamie Fraser as kin. lol

Also on my mom's side, we are also related distantly to
Kyle Petty through his Mom's side and to Carrol Shelby
who the Shelby Mustang is named after.

 

[EMom]

Apparently Adam and Eve. Let me explain.

My ancestors came over on The Mayflower and we trace lineage back to William the Conqueror. Then another branch goes back to Charlemagne and all the way back to the 500s. I can’t take credit for all the research and documentation. It helps to have a famous relative every couple of hundred years, because ancestral records exist for those individuals. Anyway, the documentation back to the 500s is pretty clear and available online.

During my searches, I saw a post from someone who lived very near me and who had much of the family tree in common. I thought it might be interesting to meet her and share info. So I clicked on her site. She swears she has traced her tree long past the 500s all the way back to a sibling of Jesus and then back to Adam and Eve. No kidding. It was at that point I decided I would not contact her and would just let the matter drop. She seemed a little too enthusiastic for me.

 

[Disneyland1084]

Do you know if he worked on any rides or movies? That's very cool.

He did not. He did some maintenance work on his house, and other celebrities back in the day. A little off subject, he worked frequently at Bob Hope's house and said he was an (insert foul word that starts with an A and ends with E) and VERY cheap. He (Bob Hope) was a millionaire and never replaced the really old and worn out carpet in his house. Lol.

 

[RangerPooh]

My husband’s side of the family came over on the ship after the Mayflower. And they’re related to William the Conqueror.

@EMom

My ancestors came over on The Mayflower and we trace lineage back to William the Conqueror.

Me too! My grandmothers family is very proud of their lineage. I have a family member who arrived on the Mayflower (Mary Chilton), who married John Winslow who sailed on the Fortune. I am also related to William the Conqueror. My great-grandfather x6 was Benjamin Lincoln who accepted General Cornwallace's sword at the surrender of the American Revolution. Also have a few family members who were involved in the Salem witch trials; both as accusers and accused.

 

[Praying Colonel]

One of my great-great grandfathers was home on leave in Carter County, KY in 1864 when he was captured by Confederate guerillas. He was transported back through Confederate lines to a prison in North Carolina where he died of disease about 3 months later.

So ironically, he might've lived if he'd stayed with his unit and not gone home.

 

[Praying Colonel]

https://www.theguardian.com/science...-genetic-ancestry-charlemagne-adam-rutherford
DW had a great-uncle who did a bunch of genealogy and painstakingly traced their family's lineage back through English nobility and eventually to Charlemagne. I showed her the above article and said, "I guess I am, too!" She was not amused.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

Nothing too exciting, I found that I have relatives locally that I did not know that I had. I also found relatives in New Zealand somehow, who would have thought.
I also discovered that (I can't do the math) it would be my grandfather's grandfather was an officer in the Union Army in the Civil War.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

I found out recently my step-dad knew Walt Disney. In the 60's, he attended a Cal Arts school that Walt would visit occasionally. He did some work for him to. He said Walt was very down-to-earth. I'm sure he told me this 20+ years ago, I just completely forgot.

I haven't shared my ancestry, because I haven't done enough research to know what's true. I do have a story similar to this that I know is true. My FIL was bunkmates with Elvis in the Army. Apparently, Elvis tried to talk him into going on the road with him, after they were released from the Army. FIL said he told him that he was ready to go home to his girl. He said he really thought Elvis was a big talker that would never become famous. He couldn't imagine a man from a small town in the South becoming famous at the time. When he passed away, FIL left me pictures of Elvis & him. There are also letters Elvis wrote him from the road.

 

[VandVsmama]

I have an ancestor who was stuck at home in her & her husband's sod house on the prairie in the Midwest. Just her and the baby while her husband drove the cattle to market. While her husband was away, she fended off a raid by some Native Americans with her shot gun.

One of DH's ancestors was Rebecca Nurse (Salem Witch Trials).

 

[YoYoAurora]

I have a couple of interesting findings.

Xth great grandfather was Edward Doty, an indentured servant on the Mayflower and fought in the first dual recorded at Plymouth vs the other guy who was an indentured servant on the Mayflower. Apparently he was a bit of a trouble maker as his name appears in court documents several times.

Hi, Cousin! Edward is my 8th great grandfather. If you're interested, there is an Edward Doty Society.

One of my 3rd great grandfathers was held hostage by the local British commander in return for his father's good behavior. It seems that my 4th great grandfather was a bit rebellious and was arrested by the British multiple times for what we would now call patriotic acts. Back then, those in charge considered his actions to be criminal. Both men fought in the Revolutionary War (US). (There are a lot of youngest or almost youngest children in my line.)

 

[tex1989]

My Gr Gr Grandfather fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War. He was taken prisoner at the Battle at Arkansas Post early in the war. He was sent to Chicago where the infamous prison for Confederate prisoners was. Because it was early in the war the Union was still doing prisoner exchanges and after spending about eight months there he was exchanged back to the South. From there he was sent to rejoin his Texas Infantry Company and after some time they found themselves near Atlanta. He was wounded and lost 2 ribs to Civil war era surgery. After many months of recovery the war was ending and he was discharged. He asked his superiors how he was suppose to get home and the answer they gave him was to point west and say "Texas is that way". He then walked back to Texas. Good thing he did because he married my Gr Gr Grandmother and she had my Gr Grandfather but died shortly afterwards, He then proceeded to remarry and have three children. This was his third marriage actually because he was married and had a daughter by his first wife prior to the war. Third wife died and he married a fourth time to have three more children. He never could read or write and when he filled out his application for a Confederate pension someone had to do it for him. One question asked was "did you sell anything so as to qualify for this pension?" The answer given was "yes" so the pension was denied. It would have been a good sum for the time 1899 of six dollars a month. I actually was able to get a copy of the application from the state several years ago. He lived to the age of 96 and is buried in our family cemetery north of Bryan, Texas. I am the president of our family cemetery association. My Grandmother and her siblings were in their late twenties when he passed and from the stories they told he was as my Grandmother once said to me "not real smart, and meaner than a snake!"

I like studying our family but the most fun I have is uncovering the stories of my family and not just who I am descended from but more about the lives they lead and the kind of people they were. My family has done a lot of work and has several books detailing the lives of early Texas settlers we are descended from. One is called Staggering Life and Death on the Texas Frontier at Staggers Point. The area they settled in was named Staggers Point because many of the early settlers were from Ireland and had been "Staggers" in Ireland which was basically their term for Sheep Herders.

 

[chiamarie]

On my dad's side, we should be sweedish royalty. I'm not sure how many generations ago, but my great-whatever grandfather was the king of sweden. And based on lineage, my cousin should be queen.

 

[fla4fun]

I haven’t found out anything too interesting as far as ancestors, but I have only traced a couple lines back far enough to go beyond the Revolutionary War and back to Europe. I can get back to the mid 1800’s on the others but then it’s like everyone went into witness protection or something.

However, the most shocking thing I found out WHILE working on my genealogy was when I found out my ex had committed suicide. I was stuck on my family, and just randomly wondered if his parents were still living. He was named after his dad, so when I put in the name, his death record came up. It was a bad breakup, so I did not keep in touch with anyone, but you still hate to think that someone felt that was their only choice. He was only 26.

 

[Deb]

I haven't shared my ancestry, because I haven't done enough research to know what's true. I do have a story similar to this that I know is true. My FIL was bunkmates with Elvis in the Army. Apparently, Elvis tried to talk him into going on the road with him, after they were released from the Army. FIL said he told him that he was ready to go home to his girl. He said he really thought Elvis was a big talker that would never become famous. He couldn't imagine a man from a small town in the South becoming famous at the time. When he passed away, FIL left me pictures of Elvis & him. There are also letters Elvis wrote him from the road.

Elvis was already famous when he was in the army.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_career_of_Elvis_Presley

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Elvis was already famous when he was in the army.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_career_of_Elvis_Presley

I realize the reason there were pictures taken at that time wasn't because the media wanted pictures of my FIL. That said, Elvis wasn't as famous then as he became. FIL thought he would be just another musician touring to make a living not the most famous Rock & Roll singer of all time.

 

[Deb]

I realize the reason there were pictures taken at that time weren't because the media wanted pictures of my FIL. That said, Elvis wasn't as famous then as he became. FIL thought he would be just another musician touring to make a living not the most famous Rock & Roll singer of all time.

I was thinking snapshots not newspaper/magazine photos

 

[JimMIA]

Nothing really earthshaking, but doing a DNA test did clear up one thing I was confused about.

Our family history is somewhat murky because of the Civil War. My great-grandfather, etc lived in SE Georgia and during Grant's March to the Sea, the county courthouse was burned -- along with all the records inside. So we have a family history of sorts, but then it stops...sorta.

However, there are other people with the same name who lived originally in SC, not far from our ancestral homestead in GA. Those people were Germanic, and came to SC from either Germany or Switzerland via Germany in the early 1700's. Those folks eventually moved west, first to Alabama, then Texas and then throughout the west. Since many people in the 1700's were illiterate, there is no clear idea of what the correct spelling was, or even what the actual name originally was.

My mother's family history is much more clear and they were definitely from England, although nobody has ever thoroughly researched that side of the family.

So when I did my DNA test (I used Living DNA), I expected to find a mix of English and German/Nordic/Western European.

Nope. 100% British Isles: roughly 71.7% English, 18.8% Scottish, and 9.5% Irish.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

I was thinking snapshots not newspaper/magazine photos

There are both.

 

[Tinijocaro]

My 8th grandfather was Leonard Ethier who came from France to Montreal in 1670, married Elisabeth Godillon who was a Fille Du Rois (daughter of the king-the king sent unmarried girls to New France in 1663 and 1673 to help populate New France. They had 10 children who each went on to have many children themselves and so on. Many, many people are related to Leonard Ethier.

They were both illiterate, as many people were back then. He was a wooden shoemaker and farmer who suffered a horrible death. He was captured in the Lachenaie massacre of 19 Nov. 1689. Mowhawk warriors attacked the town of Lachenaie in the night and killed many and captured many. It is said that he and many others were tortured and burned alive.

Leonard Ethier third great grandson moved to Indiana, changed his surname to Hickey. If you know any Hickey's, likely they are also descendants of Leonard Ethier.