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General => The Common Room => The Lighter Side => Topic started by: Erato on Thursday 22 September 05 03:41 BST (UK)
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I have found two ancestral contacts with famous persons.
1) When my gg grandfather arrived in Wisconsin, he purchased the farm of Daniel Muir, father of John Muir, naturalist, conservationist, and inspirer of the National Park System. According to family lore, as passed down by my grandfather, the Muirs were a bunch of "shiftless Scots" who ruined the land and then moved on. Maybe he only said this to irritate my grandmother who was very proud of her Scots heritage.
2) Another relative was a math teacher in Dixon, Illinois at the time that Ronald Reagan was a high school boy there. I havn't been able to prove that she had him in a class but, given the size of Dixon, it is very likely. If she did, she seems to have had little positive impact.
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Hi,
Here a few of my "brushes with fame" from my family tree.
1. My wife's gg grandmother was a neighbor of Abe Lincoln's stepmother and served Abe his last meal before he left Farmington, IL to go to Washington DC for his inauguration.
2. A first cousin seven times removed married into the Mynn family that includes Alfred Mynn - the mighty man of rustic Kent who is listed in some circles as being the fourth best cricketer ever (the Ian Botham of his era, c 1830).
3. Another of my wife's ancestors knew Johnny Appleseed
4. Another of my wife's relatives sold land to Percy Bysse Shelley.
As you can see, my wife's family is more interesting than mine.
Except for my uncle who had one of the great train robbers as a lodger at around the time of the robbery and thought that he was a good guy.
Mark
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According to my mother, the estate of the Gladstone family used to supply the family occasionally with food----- my Grandfather used to make use of the odd passing pheasant!!!!!!!!!. ;)
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My Grandfather helped George Formby
move house, From Broughton.
My Grandfathers cousin was Belle Chrystall
actress who starred in 'The edge of the World'
directed by Michael Powell.
Jinks
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My Great Uncle was in the Household Guard (I think that's what they were called) and used to guard the queen when she was little.
Apparently she used to try and distract him when he was standing guard. In his words, she was a litle madam :)
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my father had an uncle Germain who ran away when very young and joined the circus.
When great uncle Germain was older, he became an actor for a period of time, before he stepped off the stage to become a stagehand for the remainder of his life.
Germain worked with The Four Cohans, as they were known at the time. He also worked with George M. Cohan.
Among others were Edwin Booth, actor, who was the brother of John Wilkes Booth, Sarah Bernhardt, Enrico Caruso and Lawrence Barrett, among others.
Germain wrote a book about his life on stage and behind it, titled "Fifty Years Back Stage." It is no longer in print, but I am lucky enough to own a copy.
Patty
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I managed to track down another ancestor's brief moment with the famous. A distant cousin was an early inspiation for Glenn Seaborg who received the Nobel Prize for chemistry (discovery of plutonium).
Seaborg said, "Up until the time I entered high school, I had no exposure to science and, therefore, little knowledge of its possibilities. I chose literature as my major subject, and I took no science until my junior year when, in order to meet the college requirement, I took a chemistry course. Largely due to the enthusiasm and obvious love of the subject displayed by my teacher, Dwight Logan Reid of Jordan High School in Los Angeles, chemistry captured my imagination almost immediately. I had the feeling, 'Why hasn't someone told me about this before?' Dwight Logan Reid didn't just teach chemistry. He preached chemistry."
There is a "Dwight Logan Reid Scholarship Fund" at the Univ. California at Berkeley.
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One of my family names is Stewart and I apologise if I offend anyone, but I am fed up of trawling through all the Stewart messages from people doing DNA tests to find out if they are related to royalty. I just want to find my family and I'm quite sure my blood is red not blue
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Reading wheeldon's message made me want to mention this concerning the DNA testing.
I am researching Quinn. DNA people claim we are ALL descended from King Niall, and we need to send XX dollars to prove it. My problem with this is - if they KNOW that ALL the Quinns are descended from Niall, then why do we need to prove it?
Second - according to Irish history, they don't know WHERE Niall was buried. There is even speculation that he may have been cremated. With these two things to consider, how can they test, say...MY DNA against King Niall's to see if I am descended from him? Or my male cousins, or brother, or ANYONE in my family? No body, no DNA.
Along with all of this, you have the Earl of Dunraven and his family who claim they have THE documentation to prove they are directly descended from Niall. If they have this line of descendancy, and they are so interested in genealogy, then why don't they release it for all of us lost Quinn's to check against to find OUR ancestors? If they honestly have it, then they are holding one of the few remaining paperwork and document collections to survive the fire.
I've been in touch with several people who have fallen for the scam and have sent hundreds of dollars to test their Quinn DNA. NONE of them have had satisfactory results. They get mostly the same information they already had, and they have ALL been told that while "it looks very promising, we cannot as yet confirm your decendancy and lineage."
Wait a minute! Didn't these same people just state emphatically that we ARE all descendants of Niall? And now they can't back up their claim? What a surprise.
Okay, I'll be quiet now. (Yes, I do feel better after saying this.)
Patty
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IS this Niiall Quinn the footballer?
;D ;D ;D
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Hi Patty, I have just posted a topic about this subject in The Common Room as it also makes me very annoyed. I have had to unsubscribe from mailing lists due to the amount of "rubbish" I receive about DNA testing. It's a shame as I do like to keep an eye on the forums and mailing lists as I find it an absolute joy when I find a member of my family, however distant. Funnily enough I also have Quinn in my tree but I haven't yet begun to research this family. When I do at least I will know what to expect!
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Hi
Ancestral brush is a relation on my partners side of the family to Tolkien (though not direct to JRR himself)
One of Anthony Trollope's lady companions as well.
Cheers
John Rowley
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My great aunt Norah Ruth Cordner James was a novelist. She wrote a novel entitled "Sleeveless Errand" in 1929 which was banned in England after a prosecution at Bow Street. She followed this up in 1932 with "Tinkle the Cat" - an animal story with illustrations. Her later novels were apparently more conventional.
There can't be that many novelists who wrote both "obscenity" and a children's story.
As a matter of curiosity, the prosecution was mainly for foul language rather than indecency - but I've seen worse language in some of the census surnames!
Philip
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Got a couple actually..
One of my ancestors the Reverend Robert Stainton (who was on his own a pretty famous preacher in his day in Sheffield) married the neice of Michael Faraday - the famous chemist. She was apparently present when he was offered and turned down a knighthood ;)
Also I am the 8th cousin of the current Queen of Sweden ;D Sylvia Renate Sommerlath who married the King of Sweden HM Carl XVI Gustaf Folke Hubertus Bernadotte
I really like my German heritage ;D
I have often wondered about sending her a letter to see if I got a response, after all I have conversed with, visited and become friends with various other rellies that are far more distantly related than we are!
Never know one day I might try it ;)
Jenny
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Recently found my great-great grandmother's husband (and he might possibly be an ancestor) was a potter's lad in Lambeth in 1851. In 1861 he was a groom in the household of one of the Doulton's - you know, those folk who make the odd dish or two.
My great-great uncle was a valet - my dad said he was working at Windsor Castle during WWII, and another relative told me he had worked at Sandringham as well.
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My great grandfather was a farmer in Huntingdonshire and George V and his sons used to hunt on his land. ( I hope they asked his permission, but I guess you didnt say no in those days)
Last year I was solemnly presented with a dinner plate by my mother which has become a family heirloom. It is supposed to be a plate from the dinner service that my great great grandmother used when the King and his sons dined with them.
Dont suppose I will ever be able to check that one out!!!
Linmey.
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My great aunt was lady's maid to the Princess Dogaruki who excaped from Russian Revolution, she was living at Braemar Castle.
An ancester of the Dogarukis founded Moscow way back when.
Sylvia
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My great great grandfather was a journalist and editor of newspapers Rockhampton, Perth and Sydney as well as a member of parliament in Kalgoorlie, WA in 1902.
He was from Aberdeen and said the most impressive person he ever interviewed was George Bernard Shaw, and while he was interviewing him he noticed he Shaw had a portrait of Nietzche on his mantlepiece.
He said Burns was the best thing that ever happened to Scotland and John Knox was the worst...
One of the issues of the Sydney Newspaper he wrote had a congratualtory letter about his column from Billy Hughes (then prime minister)
I am also about a 4th cousin once removed from Kirsty Wark and my great-great-great gandmothers nephew is an artist of note named Arthur Quartley (google images will show some paintings)
Cas
Cas
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My ggrandmother Camilla Bentley (nee Denham) was the sister of a Premier of Queensland, Digby Denham.
And my ggrandfather Hall was a Member of the Legislative Council in Queensland, before a Labor government abolished it. He used to wear a pith helmet, in true colonial style!!! ;D ;D
MarieC
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when charlie chaplin was a little boy living in lambeth with his mother and brother my great grandparents were his neighbors, mrs chaplain was not very well at that time and charlie and his brother would often be given a hot meal at night by them and sent home with tea and bread for his mother
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My Grandfather helped George Formby
move house, From Broughton.
My Grandfathers cousin was Belle Chrystall
actress who starred in 'The edge of the World'
directed by Michael Powell.
Jinks
My mother used to mention a Belle Chrystall and say she was related to us... Don't know if that is the case. What was her real name?
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Belle Chrystall was her real name
Belle could have been short for Isabel, but it was
Ceratainly her REAL name.
Her Father was Alexander Chrystall and her Mother
was originally a Mercer.
She lived for a time in Fleetwood.
The Mercers lived also in Lancashire near Chipping.
Does this help?
Jinks
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My ggg grandfather was a brick maker on a property in Western Victoria, that was owned by an man called Horatio Spencer Wills. Horatio's oldest son Tom, was the man who invented Australian Rules Football, as well as being a fine cricketer and the man who escorted the first Australian cricket team to tour England (an Aboriginal team). The story goes that Tom, as a child at Lexington Station (the property), played a game with the local Aboriginal children and the station staff's children with an inflated pig's bladder, and that was where he got the idea for Aussie Rules.
Anyway, my ggg grandfather, Emanuel Wilde, lived on the station making bricks for the homestead, with his wife and 10 or so children. One of those kids was my gg grandather John Alexander Wilde. He was around the same age as Tom Wills and I like to think he ran around the property playing boot the pig's bladder with Tom and the others. Therefore making him one of the very first people on the planet to play Australian Rules football. Hey, if you're from Melbourne, where footy is a religion, this is hot stuff!! ;)
Okay, so I'm not exactly related to Horatio and Tom Wills, and this nowhere near tops all the brushes with royalty of the previous posts, but there is a rumour that the "Spencer" in Horation Spencer Wills was because he was the illegitimate son of the Earl Spencer.....!
Apparently the great cricketer Bill Ponsford is in the tree somewhere, by marriage, but I'm yet to find him. My husband would die of pleasure if it were true ;D
Kez :)
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Go Kez! Find Bill Ponsford!!!! As another cricket fanatic, I'm interested in this!
MarieC
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I have an ancestor who is mentioned a number of times in Samuel Pepys' diary. He was at Cambridge with Samuel and used to meet with him in various Inns and Coffee Houses as well as the homes of other notable gentry.
Unfortunately the more interesting entries are rather lewd and cannot be repeated in any family history or here.
If you have ancestors who lived in London around that time it is well worth looking at the index to Pepys' diary.
David
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Hi Marie
Got as far as his wife's name, which doesn't ring a bell. Will look for his sibs now. I bet if there is a link it will be that one of his sibs married a rellie of mine.
Shoulda laid a claim to a piece of the Ponsford Stand before they pulled it down >:(
Kez :)
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my husband's family are related to the Wedgwoods (josiah and his lot!!!)
other brushes:
I went to school with Robin Cousins
When i was about 14 my dad almost bought Cary Grant's mother's house in Bristol!!!
Sue
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My great aunt was best friends with Mick Jaggers mother in infant school
And that is about it!
Anna x
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I was with my Dad in the 1940's when Earl Beauchamp came up to us and chatted to my Dad. He then introduced us to Mr Hoare-Belisha (the belisha beacon man) former Minister of Transport.
I asked my Dad why Lord Beauchamp spoke to us the lowest of the low, my Dad said" I was his Sergeant in the Home Guard, so he had to do what I said.
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Belle Chrystall was her real name
Belle could have been short for Isabel, but it was
Ceratainly her REAL name.
Her Father was Alexander Chrystall and her Mother
was originally a Mercer.
She lived for a time in Fleetwood.
The Mercers lived also in Lancashire near Chipping.
Does this help?
Jinks
Thanks, but no. I suspect one of the family must have got a bit creative, then..Never mind. I was hoping for a link to the surname, Carter, and the Preston area.
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I had an uncle who emigrated to USA and 'dabbled' a bit in acting - he was, apparently offered the part of The Virginian in the television series ....but turned it down as he'd got steady work by then. He went on to become a Director of EMI and collected vintage Bentleys as a hobby! Not bad for a coal miner's son from Durham! He sent my nan and granda a photograph of him with his pal William Henry Pratt to put on the mantlepiece (WHP - aka Boris Karloff) - they had it in a posh frame on the sideboard of their living room.
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My husband lived in the same town as Shania Twain when they were kids - Timmins, Ontario. He may have gone to the same school, but so far we cant verify that. Shania is just 2 years younger than he is. :)
BD
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I have an ancestor who is mentioned a number of times in Samuel Pepys' diary. He was at Cambridge with Samuel and used to meet with him in various Inns and Coffee Houses as well as the homes of other notable gentry.
Unfortunately the more interesting entries are rather lewd and cannot be repeated in any family history or here.
If you have ancestors who lived in London around that time it is well worth looking at the index to Pepys' diary.
David
My husband has an ancestor who was Samuel Pepys' Scrivener (wrote legal documents & such like) His name was John West and he set up charities to benefit his 'poor kin', which are still running to this day.
:)
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My mother was the girfriend of actor/singer Al Bowlly, they were
to have had dinner but mother was asked to fill the chorus spot of another girl for the evening show and therefore did not go
to meet Bowlly at Dukes court near Piccadilly, during the night
(1941) a German air raid dropped a bomb in Dukes court and
Bowlly was killed.
Mother left show business and joined the ATS for the duration
of the war.
In the early 1960's we owned a nursery/market garden in Kent
and two of our customers were the actors Gerald Campion
(Billy Bunter) and James Hayter (many parts).
We never mentioned their status and they never said who
they were.
Mike.
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One of my family names is Stewart and I apologise if I offend anyone, but I am fed up of trawling through all the Stewart messages from people doing DNA tests to find out if they are related to royalty. I just want to find my family and I'm quite sure my blood is red not blue
As far as I can tell we are not descended from any royalty, but it's not for want of trying. In the 1750s in London Mr & Mrs Samuel Hall had two sons, Benjamin and John. When they grew up Ben went to Taunton and made his fortune, while John married Hannah Golightly and fathered ten children.
Seeking excitement, Ben set sail for India. He arrived in Madras as James Stuart-Hall, the illegitimate son of Bonnie Prince Charlie!
Meantime back in London John was rapidly tiring of the delights of matrimony and the patter of tiny feet, so he decided it was time to join his brother. He arrived in Madras as John Stuart-Hall, another of the illegitimate sons of Bonnie Prince Charlie!
Apparently John never saw Hannah or the surviving children again, but he did make the occasional return trip to England, and on one of those trips he stopped off at St Helena to "marry" a widow called Eliza Dobbyn. A year later Augusta Matilda was born. (John, Eliza and Augusta are my direct ancestors). It's possible that John had "moved on" by then, as a few years later there was a third woman in Madras looking for maintenance for herself and John's children.
James came to the financial rescue of his various sisters-in-law and out-of-law and his nieces and nephews. But all good things must come to an end, and one day James married - and the payments ceased immediately. Augusta was still at school then. Henry Chapman - at 30 he was twice her age - paid the outstanding school fees and married her.
So, we also have red blood, not blue, and I won't be contacting you about the Stewarts, Wheeldon.
Cheers,
Alpha
Cowbridge: Felton
Hambleden, Bucks: Hobbs
Kent: Thornton and Fox
Central Devon: Partridge
Dublin and Madras: Cooke
Taunton: Murray and Ash
Hodnet: Massey
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My Grandfather was on the front page of the Washington post as a teenager for being Englands fastest jockey. Does that count or does it have to be further back? Apparently i am related to the maid of Cefn ydfa but research is 50 years off her yet!
;)
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Hi, William the Conqueror is my 27 times greatuncle, honestly!. My 26 times greatgrandfather is mentioned in the Doomsday book as well.
Anna
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I often come across notes in family trees that state something like this ;
"Uncle George was a tailor to King Edward 7th" or "Florence was a nanny to Lord Nelson" ........ but when you dig into the ancestry you find that,more often than not, 'Uncle George' was a 'breeches maker' from Bootle and he lived and died there and that 'Florence' was was indicted for feloniously stealing from 16th of February last, a Silk. Damask Petticoat, value 30 s. a pair of Stays 20 s.
Does anyone find similar notes in their recorded history?
joboy
Moderator Comment: topics merged
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My mother always maintained we were direct descendants of Robert Burns and were also related to Florence Nightingale. Apparently in the 1920s her father had paid quite a lot of money to a researcher to trace his family tree (why didn't somebody keep a copy!)
When I started my family history research it didn't take me long to find that there were indeed Burns and Nightingales in my grandfather's family but needless to say not related in any way to the famous ones. I don't know whether it was an unscrupulous researcher of the time who misled my grandad, or perhaps just a bit of wishful thinking on his part that got distorted over the years.
Jane
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Yep.
I have three typed/handwritten family journals / diaries with information about my ggg grandfather McKey. Only two are dated and they weren't written at the same time.
What was written ...GGG Grandfather McKey was a boatswain in the Royal Navy and served on the HMS Victory with Admiral Nelson during the Battle of Trafalgar. He was killed along side Admiral Nelson during the Battle.
After years of searching (high and low) I was unable to prove this family story. Due to last years 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar more information has been made available. In the past two weeks, or so, I was able to determine the following.
GGG Grandfather McKey was an able seaman and not a boatswain.. He was on the HMS Polyphemus and not the HMS Victory during the Battle.
I still haven't found information listing if he was killed or wounded but records show the HMS Polyphemus suffered very few casualties during the Battle.
I think / believe every family story has some basis of truth. I am just not sure why stories are "enhanced" though.
yn9man
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I suppose I'm an ancestor to my grandson... I remember Tom Jones when he was Tommy Scott and The Senators. Used to play at our local Saturday night dance. 2 bob on a Saturday night, 2/6d if it was Tommy Scott!!
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Really enjoyed this thread! With regard to the Stewart heritage, my mother also believed that we were related to Bonnie Prince Charlie. Like Wheeldon, I don't give a fig, all I want to do is find 2xG grandfather William Stewart. He married and died but as to being born, well that's a mystery! :)
Sallysmum
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I saw the Queen once, and knew a fellow about whom the then Prime minister said 'Whooo?'
Cheers Dave
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The nearest i can come to 'famous' is that my aunt [in-law] was the descendant of Wat Tyler, rebellion leader of the 1300's
Really cheating now but my old school friend was a direct descendant of William Wilberforce who helped to bring an end to slavery.
Poli.
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The Queen and rest of the Royals used to drop anchor - in Britannia days - and have a picnic on one of the islands that I overlook.
I didn't live here then but the island's still there.
Oh I did wave to her when she did her coronation tour - I was in junior school.
And not forgetting my 4th cousin - but I've decided to prune that branch since his recent antics in stetson and spurs.
Gadget
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My Grandma nee Mason was connected somehow to John Wesley.I have yet to trace the full connection.
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It's really very enjoyable to read about the ancestral connections that people have with famous historical characters.
My direct ancestor (James Bayley 1718-1779) was the first cousin to Admiral, Sir John Jervis, who was later ennobled as the Earl of St Vincent after his victory - with the brilliant assistance of Horatio Nelson - against the Spanish off Cape St Vincent in 1797. Nelson was a protege of Jervis and the two were to become great friends, but sadly fell out over prize money.
I also have an ancestor who was mentioned just once by Samuel Pepys in his famous diary. He was John Swynfen who Pepys referred to as that Parliament Man. He was one of many members of Parliament booted out by Cromwell during Pride's Purge.
I wonder if there are any rootschatters related to Cromwell?
Jayson
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Nothing remotely rich or famous on any line that I have looked at yet.
Only real brushes are that my gran went to New Stevenston Primary School, Motherwell with Sir Alexander Gibson and had to help him with his maths. He was a conductor and now has an opera school named after him at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. Don't know of any other brushes other than my mum was a couple of years above Elaine C Smith (Scottish comedian) at primary school.
Gordon
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Hi, apart from my link with King William I also know of another brush with fame in my family, my dad saw the Beatles at the beginning live at the Cavern, how good is that!.
Anna
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I once had a wry smile from Harry Secombe when I told him my dad was a fan of his before I was ;D
Dave
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Great-aunt Emily was a nurse in the household of the Carey Elweses in Lincolnshire, where the composer Percy Grainger wrote much of his music. My only bid for fame in my family tree...
meles
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One of my husband's lines is Dewhurst. I keep looking for the sausage factory but no luck as yet...
;D
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charlie chaplin lived next door to my great grandparents in lambeth when he was a little boy, when his mother was incapacitated, charlie and his brother would get a meal from them, cos they felt so sorry for the boys.
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Nothing remotely rich or famous on any line that I have looked at yet.
Only real brushes are that my gran went to New Stevenston Primary School, Motherwell with Sir Alexander Gibson and had to help him with his maths. He was a conductor and now has an opera school named after him at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. Don't know of any other brushes other than my mum was a couple of years above Elaine C Smith (Scottish comedian) at primary school.
Gordon
Gordon, can you ask your Gran if she remembers the Murray family from Nimmo's Rows, in particular John, my father? He was at school along with Alexander Gibson and I would love to find someone who knew him. Thanks
Jan
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Gordon, can you ask your Gran if she remembers the Murray family from Nimmo's Rows, in particular John, my father? He was at school along with Alexander Gibson and I would love to find someone who knew him. Thanks
Jan
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Hello and Happy Easter from across the pond!
My Aunt told me that my grandmom was friends with Edith Head, famous fashion designer while growing up in Montreal. It wasn't until I started researching her side of the family that I found Edith Head and family on the census down the block from my grandmom.
My gg grandfather Patrick Kearney was a gilder/carver/cabinetmaker and made furniture for the Vanderbilt family in NYC. Oh why couldn't they have adopted him!! ::)
Deborah
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I have a few...almost all are through marriage though. My g-g-g-g-g-aunt Caroline Choppin married Joseph Protheroe, a decendant of welsh royalty(according to a celtic genealogy site on rootsweb, that is), and through the same family, Edward Protheroe, MP for Bristol around the same time(early 1800's)was some sort of cousin, as was an MP for Halifax. There is a possible link by marriage to Frances Nisbit, wife of Horatio Nelson. Another remoter offshoot of my family line, Lydia Bunbury, married Alfred De Vigny, who was a French poet/Playright whom I'd never heard of until then. My great-great uncle James Clement Choppin was Solicitor-General for the caribbean island of Saint Vincent...big fish-small pond. Another slightly more recent offshoot from my direct line was a politician in St Vincent...actually I think two generations were.
Oh, and my 6x great grandparents attended the same church(St Swithin Walcot, Bath) around the same time as Jane Austen and her family. -That might be stretching a connection just a tad but :P
I'm afraid the family doesn't move in such esteemed circles these days ;D
Edited to add a couple.
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My Gran grew up in ST Thomas's in swansea.
She knew Dylan Thomas and his wife - having lived closed to his grandparents
She also knew Harry secombe and remembered him singing in the choir at church.
Grandad whilst away at war was offered a job a WALT Disney by some one high up there but he wouldn't accept as My Nan and Mum couldn't go. Thank goodness or I wouldn't be here.
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"around the same time as Jane Austen and her family"
I've also got a bit of an Austen connection as a branch of my fathers family were from Chawton, Hampshire, one of our distant relations Biggs-Withers, proposed to her there, though was refused. She also mentions the death of another relative, mrs budd, in her diary 1811. It was a small village so I'm sure they all knew eachother, though my rellies would have been considerably down the social scale, as they were simple ag labourers, shepherds and carters.
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Mine is with the Kray Twins. :o :o :o :oAnd it was Richarde79 who helped me find that out.
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Remember it well Ben, wasn't there a possible link to President Johnson as well through your French Huguenots?
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I remember vaguely but cannot remember the exact details. We discussed it on another forum. Something to do with the Moncoutant Huguenots.
Alice Cooper (Vincent Furnier) and Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran have Huguenot ancestry like me.
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My great Auntie Irene knew Max Bygraves during WW2 - she was operative as a WREN. I dont know what Max did but i know there are photos here and there of them together during this period.
Murf
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According to the Anti-Slavery Reporter for 1863, James Clement Choppin , who was attorney general of St Vincent in 1862 had a brother who was accused of murdering a labourer named John Hercules of Argyle Estate on October 4, 1862 during some riots. To the memory of Hercules, I must say that according to the report, he was working at the time and was not rioting. I'm trying to find out the name of this Choppin who was accused. Whether he was brought to justice, I don't know, but chances are he didn't spend one day in jail.
I don't know how all the Choppins are connected in St Vincent, but I'm sure they were in one way or another. On my family tree, there is a Caroline Elizabeth Choppin (my 2nd great grand-aunt) who had a sister named Kay. I don't know who their father was but their mother's first name was Jessie. Caroline (1857-1923), was married to a shipwright named Joseph Burns Bonadie.
I came across this passage a few years ago:
"Joseph & his wife lived in reasonably comfortable circumstances purely by dint of their united industry and hard work, for while the shipwright was building and repairing vessels, his wife Elizabeth, as a fruit and vegetable vendor, supplied with necessary stores many of the ships that called in the port of Kingstown. They worked hard from Monday to Saturday and on Sunday they found themselves in St George's Cathedral for divine worship. They were both very devoted members of the Anglican church."
Source: Pioneers in Nation-Building in a Caribbean Mini-State by Sir Rupert John, pg 101
I have many Choppin names in my database who were from St Vincent. Birth, death, and marriage records from St George's Cathedral.
Any assistance in finding out more about these people would be appreciated.
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Have found a newspaper reference to the "trial" run of the "RMS Olympic", which states that along with Captain Smith and Mr B Ismay, a certain Christopher Tatham was also aboard for the event.
He's more than likely related, somehow, ... but I haven't nutted out how, as yet! The only thing I do know is that he wasn't my gt-grandfather. Gt Grandad was already in Australia by that stage (1910-ish). :-\
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One of my ancestors accompanied King John to Runnymede where he was one of the 25 witnesses to the signing of the Magna Carta.
My daughter saw Jude Law at her son's sports day, and Brad Pitt was staying in the next hotel to us when we were in Falmouth recently. When I was 14 I had a boyfriend who became a famous TV producer. ;D ;D
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I'm getting some fantastic insight on the Europe board from carinthiangirl. (TX for that if you're watching this thread. :))
I may be related to a knight named von Balbronn-Mittelhausen that wore a 1580s prosthetic hand. Check it out in this link.
http://www.myarmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=7161
That must make me famous, ....... right? ::) ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
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A ggg great uncle was the house steward of Earl Spencer.
Some of my ancestors baptisms were performed by Patrick Bronte. Well, he signed the register at least.
Some cousin of one of my ancestors married one of the local mill owners and they left an estate worth a ridiculous amount of money - none of which came our way! :( ;D
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Mine's more on the infamous line.
My grandfather was an estate manager for Oswald Mosley and my great-uncle bought a couple of farms from him.
Dad lived on Mosley land for a while as a child, but can't remember it.
Less infamous: Granddad was also estate manager for Lord Iliffe of Yatterdon.
It was a pity he died before I was born, as I'm sure he had many an interesting tale to tell.
Pebs
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On the other side of the pond (and the other side of the law), the story is that my grandfather hung out with the gangster famous for the St. Valentine's Day massacre, Al Capone. Apparently, grandpa supplied liquor to him from the Canadian side of the border during US prohibition.
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do know anything more about J C Choppins? his parents and his descendants? I'm investigating about his brother who was accused of murder in St Vincent in 1862.
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When my mum was a teacher there was a girl in her class who used to go out with Paul Gadd.
Maybe the girl was wise to break off the relationship - Paul Gadd is better known as Gary Glitter!
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I don't recognize a lot of the names mentioned but then I wonder if these names will be familiar to most of you.
My grandfather shook hands with John Diefenbaker - that was a big deal to him. My sister in law kissed Pierre Trudeau and got a mention in the local paper and my daughter's student teacher when she was in Grade seven was Pierre's son Justin.
all the way from Canada
Vivien
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My great Gran told me we were related to the ex Manchester United goalie Alex Stepney, I managed to find eventually her brother married a Stepney, she was married previously so took me a while to find her.
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My G.Grandfather, had loads of sons, all of whom played cricket for England. His eldest son, who also played for the MCC. I am told that he was cricketer of the year in 1914. Uncle was a friend of Ranjitsinhji, he coached his sons at Wellington college after WW!.
Ernest was killed in WW1 I have not been able to find his brother’s records, but I have a signed picture of him in uniform dated 1918.
I am told that the sons only had daughters, except my Grandma, that son was spoiled as a child by his doting uncles.
My dad used to hang out with all sorts of people, I have a picture of him with Jack Dempsey who looks huge against him, I also found a snap of Jimmy Cagney, when dad died, they had met at some do..
He lived in the USA for about 6-7 years the rest of the time her was in both wars in the RNAS & RAF.before he started his own company which he ran with a partner until he retired after a stroke.
On the other side of the family my OH uncle served with Mountbatten on his ship which was torpedoed off the coast of Malta, we saw a picture of the whole crew in the war museum when we went there on holiday. There was Uncle H bang in the middle of the picture, my OH was thrilled to see him like that.
Rabbit B :D
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Can't remember whether I've posted this before, but ... during WWII, entertainer Bob Hope was in the Antipodes doing his shows, and at one stage his plane developed engine trouble and had to make an emergency landing near Laurieton on the north coast of NSW. Here's a report on it: -
http://www.ozatwar.com/ozcrashes/nsw113.htm
He's not mentioned, but one of the people Mr Hope befriended at the time was my OH's uncle Claude. They were still corresponding - not just cards, I believe, but lovely handwritten letters (wish I knew what had happened to them!!!) when Claude died in March of 1967.
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Hi,
I've just discovered this thread! Where have I been? No idea! But, my Aunty Maud met JDR - John Davidson Rockefeller. I have a photo of them together. I have had the photo verified by the Rockefeller Archive in USA.
My Aunt Maud, also known as Peg, used to work for a family who were close friends of the Rockefellers. That family were known as Treglown but I have not been able to trace them. It is not important so I have not looked far. The photo I have is dated 1925, a long time ago. Just wanted to share this info.
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That's exciting! The Treglowns were Pretty wealthy themselves. They shouldn't be hard to trace even for the sake of giving some context to the photo. What a great hunt that would be!
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Well, I did ask those kind people at the Rockefeller Archive and they did not know of the Treglowns, but then they have no obligation to tell me anything.
It would be good to find anything about them, as you say, to give some context to the photo. I have given up my own searches into my family tree and am not paying into any genealogy website any more. To join up with one again just to find the Treglowns is not worth it, but as you say, it would be a great hunt though.
Maybe something could be found now on wiki as it is ages ago since I last looked. Only welsh names came up then.
P.S. In my original post I wrongly spelt the middle part of JDR's name. It should be, of course, Davison, and not Davidson.
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Hi, William the Conqueror is my 27 times greatuncle, honestly!.
And he's my 28th ggrandfather. So we would seem to be cousins of a sort. Also to the Queen.
And I've never even seen her :P
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Hi, William the Conqueror is my 27 times greatuncle, honestly!.
And he's my 28th ggrandfather. So we would seem to be cousins of a sort. Also to the Queen.
And I've never even seen her :P
8) China! My G.Grandfather can trace his lineage back to W-the-C too [what an unfortunate set of initials!] ::)
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;)
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Rabbit! We're cousins! ;D
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Rabbit! We're cousins! ;D
How lovely! thanks Cuz, Happy New Year, I confess that I had not thought of that
Brilliant that had made my day!!! 8)
I forgot to mention that OH Cuz is married to a descendant of the Mutiny on the Bounty Rebels, that my other Cuz married a descendant of Robert Devereux favourite of Elizabeth 1.
Oh by the way I met the Queen Mother & the King during the war, at Windsor Castle. very beautiful she was too in those days
Rabbit B ;D
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My husband's great grandfather had a close friendship with Lord Gowrie, the Governor of South Australia and later the Governor General of Australia. Lord Gowrie and great grandfather used to go fishing together when they were young boys in Pencaitland, Scotland. Great grandfather Ritchie emigrated to Australia, settling in Renmark. Nearly 50 years later, Lord Gowrie was on an official visit to Renmark and ggRitchie met up with him. Lord Gowrie kept in contact with ggRitchie and made a point of having afternoon tea with his old friend whenever he made visits to the area.
When my husband's mother was aged about 10 years (1940), she along with her sister, wrote a letter to Lady Gowrie asking her if she would pass on to Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret letters that they had written. We have a reply from Lady Gowrie saying that she would but the princesses were very busy and may not have time to reply. The princess did in fact reply, sending postcards back. One was blank and the other did have writing on the back from Princess Elizabeth. My husband's mother treasured this postcard and had this in her possession up until the time she went into a nursing home 3 years ago. Unfortunately one of her sons was going through some of her personal papers and came across the postcard and not knowing what this was put it through the shredder.
Luckily we have the signed letter from Lady Gowrie, the blank postcard (a picture of a very young Princess Margaret on the front), telegrams from Lord Gowrie sent on the death of g grandmother and g grandfather Ritchie, and also copies of a number of newspaper articles from the local paper that give details of Lord and Lady Gowrie's friendship with our ancestor.
Kaybron
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Following the recent George V/Queen Mary programmes on the Beeb, we did a bit of digging here and came up with this pic of my paternal grandfather shaking hands with Queen Mary at Malmesbury Abbey in 1926!