RootsChat.Com
General => The Common Room => The Lighter Side => Topic started by: Hackstaple on Tuesday 14 June 11 13:53 BST (UK)
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In the early days of Rootschat we were often delighted by the many new members who proudly claimed that they could prove descent from Charlemagne or Eleanor of Acquitaine. They made great entertainment for us descendants of ag labs.
Those people seem to have disappeared and these days we only have the occasional descendant of Mary Queen of Scots or George IV although there a few who tell us that their Nan claimed descent from some noble house's heir or heiress who eloped and was cut off without the proverbial shilling.
All the glamour is gone and we should have a thread wherein one can claim any manufactured descent at all. My own family is very ancient although most of our records were lost in the Flood, and we never found out what Edward confessed to have done but I know for sure that I am a direct descendant of King Alfred's standard bearer Aethelstan the Mighty who was in turn descended from, either Gog or Magog - we never sorted out which.
Who do you claim?
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My father claimed his middle name, Llewellyn, and his great-grandfather's middle name, Glendower, related to us being descended from the last native-born Prince of Wales.
Does that count?
(ps - nobody's been able to prove it yet)
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My m-i-l claims she descended from the Stanhopes & has an old tree to substantiate it. I've not done anything to verify the tree as yet, but her brother's middle name was Stanhope. ;D
I had a PM on An****ry from a very, very distant cousin. He claims that our common 2x great grandmother descended from Charlemagne. All I found when I set out to validate that was that 2x great granmother had an illegitimate child that had been raised by her mother, and that her mother was an illegitimate child whose grandmother was noted on the census as "pauper". ;D
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I just finished reading a book on genetics, and I'm now almost certain that my earliest human ancestor was living in Africa over 100,000 years ago, and he was descended from . . . a single-celled organism that lived in the sea.
I still have a few gaps to fill in though ;)
Mike.
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Someone years ago from the Briggs side of the family said that our line of Briggs's were descended from William de Brage ( no idea how to spell it) who came over to England with William the Conqueror. No idea how they think that as I've struggled to prove properly back to pre 1837!!
Mind the same person said that the grandfather had been born in a house half in Scotland, half in England. Nearest I've found to that is Coniston in the Lake District or Bellingham, Northumberland neither of which could be said to be half in Scotland. Perhaps if I crack the brick wall I might manage to get someone nearer the Scottish border :) I have a feeling I'll never get back to 1066 and all that. :)
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I just finished reading a book on genetics, and I'm now almost certain that my earliest human ancestor was living in Africa over 100,000 years ago, and he was descended from . . . a single-celled organism that lived in the sea.
I still have a few gaps to fill in though ;)
Mike.
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
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I was very nearly a descendent of Charlemagne through the Potts line of family ... Until I realized I'd done the whole line wrong :'( :'(
How ever, a researcher of the Durant side of my family says one of my very great great grandmother's was king James illegitimate daughter... So I may still become Queen! ;D
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Funny this should come up today.... as I only recently spoke to a close cousin, who had been informed by his Mother... that we 'Sutherlands' own half of Scotland???!
Well there you go.. I knew it all along, but kept it secret ;D ;D ;)... (like I have about the tuth of our heritage.. I think he would freak if he knew that??!? :-X ::))
xin
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I just finished reading a book on genetics, and I'm now almost certain that my earliest human ancestor was living in Africa over 100,000 years ago, and he was descended from . . . a single-celled organism that lived in the sea.
I still have a few gaps to fill in though ;)
Mike.
ah, but was it a blue cell? ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
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Funny this should come up today.... as I only recently spoke to a close cousin, who had been informed by his Mother... that we 'Sutherlands' own half of Scotland???!
Well there you go.. I knew it all along, but kept it secret ;D ;D ;)... (like I have about the tuth of our heritage.. I think he would freak if he knew that??!? :-X ::))
xin
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that might be so - but we Mackenzie's are supposed to be descended from a Viking King lol ;D
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F-i-l claims that they are descended from the Murray's of Blair Atholl (The Duke of Atholl is the only person in the United Kingdom allowed to have and maintain a private 'Army'). Family lore has it that F-i-l's branch of ancestors were exiled to the Outer Hebrides for "bad behaviour".
In slightly more recent times F-i-l's grandfather, Angus, was supposed to have been someone important in Tullibardine Distillery, and he, along with his brother, took the recipe to Ireland. This led to a rift between them and the rest of the family.
Angus and his brother, John, did indeed make the move to Ireland and they were both Brewer's and Distiller's.
Both the Blair Atholl and Tullibardine MURRAY clans can be traced back to Hugh Freskin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freskin), a Flemish noble man who was granted extensive lands in Moray and took the name "de Moravia".
They might be but I can't get past Donald MURRAY (son of John MURRAY & Ann MacLEOD) bp 1804 in Stornoway.
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I descend from a couple called Adam and Eve. ;)
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Funny this should come up today.... as I only recently spoke to a close cousin, who had been informed by his Mother... that we 'Sutherlands' own half of Scotland???!
Well there you go.. I knew it all along, but kept it secret ;D ;D ;)... (like I have about the tuth of our heritage.. I think he would freak if he knew that??!? :-X ::))
xin
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that might be so - but we Mackenzie's are supposed to be descended from a Viking King lol ;D
The Mackenzies have an older claim than that going back to a 5th century king named Loarn mac Eirc. That would make you a very distant cousin of MacBeth.
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I descend from a couple called Adam and Eve. ;)
I DO NOT Adam'n'Eve it! :P
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Well I think I'm descended from King Louis ...................
Err that's "I'm the King of the Jungle, a jungle VIP ...................."
Everyone sing along now
Now I'm the king of the swingers
Oh, the jungle VIP
I've reached the top and had to stop
And that's what botherin' me
I wanna be a man, mancub
And stroll right into town
And be just like the other men
I'm tired of monkeyin' around!
Oh, oobee doo
I wanna be like you
I wanna walk like you
Talk like you, too
You'll see it's true
An ape like me
Can learn to be humen too
( Gee, cousin Louie
You're doin' real good
Now here's your part of the deal, cuz
Lay the secret on me of man's red fire
But I don't know how to make fire )
Now don't try to kid me, mancub
I made a deal with you
What I desire is man's red fire
To make my dream come true
Give me the secret, mancub
Clue me what to do
Give me the power of man's red flower
So I can be like you
You!
I wanna be like you
I wanna talk like you
Walk like you, too
You'll see it's true
Someone like me
Can learn to be
Like someone like me
Can learn to be
Like someone like you
Can learn to be
Like someone like me!
;)
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Funny this should come up today.... as I only recently spoke to a close cousin, who had been informed by his Mother... that we 'Sutherlands' own half of Scotland???!
Well there you go.. I knew it all along, but kept it secret ;D ;D ;)... (like I have about the tuth of our heritage.. I think he would freak if he knew that??!? :-X ::))
xin
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that might be so - but we Mackenzie's are supposed to be descended from a Viking King lol ;D
The Mackenzies have an older claim than that going back to a 5th century king named Loarn mac Eirc. That would make you a very distant cousin of MacBeth.
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I can't get back further than 1776 so I'm not anticipating I'll be making any blue blood claims ;D
re the supposed Danish connection ... last year I decided to blow up a small old photo of my father in his late 30's and was totally taken aback by how like Prince Philip at the same age he looked. It's probably the lighting as he always looked like himself with similar familial features as his brothers of course.
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Well, my Gtx3 grandfather's sister's husband's father's great nephew was a miner by the name of Middleton.
A few generations on and that makes me related to our Kate.
I'm not sure what position in line the throne that makes me but it has to be close - doesn't it?
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I'm not sure what position in line the throne that makes me but it has to be close - doesn't it?
I bet someone on RC will have worked it out before the day's over ;D
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I have two ancestors who claimed to be of Royal Descent.
My greatx5 grandmother, Helen Lascelles (c.1758-c.1841), claimed to be related to most of the gentry/lairds in Buchan through the Lascelles - even claiming to be head of the House of Noble, and the Hereditary Constable of Broadsea. Her mother was, though, an illegitimate daughter of John Gordon who was, in turn, a grandson of William Fraser, the 12th Lord Saltoun of Abernethy. Her mother's claim seems to hold some water. Helen Lascelles claimed her mother was left £10 in John Gordon's will and sure enough, £10 was left to his natural daughter in his will. He left the bulk of his estate to his nephew, Lord Saltoun. Through the branches of the Fraser family the first monarch you encounter is King James IV of Scotland - reigned 1488-1513.
My greatx7 grandfather, William Rose (1740-1807), claimed to be a descendent of the Rose family of Kilravock. He was a noted genealogist and was able to prove his connection to the Kilravocks (he wrote to the Clan Chief who agreed with William's research). William Rose was the Factor to the Earl of Fife and was apparently a bit up himself. He had a coat of arms commissioned and, when relations turned sour between him and the Earl (Rose tried to sue Fife), he was ridiculed for his desperate attempts at portraying himself as a genry gentleman with his distant connections to the Kilravocks.
So if those two ancestors' claims are correct, there is lots of blue blood in me!
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I was feeling a bit left out for a moment, but had a look at Ancestry Member Trees. Where would we be without them? Apparently I can claim Charlemagne King of the Franks as an ancestor. I feel so much better now :)
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I want to be related to one Jamie Fraser, of Lallybroch, super gorgeous hunk of a man who is head of Clan Fraser in Scotland, and the hero in the "Voyager or Outlander" Crosstitch, series of historical novels written by Diana Gabaldon!
I even went on a search for him in Scotland a few years ago!! ::) ::) Sighhhh!!! Mmmmm!! Gorgeous!!
Jeanne (still looking for Jamie) ;D
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I want to be related to one Jamie Fraser, of Lallybroch, super gorgeous hunk of a man who is head of Clan Fraser in Scotland, and the hero in the "Voyager or Outlander" Crosstitch, series of historical novels written by Diana Gabaldon!
I even went on a search for him in Scotland a few years ago!! ::) ::) Sighhhh!!! Mmmmm!! Gorgeous!!
Jeanne (still looking for Jamie) ;D
I want to be related to Julia Roberts but I guess I'll have to keep on dreaming. ::)
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Family lore has it that there is French blood somewhere in our line.
Could that be Napoleon? We share the height thing!!
No. Probably Guillaume of Normandy - William the Conqueror to you lot!! ;D ;D ;D
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I have quite a few earls and knights on one branch of my tree - pity that eventually the male line I am descended from was not that of the eldest son so no riches for us. For instance my 22 x g.grandfather was William III d'Aubigny, Earl of Arundel. He died in Italy during the 5th crusade. His body was brought home to England and he was buried in Wymondham Abbey, presumably in a family vault. His eldest child (a daughter) was my 21 x g.grandmother.
When William III died, Arundel Castle was passed to his first son who died and finally to his last son (Hugh d'Aubigny). In 1242 Hugh d’Aubigny the last of the male line died. His youngest sister Isabel married John FitzAlan of Clun, Arundel Castle and earldom was passed onto him. Not sure why Isabel and her husband gained Arundel Castle and the title as my 21 x g.grandmother, the eldest sister, and her husband who was Lord of Dudley were still alive. Must visit Arundel Castle one of these days to look at the portraits to see if there is a family likeness ;D ;D ;D
Lizzie
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I have quite a few earls and knights on one branch of my tree - pity that eventually the male line I am descended from was not that of the eldest son so no riches for us. For instance my 22 x g.grandfather was William III d'Aubigny, Earl of Arundel. He died in Italy during the 5th crusade. His body was brought home to England and he was buried in Wymondham Abbey, presumably in a family vault. His eldest child (a daughter) was my 21 x g.grandmother.
When William III died, Arundel Castle was passed to his first son who died and finally to his last son (Hugh d'Aubigny). In 1242 Hugh d’Aubigny the last of the male line died. His youngest sister Isabel married John FitzAlan of Clun, Arundel Castle and earldom was passed onto him. Not sure why Isabel and her husband gained Arundel Castle and the title as my 21 x g.grandmother, the eldest sister, and her husband who was Lord of Dudley were still alive. Must visit Arundel Castle one of these days to look at the portraits to see if there is a family likeness ;D ;D ;D
Lizzie
I think that John FitzAlan succeeded to Hugh's title because he was his nephew. Isabel was his mother, not his wife.
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I was cross because many years ago, someone took a GEDCOM I gave in confidence, and published the tree on a public site.
He then proceeded to add to it. According to him, I am directly descended to the man who planned the murder of Thomas a Becket, and I am related to William the Conqueror! I am royal! :o
That all rather supposes that my gggggg grandfather sired a child at 11 years old... ::)
meles
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I think that John FitzAlan succeeded to Hugh's title because he was his nephew. Isabel was his mother, not his wife.
Oops, yes you are correct, John FitzAlan was Hugh's nephew not his brother in law. I guess his other siblings didn't produce any sons and having re-arranged William III's children in correct order on my tree I see that my 21 x g.gran was the younger sister of Isabel, so although she had a son (not my line unfortunately) he would not have been 1st in line for the title. C'est la vie ;D
Lizzie
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I was cross because many years ago, someone took a GEDCOM I gave in confidence, and published the tree on a public site.
He then proceeded to add to it. According to him, I am directly descended to the man who planned the murder of Thomas a Becket, and I am related to William the Conqueror! I am royal! :o
That all rather supposes that my gggggg grandfather sired a child at 11 years old... ::)
meles
Better watch me Ps and Qs with you then. ::)
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i know im related to a few of the lords and ladies of the land i just cant prove the link yet. my father is a moore and his great grand unlce was given the middlenames saville foljambe with the surname moore. it didnt take a lot fo research to find out about francis ferrand moore, and the saville foljambe family, but as yet i cant find where this noble family tie in, other than a great great uncle moore having the saville foljameb name given to him. (his parents were wiliam and mary i think off the top of my head!)
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I am related to The Krays Twins who acted as lords of The East End in the 1950s and 1960s.
I have a surname which is rare and there was a lord of the manor in the 1200s. Titshall lords of Herringfleet.
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I am related to The Krays Twins who acted as lords of The East End in the 1950s and 1960s.
i have found out recently that a cousin of mine was married to the best friend and closest confidant of a richardson of the richardson gang. (not sure which brother it was though) so does that make us sworn enemies and rivals then ;D ;D
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I am related to The Krays Twins who acted as lords of The East End in the 1950s and 1960s.
i have found out recently that a cousin of mine was married to the best friend and closest confidant of a richardson of the richardson gang. (not sure which brother it was though) so does that make us sworn enemies and rivals then ;D ;D
Might do. :D
In 1804 the Kray Twins ancestor Mary Obey wed in 1804 and one of the witnesses was my ancestor Samuel Obey. Samuel also witnessed a few other of his childrens marriages. His signature was pretty much bang on in all of them. And when Mary Obey's daughter wed in 1827 my 1783 born ancestor's brother William Obey witnessed the wedding.
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A distant relative of mine (we share the same gt-gt-gt-grandparents) claims on her extensive online family tree to be descended from the kings of England and Scotland. Her tree goes right back to the 5th century AD. This may well be true, but strangely she hasn't yet managed to get my birth date and those of my husband and children right and has made us at least 10 years older than we are. >:( It would have been so easy for her to check on FreeBMD, which makes me wonder how many other errors she has made.
Gillg
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My Dad was told by his father that they were descended from John Bunyan.
This is absolutely true, John Bunyan is my ancestor. Just not that John Bunyan.
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WellI can well and truly claim to have blue blood - Billy was my ggg grandfather.
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
And if Adam and Eve were the first humans then we all must be descended from them.
But tell me, if Adam and Eve had two sons Cain and Abel and maybe a daughter, was incest not a sin in those days?
Otherwise, how then did Cain and Abel get to have progeny?
Dawn M
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I love that word Progeny......
uhhhm that does make you wonder... doesnt it...
xin ;D ;D ;D
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And if Adam and Eve were the first humans then we all must be descended from them.
But tell me, if Adam and Eve had two sons Cain and Abel and maybe a daughter, was incest not a sin in those days?
Otherwise, how then did Cain and Abel get to have progeny?
You don't need to have sex to have babies in the Bible. Remember Jesus?
Maybe there was a similar arrangement... :P
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You mean there was divine intervention?
::) ::) ::) :P
Dawn M
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Might not be blue blood but I may be related to President Johnson as we have ancestors from the same French village in the early 1700s.
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Might not be blue blood but I may be related to President Johnson as we have ancestors from the same French village in the early 1700s.
Andrew Johnson or Lyndon B Johnson?
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Might not be blue blood but I may be related to President Johnson as we have ancestors from the same French village in the early 1700s.
Andrew Johnson or Lyndon B Johnson?
I didn't know there were two Mr Johnson's. I may be related to Lyndon.
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Might not be blue blood but I may be related to President Johnson as we have ancestors from the same French village in the early 1700s.
Andrew Johnson or Lyndon B Johnson?
I didn't know there were two Mr Johnson's. I may be related to Lyndon.
Interestingly enough, both Johnstons were vice-presidents to presidents who were assassinated - Lincoln and Kennedy.
Something for Obama to consider should he change his running-mate in 2012...
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Does pale blue count ?
I've got tentative Pomeroy links (i.e. via some of those Ancestry trees !) to Wm the Conq ... but so do most people on RootsChat ... so that gives me thousands of unknown distant cousins !
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Well....
... I've been researching for years and years and the evidence is very strong! Ancestors are either definitely ag labs or similar marching back into time OR the line stops with a question mark because no-one know who the baby's father is...
BUT
my brother says that that the portrait in the Courtaulds of people with our surname looks exactly like him - so we're not ag labs at all ;D
we're slave traders...
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Might not be blue blood but I may be related to President Johnson as we have ancestors from the same French village in the early 1700s.
Andrew Johnson or Lyndon B Johnson?
I didn't know there were two Mr Johnson's. I may be related to Lyndon.
Interestingly enough, both Johnstons were vice-presidents to presidents who were assassinated - Lincoln and Kennedy.
Something for Obama to consider should he change his running-mate in 2012...
http://www.txgenweb2.org/txblanco/lbj.htm the ancestors of Lyndon B Johnson
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Hi,
Apparently, according to a cousin of mine who is researching one of the same lines as myself , my own G G grandmother was sister to sir George Stuart White, and daughter of James White - (pity nobody told my GG Granny and her farmer dad Robert that, who were living no-where quite as grand as old George's home - Although they probably wouldn't have minded living with him , better than their shack I suppose) . Apparently, according to cousin's website I am also related to Robert Stewart II, King of Scotland ;D - and goodness knows who else, I give up!
I have come across many people around the globe quoting the cousin's website as factual and adding the lines to their own trees, some of these same people are also talking of DNA testing -it's quite comical .If the said cousin obtained just one mere BMD cert along their way , it would be far cheaper for some of those poor people around the globe who are quoting the website , who are now going for DNA tests because of it .
I have been tempted to contact some of these people that are quoting cousin's website to point out their huge mistakes armed with all of my documents and certs , but that same temptation passes very quickly to be replaced with "I can't be bothered" . If they want to do research that way, oh well it's good for entertainment . I'll just stick to obtaining hard documentation for our noble farmers , which have taken me years to get this far, not five minutes internet copying research. I haven't got my tree on the net, and never will put it on there.
Having said that though, King James may well be a far off distant relative of mine ::) , but so is the orangutan and the chimpanzee, which I feel are far, far more interesting relatives to have than kings and queens.
I wish that these people would look at hard documented evidence and not draw up lines based 100% on internet search, copying internet family trees and personal homepages, treating them as factual.
Kind Regards :)
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I suppose in time, if not already, there will be more wrong trees on the 'net than right ones ... :-\
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Having said that though, King James may well be a far off distant relative of mine ::) , but so is the orangutan and the chimpanzee, which I feel are far, far more interesting relatives to have than kings and queens.
LOL well said Cell!
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I think that Cell has already answered the question that I was going to put, which was 'Where on EARTH do people find out who their 25xg great grandfather was?!' I've got as far as the 1790s with my lot and am finding it almost impossible to work out who the next generation backwards might have been - know for sure, that is; I can guess as much as I like!
It's very consoling to read here about the grand tradition of ag labs amongst us. All I ever get when I tell people I'm doing the family tree is 'Did you find any money yet?' Er, no. In fact the only money in my tree lies with a self made millionaire second cousin who doesn't seem all that interested in family trees. At least, I think that's why he never did answer my letter to him.........!
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Descent from Scottish clan chieftains is very hard to prove since all followers bore or adopted the same surname. So you may be descended from The MacDonald but you might also be descended from his cook.
So, not all Stuarts or Stewarts are related by blood to the royal Stuarts. In England & Wales we see the same position with Tudors of whom very few have a blood relationship with Owen Twdr. Few Stanleys are related to the Earl of Derby and so on.
Merchants of the era of Elizabeth and Henry VIII were often knighted or even ennobled for services rendered and adopted more prestigious surnames, perhaps those of defunct families.
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I could not agree more Hackstaple! ;D Documentary evidence is thin on the ground in many claimed Clan connections. ;)
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I have an ancestor called John Stewart from Selkirk.
Lyndon B Johnson had an ancestor called Louis Ogier born 1726 in Moncoutant in Poitou in France, the same village my ancestor Francis Fradin came from and Francis was born in 1724.
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A very interesting Scottish genealogical story is that of the Sobieski Stuart brothers who became famous in Scotland about 1840. They claimed to be descended from the Young Pretender and a mistress a Countess Sobieski - a very prestigious Polish name. The whole story was nonsense - they were not even Scots but the sons of a Welsh farmer. When that was discovered they claimed they were his foster sons put with him for safety.
The scam went much further. They wrote a whole fictitious genealogy of the major Scots clans and even published a book which described the "traditional" clan tartans, profusely illustratedthough uncoloured. 45 years later a reprint was made with hand colouring - I have over 20 of those original plates. The clan tartans were entirely made up as no such patterns existed but were readily adopted by the clans chiefs and became official ever afterwards.
The brothers were responsible for a revival of Gaelic that had long since slumped into decline.
Most of the genealogies were also nonsense although the direct linear descendants of kings were a little more accurate.
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I have an ancestor called John Stewart from Selkirk.
My mother was Mary Stewart descended (proven) from the Stewarts of Thornhill near Doune Castle that doesn't mean she had any relationship to Mary Queen of Scots ;D ;) :P
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Hi Hackstaple
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sobieski_Stuarts
As far as I can make out they seem to have had English parents,some of the children, including themselves were born in Wales - the mother was English, and I take a guess the father was too born in England, being a naval officer , and especially with a name like Allen.
I can sort of remember this story from history lessons back in my schooling years in Wales
Don't blame the Welsh for these two pretenders - it was the English ;D
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I have an ancestor called John Stewart from Selkirk.
My mother was Mary Stewart descended (proven) from the Stewarts of Thornhill near Doune Castle that doesn't mean she had any relationship to Mary Queen of Scots ;D ;) :P
I wasn't saying I am trying to prove a link to royalty was I? I was just saying I have a Scottish Stewart line and research them because they are my ancestors not to try and find a royal link.
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I have an ancestor called John Stewart from Selkirk.
My mother was Mary Stewart descended (proven) from the Stewarts of Thornhill near Doune Castle that doesn't mean she had any relationship to Mary Queen of Scots ;D ;) :P
I wasn't saying I am trying to prove a link to royalty was I? I was just saying I have a Scottish Stewart line and research them because they are my ancestors not to try and find a royal link.
Didn't say you were, did I? :)
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I was feeling a bit left out for a moment, but had a look at Ancestry Member Trees. Where would we be without them? Apparently I can claim Charlemagne King of the Franks as an ancestor. I feel so much better now :)
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lol ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
I sometimes bleed blue blood - it just depends whereabouts I cut myself ;D ;D ;D
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My grandfather's 3rd cousin married someone who was descended from Robert the Bruce on one side and from various bigwigs including Earl Grey on t'other. That's the same Grey who had the illegitimate child with Georgiana, duchess of Devonshire, who was a Spencer by birth - same family as Princess Diana.
No, I didn't look all that up myself, Burke's Peerage is a wonderful resource! ;D
With such close royal connections, I can't think why I didn't get a wedding invite recently!
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Hi All...
My grt grandmother was the grandly named Emily Elizabeth Gertrude Fitzjohn. Fitzjohn appears with links to many royal lines since William I. However not the easiest to trace back from Hertfordshire. After 1780 who knows........ maybe back to the Plantagenets and Geoffrey of Anjou.So far all its got me is a right royal headache.......
Tazzie
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One of the Sobieski Stuart hand coloured lthographs - Alexander Ruadh