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General => The Common Room => The Lighter Side => Topic started by: GRACELAND on Saturday 24 July 04 19:36 BST (UK)

Title: famous !!!
Post by: GRACELAND on Saturday 24 July 04 19:36 BST (UK)
 :)
        HI,
           Just read post have you found some one famous ?
 
       Well say you could have some one famous in your tree
         who ?
         why ?
         and say you had a murderer ect in your tree
        would you tell any one ??
          ;D
Title: Re: famous !!!
Post by: Joy Dean on Saturday 24 July 04 20:20 BST (UK)
some one famous - would have to be Elvis!!!

 8)
 :)
Joy
Title: Re: famous !!!
Post by: Darcy on Saturday 24 July 04 21:11 BST (UK)
If I was related to Hans Christian Anderson I might be better at spinning fairy stories!! ;D ;D ;D

As regards the murderer - if he was pretty far back in my tree I would probably admit to him - if fairly recent - no way!  ::)

Cheers
Aaron ;)
Title: Re: famous !!!
Post by: GRACELAND on Wednesday 28 July 04 15:44 BST (UK)
 :D  Just A thought here !!!
          HAS ANY ONE FOUND IN THERE TREES A BIG BAD CRIME
     ONE OF YOUR RELATIONS HAS MADE ????? :-\
Title: Re: famous !!!
Post by: Kazza on Wednesday 28 July 04 16:23 BST (UK)
Hi Graceland,

I think I have a murderer in my tree,  he has the surname,  an unusual one,  and is in the right vicinity,  but I am yet to positively link him into my tree,  to be honest I have not tried all that hard either.  :-\

Kazza.
Title: Re: famous !!!
Post by: GRACELAND on Wednesday 28 July 04 16:28 BST (UK)
 ;D          kazza,
                             When you find this murderer will you tell us all  ? ?  ?
                                                         
                                          or will you keep him too you self  ? ? ?
                                                               ;D
                                                keep searching ! :D
Title: Re: famous !!!
Post by: Little Nell on Wednesday 28 July 04 18:06 BST (UK)
Well, I recently discovered why a 2x gt uncle was in Pentonville in 1901: he assaulted a police officer who tried to arrest him for allegedly stealing a pony and cart.  Apparently uncle head-butted the unfortunate policeman, then after a struggle, tripped him up and held him to the ground with his knee.  "He seized him by the throat with one hand and with the other seized him in a dangerous place."   :o

On the other side of the family is the conman who tried to claim he was the heir to a baronetcy.  Big court case in 1853.  His undoing was a clever policeman and a jeweller in London reading the reports of the case and coming forward to give evidence.  He might be a cousin of some degree.

I think the description here needs to be infamous!!

Nell
Title: Re: famous !!!
Post by: GRACELAND on Wednesday 28 July 04 19:10 BST (UK)
see thats the tales we like too read about  ;)
                  THANKS for that one NELL ... :D
Title: Re: famous !!!
Post by: Jacquie on Thursday 29 July 04 16:59 BST (UK)
Hi everyone,

We don't have anyone in our family tree that was famous for committing a crime, (well not that I have found yet) but we have someone that was probably famous for a couple week for being murdered.   The reason that she might have been famous is that she was murdered for being a witch.  Stabbed with a pitchfork in 1875.  Witches we know to frequent the area since at least the Tudor times and probably long before that so it is written.

My daughter and I have fun telling everyone that we have a witch in the family.  Of course we have the documents to prove all of this.

Regards Jacquie.
Title: Re: famous !!!
Post by: GRACELAND on Thursday 29 July 04 17:05 BST (UK)
 :) What a great story i bet you like that one in your tree ?
         ;D   This is another good reason for researching your tree too find things like a witch in the family
                   Great thanks for sharing that with us  :D
Title: Re: famous !!!
Post by: Kazza on Wednesday 04 August 04 22:52 BST (UK)
;D          kazza,
                             When you find this murderer will you tell us all  ? ?  ?
                                                         
                                          or will you keep him too you self  ? ? ?
                                                               ;D
                                                keep searching ! :D

Sorry,

I read this reply but forgot to reply to you.

My murderer is William Hole executed at Bristol Prison in 1876 for the murder of his wife Alice. William was born in Bridgewater about 1825.  I am going to find out if he is one of mine before I investigate further.

Kazza.   ;D
Title: Re: famous !!!
Post by: MrsLizzy on Thursday 05 August 04 13:41 BST (UK)
My husband has a distant cousin who early in the last century regularly made the Times, in a long-running court case and PR war with an MP called Horatio Bottomley.   Bottomley had organised a sort of fundraising share issue meant to raise money for the War and also provide a return for investors.  Reuben Bigland reckoned Mr Bottomley was not being entirely straightforward, shall we say, and publicly denounced him.  This led Bottomley to bring an action against our Reuben for libel, and sue for damages.  The case was tried in the High Court, I think, and saw many twists and turns.   Both protaganists attempted to have each other imprisoned for contempt of court, but finally Bigland was acquitted of libel, no damages awarded, obviously, and Bottomley was arrested and charged with fraud, of which he was eventually found guilty.  Bottomley went bankrupt and only came out of prison a few years before his death.

Apparently a book was written about Bigland and Bottomley, both of whom were thought to be "scoundrels".
Title: Re: famous !!!
Post by: GRACELAND on Friday 03 September 04 18:04 BST (UK)
SO are you following in the family line a .
                                    Scoundrel !!!
                                           ;D ;D
Title: Re: famous !!!
Post by: Annahannah on Thursday 14 October 04 21:09 BST (UK)
:D  Just A thought here !!!
          HAS ANY ONE FOUND IN THERE TREES A BIG BAD CRIME
     ONE OF YOUR RELATIONS HAS MADE ????? :-\

The most heinous crime on  my tree, that I have any documentation of, is an 8xG grandfather being convicted of "sheltering a stranger" and being fined 10s.

I have others, but he's the only one I can prove yet  ;D

Anna
Title: Re: famous !!!
Post by: lindagene on Thursday 14 October 04 23:19 BST (UK)
Well.... one hardly likes to admit to this, but according to my G Aunt, a distant relation was the last female to be sent to Devils Island for killing her husband,    I have tried looking up Devils Island on the web for confirmation of the name, but have found nothing.     My other half has been very respectful of me since I found out about this!!!    Lindy. :-X
Title: Re: famous !!!
Post by: Annahannah on Thursday 14 October 04 23:56 BST (UK)
Well.... one hardly likes to admit to this, but according to my G Aunt, a distant relation was the last female to be sent to Devils Island for killing her husband,    I have tried looking up Devils Island on the web for confirmation of the name, but have found nothing.     My other half has been very respectful of me since I found out about this!!!    Lindy. :-X

I'll trade you infamous ancestors!

Anna
Title: Re: famous !!!
Post by: teddybear1843 on Saturday 16 October 04 21:51 BST (UK)
I have!  I have! 

One of my discoveries was that an "uncle" was born before my ancestor was married but...........In Norwich Castle which was the County Jail at the time.

I went through the Records in the Records Office but there was nothing so I went through the Lynn News & Advertiser for the nine months before the birth and.....there she was along with her father, mother and two sisters.

To cut a very long and interesting story shorter....the whole family were done for manslaughter and all the women except one of the sisters who was only 13, were put in the Castle for nine months hard labour and the father was put in for one year.

I know more about this family than most of my others because the paper reported on loads of details and the Assize records gave details.  I later discovered the prison records and descriptions of these ancestors etc

If this had been a few years later there could have been mug shots too as a load of them have recently been put into the Record Office from the Prison.

Sometimes it is better to have criminals as ancestors, you find out more about them!!!!!

Next subject, I have a case of father/daughter incest in the mid 18th century, anyone else found that sort of awful thing?

Teddybear1843
Title: Re: famous !!!
Post by: billgam on Sunday 17 October 04 08:17 BST (UK)
Hi All.

Nothing like some of yours but according to family legend one of my ancestors was convicted of stealing a pig and deported to Australia. (still to research)
Not wishing to cast a slur on all Aussies but one I met a few years ago left me wondering why the kept my ancestor and allowed the pig to come back.

Bill
Title: Re: famous !!!
Post by: Shanko on Sunday 17 October 04 15:09 BST (UK)
;D          kazza,
                             When you find this murderer will you tell us all  ? ?  ?
                                                         
                                          or will you keep him too you self  ? ? ?
                                                               ;D
                                                keep searching ! :D

You can always pick your friends but relatives you cant. So no matter what even if you do have a nasty pasty in your family they are still blood. I dont see why any one would cover it up and keep it quiet, its not like you did the murder etc yourself.
Now for my bad boys, my fathers fathers brother was a phychopathic killer, and my other blood relative has done everything you could imagine, been to many prisons BUT never ever harmed any innocent people and that I can guarantee. I dont agree with what they did but its done and I cant change it, nobody can and why should I feel ashamed or bad just coz they are blood? Like I said I didnt do those things and they are still my blood relative.

Actually to tell you the truth Im more ashamed of other ancestors, I have one occupation as an Ivory Polisher :( and another a Whalebone Cutter :(

Oh and me I wagged school and went to a shopping centre and stole a chocolate bar when I was 12 and got in BIG trouble, I made up the excuse to the police that I got the chocolate bar for mum and dads anniversary (mum and dad were divorced!). Mum would never of known but the police INSISTED they take me home in their police car. I was sprung big time
Title: Re: famous !!!
Post by: Su on Sunday 17 October 04 18:39 BST (UK)
I had two Yarwood brothers who stole a length of cloth and were deported to Australia, and another Yarwood was found on the Black Sheep Index in 1881, but I don't know what he did.  As he was a Blacksmith he was probably done for being drunk in charge of an Anvil and Bellows.

Su  PS. I am back home after nearly a month away...Yippee ! 
Title: Re: famous !!!
Post by: Fitty on Sunday 17 October 04 19:36 BST (UK)
It's good to have you back Su  ;D

I found a couple of Baxendales on the Black Sheep site, but rather than pay, i'll check them out next time i,m at the library and scan the newspapers.

And i was once too caught stealing. I was about 7-8 at the time.  The local greengrocer had all his fruit out side his shop on a big table.  There i was on my hands and knees crawling under the table and reaching up to nick a pear.  what i did'nt know was my mum was across the road in another shop watching me.   All i heard was " what do you think you ARE doing"  she dragged me into the shop and made me appologise.  Then gave me a sweeping brush and i was made to sweep the shop floor every day for a week as punishment.  I think it's the only time she never clouted me for doing something wrong, but boy did i learn my lesson well!   ::)
Title: Re: famous !!!
Post by: Minn on Monday 18 October 04 08:07 BST (UK)
Well I don't know about famous, but my father used to say years ago that we had an executioner in the family way back & I always had a mental picture of a chunky hairy man in black leather with a big axe. When I finally got round to finding out about the ancestors, all I could find along those lines were a Magistrate who had sentenced to death 8 or 9 old women for being witches, & a Lord Chief Justice who had sentenced to death Sir Walter Raleigh, Mary Queen of Scots & a few  others. Does that count??

Minn
Title: Re: famous !!!
Post by: Jean McGurn on Monday 18 October 04 18:25 BST (UK)
When I was a child in the 1950's I was led to understand that "Machine Gun" Jack McGurn one of Al Capone's henchmen ws a distant cousin.

Found out few years later he wasn't. Just an Italian who trawled through Chicago telephone directory for a good old Irish name.

Oh well back to the drawing board.

Jean
Title: Re: famous !!!
Post by: Jean McGurn on Monday 18 October 04 18:31 BST (UK)
Thens there's the maternal side. Some members of the family are convinced that the late Mr Justice Stables was my grandmother cousin.

Very much doubt it even though one of his sons, who are both judges, changed his name to Owens (another link with the family).

Think it was just because of the name and was to counteract the gangster.

Jean

Title: Re: famous !!!
Post by: leagen on Saturday 30 October 04 08:20 BST (UK)
According to a genealogy book I have on Tracy line one of my ancestors was King Cerdic, a king of Wessex in the 500's and one of his decendents was Egbert, first King of All England and somewhere in there is  Alfred the great as a direct ancestor. Then I have a Princess and a Gov. of Va. (A "Sir" Tracy) and a Witch burned in Salem, Mass.  All that prestige but No MONEY!!!
Title: Re: famous !!!
Post by: leagen on Saturday 30 October 04 08:25 BST (UK)
I had a friend who started her family genealogy and one of the first things she discovered was her grandmother was Never married.  My friend quit right then.
Title: Re: famous !!!
Post by: Hackstaple on Saturday 30 October 04 09:26 BST (UK)
Minn - Sir John Popham, to whom you may be referring, was indeed Lord Chief Justice at the second trial of Sir Walter Raleigh but at the time of the second and final trial of Mary Queen of Scots he was Attorney-General.
Title: Re: famous !!!
Post by: Minn on Saturday 30 October 04 10:17 BST (UK)
Hackstaple - thankyou for clearing that up. I was indeed referring to Sir John Popham, &  did think there was a discrepancy with the dates re him being LCJ & the date of death of Mary Q of Scots. Sir Walter Raleigh managed to wriggle out of his death sentence for a couple of years or so, but he finally got the chop after the death of Sir John Popham.

Minn
Title: Re: famous !!!
Post by: leagen on Sunday 31 October 04 11:43 GMT (UK)
From what I have been able to find one of my direct ancestors was one of the men who killed Becket.  Wonder what life would have been like for ME if my english had all stayed there instead of coming to the "New World"