What makes a Black Sheep?

[Gillg]

Very late in the day, I know, but just had to add a couple of my forebears to the list of Black Sheep. 

My grandparents used to mysteriously refer to a Black Sheep in the family, but would never say who.  As I have gone along with my ancestor hunting I first identified my gt-grandmother, who reputedly went on a drinking spree after her husband's funeral, bringing home on the back of a horse and cart a man whom she married shortly afterwards.  They parted, she inherited money from her father and moved away and her new husband married someone else bigamously.  However, perhaps after all the Black Sheep was her first husband, my gt-grandfather, who left his job as village shoemaker and went to London to become a policeman.  I knew that he and his family returned to the village after two years and that he took up his old job again, but it wasn't until I had sent for his police service record that I discovered the reason why - he had been dismissed the force "for stealing strawberries"!

Now, which of those was the Black Sheep, I wonder.....or perhaps it was some else whose story has yet to be discovered?

Gillg

[toni*]

my partner says he is the black sheep of the family he never gets invited to anything. this is sad, really sad for him being left out we can't see a reason why (unless they don't like me but they shouldn't leave him or our children out)

my great grandfather is a black sheep as is his brother my great grandfather abandon his wife and children to run off with another woman where he had more children.
his brother after his wife died destroyed her memory and abandoning his child.
their sister was married several times but her first husband was a bigamist and i think he abandoned her and thier son.

[Gillg]

As well as our Black Sheep, we also have a "Merry Widow" in the family - my aunt married 3 times.  Her first two husbands, each being the same age as her father (and what's the significance of that, I wonder?) died in the fulness of time.  By the time she married her third she and he were in their 70s, and I have to say this was the happiest of the marriages.  She never had any children.  When her brother's widow re-married, however, she was very critical and most disapproving - seems it was OK for her to do it, but not anyone else.

[MarieC]

I've another one since I last posted about mine.  Not in the direct line, but a cousin of my ggrandfather.  He viciously attacked his uncle near present day Darwin, Northern Territory (Australia) over some dispute about a cow, and the uncle died from his wounds.  It was real frontier territory up there then, and the miscreant was able to take off and was never caught and charged.  At one stage he impersonated my ggrandfather (I found myself getting quite cross about this, until I realised I was being ridiculous!)

I've been in touch with a descendant of the murdered man.  He is still extremely bitter about the man who caused his ancestor's death.

MarieC