Which Historical Event could be held responsible for you being here.

[pharmaT]

Inspired by the did your Parents/Grandparents meet in the war thread I was wondering what historical events led to your ancestors meeting.  I thought there may be some interesting stories.


I'll start with the Battle of Culloden.  My 3x Great Grandmother lived in the Village of Arderseir in the NE of Scotland while my 3x Great Grandfather grew up in South Ayrshire, miles away.  They met when he was posted to Fort George.  Fort George was one of the Forts built to reinforce defences in the North after Culloden.  The old Fort at Ruthven was further away so I'm guessing they may not have met had Fort George not been built.

[sleepybarb]

The Coronation of our Queen!

[Chilternbirder]

I can't pin anything on an event before the 20th century. I have mentioned the positive meetings in the War thread but without WW2 my mother would probably have married the local boy who asked her in 1940 just as she was about to join the WAAF. By the time she was demobbed he had married somebody else. Similarly her brother wouldn't have married the Italian girl he met in his service as a "D Day Dodger".

[Redroger]

In my case recently WW1. Dad was a boy soldier who remained single into the 1930s. He was invited to a Cambridgeshire Regiment old comrades association reunion around 1936. He asked for accomodation addresses and was put up by the association secretary, who wife's sister happened to visit. Next time Dad went to Cambridge it was to see the sister ----.On Mum's side I think the Battle of Jutland and a rumoured family tradition of arranged marriages may have played a part too, but as it's uncertain to say the least I shan't go into that.
Much further back I believe the Civil War played a part too.

[jaybelnz]

My Father's RNZAF 24 Hr demob.leave at the end of WW2!  With his long distance travel home from his base consisting of bus, then hitch hiking,  then a train, then a 2 mile walk, finished up only being at home for 4 hours, before having to return to camp. 

  My Mum told me the story, just after he died, but later when I told my 2 brothers, they didn't believe me!  AHA, but much later, after starting my research, I got his RNZAF War records!  Dates of demob leave, clearly stating stating the dates that were totally related to my birth date, 9 months later.... I took great delight in showing my brothers the record:

AND HERE I AM -73 years later!! 💞💞

[gazania]

I can't say the event was responsible but more an unfortunate coincidence.  My birth was induced a bit early as My Mum had already lost a baby 5 years earlier. 1st of Sept seemed to be a nice date, ie the first day of Spring in Oz. Unfortunate, though, as it was the date that Hitler invaded Poland and Ww2 was called on the 3rd.  My Mum always remembered the sirens wailing while she was holding me in hospital. Only recently, I learned that the informant on my birth cert, a nursing sister, was later interned in a POW camp and died there just before the war ended. She was also a relative of good friends of our family.

[aghadowey]

A shipwreck!

August 1887 Canadian great-grandfather (sea captain) was shipwrecked and entire crew picked up by a steamer heading to New York City. He arrived in N.Y.C. with only the clothes on his back and sought refuge with another Nova Scotian family whose sons he knew until he got another command. One week later he married one of the daughters! She and the two eldest children were at sea with him, a 3rd child was born at sea and eventually they bought an island and lived there when he became a yacht captain, becoming a ferry captain in retirement.

[clairec666]

Not an "event" as such, but railways played a big part in bringing my ancestors together.

G-g-grandfather (in my profile picture), left his home town to work on the railways, first as a porter, then for most of his career as a signalman. If that job opportunity hadn't arisen, he wouldn't have met my g-g-grandmother.

Another set of g-g-grandparents, both moved to Eastbourne at a time when the town's population was booming, due to the arrival of the railway. He was a builder so presumably there was lots of work available for him. She possibly worked as a domestic servant and moved with the family she worked for, but I have no real evidence. Anyway, if the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway hadn't built that railway line, I doubt my ancestors would have met.

[gazania]

The coming of the railways, I am fairly sure, influenced my g grandfather, a saddler at Thorne, Yorkshire, to firstly move to Chesterfield, then migrate to Brisbane, where horse drawn coaches were still integrated with rail travel. 

My Irish ancestors left Ireland at the time of The Famine as many did.