« Reply #102 on: Sunday 05 January 25 18:36 GMT (UK) »
John Hurt's ancestor was featured on WDYTYA and his ancestor Walter Lord Brown was mentioned in an obituary I think where the obituary mentioned a rumour that he or his wife was a descendant of the Marquis of Sligo, and that his dad was a manager of the Bond Office in London. Turned out he was a mere clerk at the company and the Brown family had no link whatsoever to the Marquis of Sligo, nor did Emma Stafford. And that Walter Browne's main claim to fame was owning a few houses in Grimsby which he gave Irish names, and that he was a mere storyteller who created a false background for himself. The researchers found no Irish blood in John's family that they could prove, and John was a bit peeved that he had no Irish blood and no royal blood.
I did a bit of follow up research and found a Campbell ancestor in London in John's tree in the mid 1700s, no doubt the WDYTYA researchers may have also found this but could not trace back to any Irish or Scottish link. Campbell being Scottish and Irish as a surname.
Same as rumours that the Kray twins were of Romany and Jewish blood, when there is no known whatsoever found in their tree by genealogists, however there is likely some distant Irish blood, on top of the verified Huguenot blood. One of their London ancestors was Mary Kelly born about 1765 in London.
Researching:
LONDON, Coombs, Roberts, Auber, Helsdon, Fradine, Morin, Goodacre
DORSET Coombs, Munday
NORFOLK Helsdon, Riches, Harbord, Budery
KENT Roberts, Goodacre
SUSSEX Walder, Boniface, Dinnage, Standen, Lee, Botten, Wickham, Jupp
SUFFOLK Titshall, Frost, Fairweather, Mayhew, Archer, Eade, Scarfe
DURHAM Stewart, Musgrave, Wilson, Forster
SCOTLAND Stewart in Selkirk
USA Musgrave, Saix
ESSEX Cornwell, Stock, Quilter, Lawrence, Whale, Clift
OXON Edgington, Smith, Inkpen, Snell, Batten, Brain