Strange family backgrounds

[Creamstick1]

Now that is bloody impressive!

 

[rynner2]

John Hurt admits sadness at his faked Irish ancestry
By Tom Peterkin, Ireland Correspondent
Last Updated: 2:56am BST 12/09/2007

For years the actor John Hurt took great pride in his Irish aristocratic ancestry, believing that his great-grandmother was the illegitimate child of the Marquis of Sligo.

Much to his disappointment, genealogists have discovered that his Irishness was nothing more than a family myth, perhaps created to give the family tree a spurious link to the upper class. Instead it appears that his family hails from Croydon, south London.

The research was done for the BBC's Who Do You Think You Are programme, which traces the roots of well-known figures and is to be broadcast tomorrow night.

The star of the Naked Civil Servant and The Elephant Man admitted that his lack of Irish blood was a great disappointment. He felt so close to the country that he even moved there for a spell. Now he can no longer be included in the roll call of great Irish actors.

"As far as I was concerned I was Irish," he said. "My disappointment was that they had managed to prove that the one thing I thought I did have was Irish blood and I haven't got any."

http://tinyurl.com/2t45j3

I wonder how many other 'family legends' are made up, or created in error?

 

[jefflovestone]

So far we have traced the family tree back to the early 1700s which would be unusual if we were descended from...erm...commoners.

I disagree; not necessarily the case at all. There's no nobility or aristocracy in my family and yet I managed to trace my paternal line back to the mid-1600s.

The only point of interest I can really add to the thread is that there's a hill in Staffordshire named after my family.

 

[jefflovestone]

I wonder how many other 'family legends' are made up, or created in error?

I'd say most of them. It's the first real lesson most people learn when they start genealogy.

 

[myf13]

I understand that my grandma led my parents to believe that a family member had received the VC at Rourke's Drift (and was mentioned at the end of Zulu), but it's not true. Mind you, she also said that someone had gone off to be a Mountie. In Australia

 

[rjmrjmrjm]

Only weird one with me is that I have three women I call Grandma but only one who is biologically so.

My dad was put up for adoption in the 50's so he lost contact with his real Mum. The woman who brought him up I have always known as Grandma Beryl.

My mothers mother died when she was a child so she grew up with her aunt... who I also call Grandma.

Finally about 15 years ago my Dad gets in touch with his real mum... and I get another Grandma, except this time a real one!

 

[jefflovestone]

Only weird one with me is that I have three women I call Grandma but only one who is biologically so.

My dad was put up for adoption in the 50's so he lost contact with his real Mum. The woman who brought him up I have always known as Grandma Beryl.

My mothers mother died when she was a child so she grew up with her aunt... who I also call Grandma.

Finally about 15 years ago my Dad gets in touch with his real mum... and I get another Grandma, except this time a real one!

I can kind of relate, no pun intended to this. I didn't realise the thread was going touching on stuff like this.

The girl I grew up believing was my older sister was actually my mum's foster sister. My grandparents had quite a few kids - spread across the years - but also took in foster kids when the older children grew up and moved out. They were bringing up the last of these, a young girl, when my grandmother died suddenly and my grandfather had a severe stroke within a short space of time. My parents and I, a young baby at the time, moved into my grandfather's house to look after both he and the young girl. It wasn't until I was about 9 or 10 that I found out she wasn't my sister, but my mum's foster-sister.

 

[LaurenChurchill]

Nothing mind-blowingly interesting in my family line.

Uh... Dad's family are unsurprisingly related to Winston Churchill and, in fact, quite a few of them went to his funeral. They're also descended from the Duke of Marlborough and I've been told that if he'd actually married my great(however many times) grandmother I would now be a Duchess-in-waiting (do they have a real title?).

On the same side I'm related to the Clarke brothers (some famous bushrangers out here in Oz) and my grandmother claimed her family were the traditional royalty of Ireland (the O'Briens).

My Uncle Luis and Auntie Valmai are a Count and Countess in Spain.

My maternal grandmother was a maid to Lord Mountbatten and usually helped the nanny with the kid-watching duties.

am, in fact 1/2 Maltese, with a large splattering of Indian (dot and feather), Chinese, Spanish and Italian. This, in itself, is not strange, but if you ever met me you wouldn't guess it at all. I am the most ridiculously white person you'll ever meet (I don't tan at all, or even sunburn) and I have red hair and green eyes.

 

[Creamstick1]

I wonder how many other 'family legends' are made up, or created in error?

I'd say most of them. It's the first real lesson most people learn when they start genealogy.

I have something related to report! A few posts ago, I posted some of the findings from our recent and on-going attempt to trace our family tree.

This is what we have recently discovered.

There is a picture of an ancestor of mine on display in Edinburgh Castle, in an exhibit on some war (hey, it's late, and I can't for the life of me remember which one - I'm not phoning my Dad at this time of night to ask - I'll update at a more suitable hour). The story goes that he lied about his age to enlist, and was killed in battle on his first day of active service (or whatever you call it - his first day of active fighting). This is why he is included in the exhibit.

According to what we have found, it turns out that he didn't lie about his age at all - he was absolutely old enough to have enlisted, and he may have been confused with a younger sibling.

It may turn out that I have just posted a load of twaddle, and have myself gotten confused with another family story, but the only reason I'm still up is because my two-year-old daughter has just woken up with a really bad temperature, and I'm trying to let her get back to sleep. I myself am battling with a a bout of Labrynthitis (the first person to mention Minotaurs or David Bowie will recieve a swift kick to the crotch )

I'll update/recant/deny all knowledge later..

 

[rynner2]

This sort of thing could put knots in your family tree...

Pensioner sperm donor for his 'grandchild'
By Gary Cleland
Last Updated: 12:14am BST 06/10/2007

A pensioner is to become the sperm donor for his own "grandchild", it was revealed yesterday.

The 72-year-old will donate his sperm in order that his son and daughter-in-law can have a baby.

If successful, the procedure would result in a baby that was its grandfather's genetic child and its father's half-brother.

It has been approved by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority and will be performed at the London Women's Clinic.

The husband and wife couple's attempt to become pregnant by IVF treatment failed because the man's sperm was not of a high enough quality.

Dr Kamal Ahuja, science director at the London Women's Clinic, said he believed it was the first case of its kind in Britain. He said: "This is a decision that the clinic has made to help this couple.

"It has exercised us over the many months, as it was the first case of its kind. We needed to be sure that we were headed in the right direction. We looked at the couple's request and consulted with counsellors, with the couple and with an independent ethics committee."

Both the couple and the donor, who has not been named but is from London, have received counselling throughout the process.

It is believed the couple, while desperate to have a child, did not want to use sperm from outside the family. The husband does not have a brother, and so they turned to his father.

The child would have the legal right to discover the identity of its sperm donor father once he or she turned 18.

Dr Peter Bowen-Simkins, co-medical director at the clinic, said: "I've certainly never come across a case like this before.

"But advancements in fertility treatment have overcome a lot of taboos in science, which means that people are prepared to consider all sorts of options."

http://tinyurl.com/2axjjf

 

[Peripart]

This sort of thing could put knots in your family tree...

Pensioner sperm donor for his 'grandchild'

A pensioner is to become the sperm donor for his own "grandchild", it was revealed yesterday.
The 72-year-old will donate his sperm in order that his son and daughter-in-law can have a baby.
If successful, the procedure would result in a baby that was its grandfather's genetic child and its father's half-brother.

That's really quite weird, but oddly touching. At least when the child finds out who his "real" father is, it'll be someone he already knows and loves.

I've just thought, though - if this were the mother's father offering to donate sperm, would it be allowed? I'm guessing not, since even if not actually incest, it would count as inbreeding, with all the ethical and potential physical difficulties that would entail.

 

[Anonymous]

my ansctor was the Queen of the Maltese royal Family theat's all i no.

 

[bugmum]

My grandmother's maiden name was Austin. There were 7 other children in the family. Apparently, around Northampton, they were known as the Austin 8. Which is not surprising as they were vaguely related to the founders of the Austin motor company. My mother insisted on buying British cars for years!

My husband's distant cousin was one of the children in the film "The Sound of Music". Having looked her up on imdb, I was understandably delighted to discover that her sister played Cassandra Spender on "The X-Files"!

 

[StormMagic]

I have a few odd and interesting ancestors, including a circus girl, a newspaper editor, a famous pianist and a rich gentleman who ran away to marry a servant girl (I would be rich and heir to a large estate if he hadn't).

I'm also fascinated by my great-great-grandfather, whose identity is shrouded in mystery. The family theory is that he was running away from something and changed his name, but I suppose we'll never know.

 

[gellatly68]

The origins of my paternal line are shrouded in mystery (aren't they all?)
but we have two places in the UK apparently named after us, one in Liverpool the other in Devon.
My paternal nan's early childhood was marked by tragedy: having been born into a fairly well-of family, her father gambled all the money away, then blew his brains out. Her mother later met another man, who ended up doing exactly the same thing. My great-grandmother was also, in family stories at least, rumoured to be a bastard child of the Duke of Devonshire.
Nan's brother was in the Pathfinder Squadron in WWII and fought his way up through Italy. One of the family treasures was a set of photos, taken by him, showing various Italian Fascists, including Il Duce himself, strung up and/or shot and/or mutilated. We'd get them out at Christmas. After the war, he was a notable race driver.
My paternal great-grandad was a gunner on HMS Minerva at the Battle of Gallipoli. Family legend (again) has him firing the shot that nearly took out Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the commander at the front and future founder of the Turkish Republic. I occasionally tease my Turkish wife about this.
My great-great grandfather was a notable horse trainer from High Arkle.
on the other side of the family, one of my great grandfathers was the driver of The Flying Scotsman!

 

[ameagari]

I have a few odd and interesting ancestors, including a circus girl, a newspaper editor, a famous pianist and a rich gentleman who ran away to marry a servant girl (I would be rich and heir to a large estate if he hadn't).

Or, instead of being heir to a large fortune and estate, you might be a servant in a family of servants Hey, if you're descended from the rich guy, you're also descended from the servant girl he married.

 

[586FAC75]

It's an old family legend/rumour that my great great great great grandfather was Robert Snooks, the last person to be hanged for highway robbery in England.

 

[StormMagic]

I have a few odd and interesting ancestors, including a circus girl, a newspaper editor, a famous pianist and a rich gentleman who ran away to marry a servant girl (I would be rich and heir to a large estate if he hadn't).

Or, instead of being heir to a large fortune and estate, you might be a servant in a family of servants Hey, if you're descended from the rich guy, you're also descended from the servant girl he married.

I think it's quite romantic. They had about twelve kids and ran their own farm. The heir was painted out of all the family portraits.

I think I would like to have met the circus girl though, from all accounts she had a pretty wild life

 

[UsedtobChrisFord]

Apparently, I'm descended from a 14th century Danish king (though this may be rubbish as everybody on that side of the family has a different story) and in some distant way am related to Martha Washington (george's wife) through a sibling of hers (again with the conflicting stories). On my father's side I am in a roundabout way cousins with Robert Ford (yes, the coward). This has been verified genealogically. But I was nonplussed about having no link to Henry or Gerald.

My mother's side of the family has been quite astute at mapping our lineage and shown that our family had come to the U.S. in the 1840s (I think) after hearing the greatness of Joseph Smith. They ended up in Illinois with Smith and Brigham Young working as muleskinners. The 2 sons fought in the civil war. They started to follow Young to Utah but decided he was only leading his people to their demise and stopped in Missouri and were integral in starting the RLDS church and the Church of Christ (which can be considered the RRLDS )

Somewhere I've got a transcript of a 2nd cousin's account of defending the grave of Joseph Smith when the christians came to desecrate his grave.

 

[LeatherArgento]

The scariest/oddest thing to me is that, sometimes, when I look around outside as I'm commuting or what have you, I realize all of a sudden that I am , at the very roots of my family tree, related to each and every one of you.

And you to me.

No take-backs! Ha-ha! :lol:

 

[rynner2]

This family background is only strange for its known length of history, which has now come to a sad end:

Bankruptcy forces baronet out of family seat
By Nick Britten
Last Updated: 1:25am GMT 03/01/2008

A baronet and his wife must move out of the house that has been their family's ancestral home for more than 1,000 years after a disastrous business venture left them bankrupt.

King Edgar gave the 1,490-acre estate near Rugeley, Staffs, to the Wolseley family in 975AD as a reward for ridding the area of wolves. But Sir Charles Wolseley, the 11th baronet, failed to keep the wolf from the door.

Both he and Lady Wolseley, his American wife, were declared bankrupt after a venture in the 1990s to turn the estate's gardens into a tourist attraction collapsed.

As parts of the land were sold off to repay their debts they were allowed to keep Park House, their 34-room Georgian home, but this has now been sold by the Royal Bank of Scotland. Lady Wolseley, 64, said: "It is a very big wrench and moving is always traumatic even if you want to go.

"It is very upsetting really to leave, when it's happened after a thousand years, on your watch. You feel as though you are caretakers and the house is to be passed on."

She added: "It has been a privilege to live here — we love it and we have enjoyed it."

Sir Charles, a qualified chartered surveyor, inherited the estate in 1954. He planned to open the 45-acre landscaped gardens to visitors in the late 1980s but Wolseley Garden Park, which cost £1.73 million and eventually opened in 1990, only earned £30,000 in its first year and closed soon afterwards.

At one stage Sir Charles's debts reached an estimated £4.6 million. He was made bankrupt in 1996 with debts of £2.5 million, which Sir Charles blamed on the recession and high interest rates. Afterwards, he was forced to claim benefits in order to make ends meet.

The bank sold the estate, including hundreds of acres of woodland that now form the headquarters of the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust. Park House was built for the Wolseleys in 1793. It has been sold by the bank to another family for an undisclosed sum.

Lady Wolseley said: "It is terribly sad that the Garden Park didn't come to fruition. But it was always going to be a problem because the bank withdrew funding before it was completed, so it didn't have much chance."

Sir Charles said that they would be moving into nearby rented accommodation owned by a friend, but they were being forced to leave behind several valuable pieces of art.

He said: "There are some things we are taking, such as rare portraits of the family line dating back to the reign of James I, but other things are simply too big. We've been hanging on as best we could but the bank finally sold the house. It's very sad."

Park House is the family's last remaining physical link with the estate, although the family motto, "homo homini lupus" — man is as a wolf to his fellow man — will provide a timeless reminder.

http://tinyurl.com/2epesa

I was a bit bothered by the photo of Sir Charles - he looks very like my (now deceased) father, whose own father is unknown.....

Could we be related? :shock:

(I hope not - he might try to cadge a few quid off me! )

 

[rynner2]

I stumbled upon this while looking for something quite different:

Baron Moynihan

Baron Moynihan, of Leeds in the County of York, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 19 March 1929 for the surgeon Sir Berkeley Moynihan, 1st Baronet, the son of the Victoria Cross recipient Andrew Moynihan. Sir Berkeley had already been created a Baronet, of Carr Manor, in 1922.[1] The titles became dormant on the death of his grandson, the third Baron, in 1991.

There followed a complex dispute between his two sons, born separately by his fourth and fifth wives; the 3rd Baron had believed that the eldest boy, Andrew, was not his son, and favoured the younger, Daniel.

They were joined in the dispute by Colin Moynihan, younger half-brother of the 3rd Baron; in March 1994 Colin Moynihan applied for a writ of summons thereby challenging the legitimacy of both sons and claiming the title for himself.[2]

In 1996 the Family Division of the High Court ruled that the 3rd Baron's divorce from his fourth wife Editha Eduarda had been obtained by fraud, meaning that his fifth marriage to Jinna Sabiaga had been bigamous and his son by that marriage illegitimate.[3]

After this action had been decided, the Committee of Privileges of the House of Lords ordered DNA testing of Andrew Moynihan, which found that the 3rd Baron was not his father. The Committee therefore decided in favour of the petition from Colin Moynihan, summing up their decision by saying:

...that neither of the two sons purporting to be the sons of the Third Baron can, in fact, be an heir to the peerage. In the case of the elder, Andrew, the committee was shown overwhelming genetic evidence that he cannot be the son of the late Lord Moynihan; and so far as the younger, Daniel, is concerned, the evidence clearly shows that he is the child of a bigamous marriage and is therefore illegitimate.

In those circumstances, it is clear beyond doubt that the petitioner, Colin Moynihan, must be the rightful heir and that his Petitions must succeed.[4]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Moynihan

Life gets complicated, don't it!

 

[marion]

My full sister has had some familial DNA analysis done, it is quite interesting and shows we are 90% West European and 10% Middle Eastern, no idea where the Middle Eastern genes come from, they are from my mother's side of the family, my father has pretty much 100% Western European which is normal for white English people.
The website also lists people who have also had familial DNA analysis and have close enough DNA matches to your own to be related.

My father has done extensive research into both his and my mother's families, no one striking though his mother's family seemed to be prone to suicide and journalism and I did have a great great great uncle who was killed by a dead sheep.

 

[rynner2]

...and I did have a great great great uncle who was killed by a dead sheep.

Must be a story there for Strange Deaths! Was he savaged by it..?

 

[OneWingedBird]

More likely it fell on him or something!

 

[marion]

Yeah they were loading some fallen stock onto a wagon and it fell back off onto him.

 

[Cherrybomb]

A great uncle of mine apparently died by spontaneous human combustion while out herding sheep :shock:

 

[Fluttermoth]

My family is very dull compared to yours, with two exceptions;

I had an aunt who used to scrub the undersides of the stones on her garden path (so I know where my OCD came from!)

and I had a great grandfather who drowned himself when he lost his job, back in the thirties, by lying face down in a four inch deep millpond :shock:

 

[special_farces]

A great uncle of mine apparently died by spontaneous human combustion while out herding sheep :shock:

Or was he just trying to rub two together??

 

[Cochise]

I'm not really sure there is such a thing as a strange family background, since by going back only half a dozen or so generations most people would find more than a few oddballs they were related to.