Things you learn from your family...

[ULC]

I was playing the battle of hastings last night when I had my aunt talk about how my family was in that battle. She whipped out the family history, and I was shocked. Most of my family met on the battlefield. For instance, one of my grandfathers was one of the knights employed by William the Bastard (sorry, conqueror ). He married the sister of one of the survivng huscarles. One of my Great uncles served in the Varangian Guard. Another was part of the Scottish army under Robert the Bruce. Yet another came from the Teutonic Order and Russia. The Crusader States. Barbossa and the Lombard League. The list goes on. I think the only thing my family hasn't been involved in is the Reconquista. My family seems to have been made, it appears, on the battlefield. One guy kills another and then marries his sister. Does anyone else have such a dysfunctional family tree? Am I alone?

[Brandy Blue]

You must have a long lived family. My grandfather was old enough to serve in World War 2, but he did not because he was more valuable to the allies as a scientist than as a soldier. I gather that your grandfather was at Hastings? I believe the Varangian Guard came to an end in the 13th century, so your great uncle may have been much younger than your grandfather, but a lot older than my great uncle who died as a soldier in WWII.

I am not sure what you are getting at. Is it a joke? There is no way you could have great uncles and a grandfather involved in events that far back. If you are old enough I suppose it is just possible that they were involved in big events from the 19th century.

[seireikhaan]

I think he just referred to them as grandfathers and great-uncles for the sake of not having to say, "my great, great, great, great, great, great, great... grandfather served at hastings. I mean, that's a long ways down the line, so he'd have a lot of 'greats' in his name.

[ULC]

Yes thats what I meant, thanks greater khan. I wished to spare you the "great", mostly becuase of the annoyance of having to type it 30-50 times. If you want to get technical, my grandfather who served William has 46 "greats" attached to his name . Still, any takers?

[Tratorix]

Wow, thats cool. I wish I had a long family history. I can't really trace my family back past my grandfather. Heh, my family doesn't really believe in writing things down .

[Innocentius]

I'm sorry to be the first pessimist in here, but: I believe either you or your aunt (or the both of you) are lying. A lot of people want their family trees to be famous and great, and it's not unusual for people to make things up. For example, according to Swedish genealogy about 50% of the Swedish population are related to Birger Magnusson ("Birger Jarl", an important character in Swedish medieval history) and about 10% would be related to Gustav Vasa.

For me to change my opinion, I would like to see some evidence. There is pretty much no way you can track any families except royal families back to the 11th century and there is pretty much no way you can track any "ordinary" family further back than to the 16th or 17th century.

I for one have seen my mother's family tree dating back to the early 17th century (she is Finnish but Finland was a part of Sweden by the time, and Sweden was one of the first countries in Europe to use national registration) and I can tell that my family were mostly farmers. A few of the men in the family most likely died in the wars (I haven't reserached specifically about individuals, but some of the deaths fit in perfectly with major military operations or battles) but the only one of which I'm certain is my grandfather's uncle who was killed in the Winter War.

[scowie]

Im afraid im with Innocentius. I cant believe you can possibly trace your family that far back.

Either you or your aunt has a very active imagination. Are you sure your Aunt has all her marbles? :D

[Ludens]

Keep it polite! Although it indeed is impossible for the average family to trace their line that far back, the nobility of England may be able to, since IIRC their possesions shortly after the conquest were noted down in the domesday book.

[ULC]

I myself am not a hundred percent sure about everything. Yes, my family was noble but slowly lost that status, and by the 15th. After Hastings, thinks become considerably murky. The sad thing is I just jumped on such a wagon, and have really no way to find out much more about it. I am currently working on it though. My grandmother had started it, and I currently trying to validate it. I wish I had more help in such an endaevor, and any help would be appreciative, although what could be supplied would probably not substantial. If I can remember correctly, my family's name was anglicized to "Seymour" after the Norman Conquest. Oh, and just for clarification, the Tuetonic Order/Russian line of my family was NOT during the Drang Noch Osten, and was during the 17th century.

[General Dazza]

I have been told that a member of our family who has spent years tracking down the family tree has discovered that a distant relative wads Lord Nelson's cabin boy (or some other type of personal help).

I can't validate this though as I haven't seen her work, but kinda nifty if true. I'm aiming to meet this person soon though, so if I do I'll let you know!

Other than that my grandfather was a member of the Australian Light Horse regiment in WW1, which is famous for (I believe) the last successful cavalry charge - in Bersheba.

[Louis VI the Fat]

If I can remember correctly, my family's name was anglicized to "Seymour" after the Norman Conquest.

The name Seymour is an Anglicised French-Norman name. It is derived from 'Saint-Maur', a town in Normandy. Its lord conquered England together with William the Conquerer.

Maybe you really can genealogically trace your ancestry back to Norman nobility. Maybe your family at one point adopted the name of Seymour. And much later somebody else in your family read up about the meaning of the surname and without further investigation accepted the 'Norman noble' family origin explanation, for all the glamour it brings.

Yes, my family was noble but slowly lost that status,

Actually, few noble families slowly lose their status. This usually means that somebody does genealogical research, discovers noble blood somewhere, and this later gets turned into a family legend. 'Once we were noblemen...'

There is probably not a single family in Europe without multiple infusions of noble blood. Such is the nature of genetic diffusion. You have two parents, four grandparents, eight...sixteen....thirty-two etcetera. Go back a thousand years, and you have 2^40 ancestors.
So you probably do have French-Norman ancestors. In fact, one would be hard pressed to find a single Briton without any.

[Don Esteban]

So you probably do have French-Norman ancestors. In fact, one would be hard pressed to find a single Briton without any.

I'd debate that point. there are so many potential different genetic inputs to a "Briton" that it is quite possible not to have Norman blood. the Normans were a relatively small group who seized power (and many of them were non-Norman mercenaries). It would be quite possible to have a mix of saxon, cletic and norse (but not specifically norman) blood.

If you go to the extremities of the UK the chances become higher as the Norman nobility had relatively little impact in Cornwall or the Highlands of Scotland although somewhat mor ein Wales and Ireland.

[macsen rufus]

I know where MY noble blood came from - my great, great, great grandmother was a serving maid and was fired from the "big house" after dropping the Lord's distaff. Alas the family grapevine did not preserve the identity of the Lord in question... Every time I see the House of Lords I wonder who's sitting in 'my' seat

Last news I saw of genetic studies of the Brits suggested that we are still predominantly of the pre-Celtic/Saxon/Norse/Norman stock, as with most invaders they brought their culture and language but didn't really replace the genetic stock. As such we are more related to Basques than most of our conquerors, although I don't doubt quite a few family lines will have been preserved from then. Interestingly, at the genetic level, the Welsh and Cornish are NOT distinguishable from the English.

[Don Esteban]

I know where MY noble blood came from - my great, great, great grandmother was a serving maid and was fired from the "big house" after dropping the Lord's distaff. Alas the family grapevine did not preserve the identity of the Lord in question... Every time I see the House of Lords I wonder who's sitting in 'my' seat

Last news I saw of genetic studies of the Brits suggested that we are still predominantly of the pre-Celtic/Saxon/Norse/Norman stock, as with most invaders they brought their culture and language but didn't really replace the genetic stock. As such we are more related to Basques than most of our conquerors, although I don't doubt quite a few family lines will have been preserved from then. Interestingly, at the genetic level, the Welsh and Cornish are NOT distinguishable from the English.

that's strange as it doesn't match the last study I saw which said a clear difference could be seen between the North and South of England - broadly following the line of what was the Danelaw and that there WAS a clear difference between Cornwall, Celtic Scotland and Wales.

Just shows that even academics can't agree on anything! Who know what is true ...... but what we do know is that we are one almighty great mix genetically.

Oh, and i can believe about us being related to the Basques because from my experience living here in Spain they are the most "english-like" - healthy love of beer being one major similarity

[macsen rufus]

healthy love of beer being one major similarity

That's what I call real scientific proof

[Don Esteban]

That's what I call real scientific proof

Proven after repeated testing if I may say so

[Subedei]

I once talked to a guy, who was really able to trace back his ancestors down to the 8th century. Really old noble family. He was [please fill in fitting number of grants] grandson of Charlemage. No kidding. He summed it up as: " A lot of freaks & geniuses in my family linage!!!". He had it all written down in the family chronicals....
interesting thing was, that he did not want to say his family name....ominous

Only thing I know half-proofed is that one of the ancestors was a merc in the 30 Years War....Landsknechting around in Bavaria & Bohemia.

[Tiberius of the Drake]

According to both my family history and to records I have found. My 6x great uncle on my mothers side was Thomas Francis Meagher. If anyone here knows semi-modern irish history, he was one of the founders of the Young Ireland movement in 1849. After he was convicted by the british for blowing up a bridge (oops) he was sentenced to life imprisonment in tazmania. he escaped by marrying the jailkeepers daughter and they quickly fled to America. 12 years later, they were both living in New york at the outbreak of the American Civil war. Meagher then convinced the govenor of new york to allow him to raise the 69th Irish Brigade. a brigade, as the name implies, made up entirely of Irish immigrants. The brigade then served with distinction throughout the beginning of the war. especially at Antietam and fredricksburg. Unfortunately Meagher had to retire from his command after he suffered a severe case of shell shock and some think PTSD. The brigade was disbanded in 1863 after the brigade suffered more than 60% casualties. As for meagher he traveled west and in 1864 he got drunk on a riverboat on the mississipi river, and proceded to walk off the boat and drown.*slaps head*


EDIT: This wasnt supposed to sound egotistical or prideful. if it did I apologize.

[macsen rufus]

he did not want to say his family name

Martel?

[Ludens]

I once talked to a guy, who was really able to trace back his ancestors down to the 8th century. Really old noble family. He was [please fill in fitting number of grants] grandson of Charlemage. No kidding. He summed it up as: " A lot of freaks & geniuses in my family linage!!!". He had it all written down in the family chronicals....

I was once told that this would be true for a quarter of the Western European population. That is probably exaggerated, but if you are related to a noble family, however distant, chances are good that you can trace your descent from one or more famous kings. Most aristocrats were related, after all.

[Haccapelite]

I can't tell much about my family history, and i really doubt that we have any royal blood in our veins, since the royal families and other noble families here in Finland were mainly either Swedish or Russian. But there is one thing worth mentioning about my family history: The last civilian that was executed in Finland was my relative from my fathers side, if i remember correctly he insulted his master some way when he was drunk (he was a farm hand) and then killed the master in a fist-fight. (we Finns are known for our calmness and good self-control, especially when drunk ) This happened, i think, in the late 1800's.
Well my grandfather fought in the Winterwar, but quite many Finns can say that about their grandparents.

(BTW, does the word 'farm hand' even say anything to you, i had to check it from the dictionary )And because it's summer holiday im slowly forgetting all the english i've learnt, so my grammar might be a bit bad. (oops, sorry about the off-topic, i'll just stop now and go sleeping)

[Martok]

As far as I'm aware, I have mostly common blood in my veins. About the closest I can claim to having a "noble" ancestry is that I'm supposedly tangentially related to an Adams (my family name) who was Lord Mayor of London some time back in the mid-17th century. Since even this remains unsubstantiated, however, I still just always say that I'm descended from poor white trash across the board.

[Martok]

Moving to the Entrance Hall, btw.

[Xehh II]

Relatives on my fathers side say that we're directly related to Robert the Bruce, I don't really believe it though. And on my mothers side they say I'm related to some kind of 18th century french mafia.

[King Antonius]

oh awesome u guys are talking about ur royal istory anyway my family is really in to the genealogy stuff cause were lds and so we found out that were related to Ethelred the Unready (king of England also a bad king he killed all the danish people) and were realated to Charlemagne awesome! and my ancestors were the tailors for the king of england.

[Chaos Cornelius lucius]

My father spent quite a few years researching our family history, and the furthest he could trace it back with any accuracy was to a landholder/squire in Beeston, Nottingham who was born in 1702.(strange that I ended up living there 300 years later).
My family name (Hollingsworth), does have a coat of arms attached, tho' whether it is 'ours' or belongs to someone else of that name I have no idea.
The name comes from old english, Hollings=holly + worth= house/farmstead, so it is 'Fred form the house by the holly grove'. I imagine there would have been quite a few homes by holly bushes in the past so I think a few people would have ended with this as a second name. The first recorded use of the name is in Cheshire in 1307 IIRC.
I think unless your ancestors where high nobility or particularly famous, it would be very difficult to actually make a direct connection between yourself and people who lived more than a couple of hundred years ago, particularly as the vast majority of people could not read or write, and that people had a nasty habit of dying unexpectedly and/or remarrying.(Found out that one of my great grandmothers was married 6 times, all of the husbands been lost at sea)

[King Antonius]

wow how cool my moms maiden name taylor is british and it comes from the given name of tailor and so my ancestors made clothes for the king of england and we have our own family coat of arms its really cool.

[Brandy Blue]

Maybe you really can genealogically trace your ancestry back to Norman nobility. Maybe your family at one point adopted the name of Seymour. And much later somebody else in your family read up about the meaning of the surname and without further investigation accepted the 'Norman noble' family origin explanation, for all the glamour it brings.

I guess you're about on target there. I know someone who has some ancestors with the last name Allen. Related to Scots called Alan? Not at all. His ancestors are from Greece. They fled to America because they weren't welcome in Turkey anymore (though Turks deny that anything bad was going on at all ) and wanted a name that Americans could pronounce.

Of course, what with one thing and another, who knows? His Allen ancestors may have had ancestors from Scotland named Alan.

[Brandy Blue]

In the novel Gulliver's Travels (not a kiddie version!) Johnathan Swift satirises the whole concept of royalty/nobility when Gulliver gets an opportunity to view the ancestors of members of royal families. He is disappointed to find out how many of their ancestors were servants or other people who weren't supposed to be in the royal bedroom at all, except maybe to do some cleaning!

Now, without pointing the finger of scorn at anyone's ancestors, I would suggest that the best anyone can do is trace their official family tree as far back as hard evidence permits. Its pretty hard to know who is in your real family tree. If we go by genetics, then 98% of my ancestors are chimpanzees!

[Omanes Alexandrapolites]

I'm not too sure of my family's ancestry. One of my cousins is trying to trace it, but so far he hasn't gone back too far. As far as I know, my family was working class upto my mother and father. My grandmother worked on a butchers stall at the market, while my grandfather was assistant operator in a powerstation. Later, after it closed down, he became a window-cleaner.

Further back, my grandmother told me that my great grandfather was a farm labourer, and, after their farm closed, they moved to the small town which was building up around the coal fired powerstation, the same one which my grandfather was occupied in, with my great grandfather looking for work. My grandmother doesn't know much about what job he did though.

As for the next generation, I really can't be sure without asking one of my uncles whom is trying to trace the family tree beyond our current simple knowledge - it will be interesting to see what it looks like when he gets it completed.