Ancestry

Maximus Alexander

Just today I found a small biography about my great-grandfather, whom I never met since he died a full 35 years before I was born. It revealed some interesting things.

Firstly he was English, which makes me at least 1/8th English, so I'll have to stop spray-painting "Brits out" on people's garage doors.

Secondly, and more importantly, he married four women throughout his life. His fourth and final marriage, at the age of 74, was to a 26 year old woman. Get in, you legend!

What strange, surprising or interesting things have you found out about your own ancestors?

Seachmall

My ancestors were the first to craft purposely made tools, they were also the first to learn how to create fire.

I have inherited none of their innovativeness though, I buy tools and lighters

kowloon

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

Secondly, and more importantly, he married four women throughout his life. His fourth and final marriage, at the age of 74, was to a 26 year old woman. Get in, you legend!

'Dammit man, it's like you're pushing rope!'

Mr. Incognito

My parents had sex

kneemos

All his wives must have "died"then presumably?

Joe prim

An ancestor of mine was one of the first, if not the very first arthropod to crawl out of the ocean and become almost totally land-based.I think his name was Henry.

Grayson

I knew nothing about my ancestors beyond my grandparents. I only found out who my great grand parents were in the census they put online.

Maximus Alexander

kneemos wrote: »

All his wives must have "died"then presumably?

That's the extra special part, they didn't. Bigamy central. Although his last wife, the 26 year old, died of TB on the day of their first wedding anniversary and he followed her a year later.

D1stant

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

Firstly he was English, which makes me at least 1/8th English, so I'll have to stop spray-painting "Brits out" on people's garage doors.

Secondly, and more importantly, he married four women throughout his life. His fourth and final marriage, at the age of 74, was to a 26 year old woman. Get in, you legend!

You are way more than 1/8th English

fasttalkerchat

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

Firstly he was English, which makes me at least 1/8th English

Well with a name like Maximus Alexander it must have been the elephant in the room!

kneemos

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

That's the extra special part, they didn't. Bigamy central. Although his last wife, the 26 year old, died of TB on the day of their first wedding anniversary and he followed her a year later.

Sounds like an interesting dude.

MRnotlob606

to all blue eyed people out there ive got bad new, yout related to me

theblaqueguy

I found out recently that my ancestors owned white people as their slaves instead of them being slaves
Who'd of thunk it!

Maximus Alexander

D1stant wrote: »

You are way more than 1/8th English

That was deliberate innit.

Peregrine

I've never even met my grandparents, they died between 3 and 25 years before I was born and I didn't learn much about them from my parents either.

I don't think I can name all four of them to be honest..

Grayson

The adverts on this site are well targeted. I'm seeing one for a family tree builder

Maximus Alexander

Nimrod 7 wrote: »

I've never even met my grandparents, they died between 3 and 25 years before I was born and I didn't learn much about them from my parents either.

I don't think I can name all four of them to be honest..

I never took much interest in my family history either to be honest, but this was shown to me by a cousin and I think I'm hooked now. Trying to figure out how to learn about the rest of them.

Paz-CCFC

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

Secondly, and more importantly, he married four women throughout his life. His fourth and final marriage, at the age of 74, was to a 26 year old woman.

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m56p3eGLd11rvzyvqo1_400.gif

Teyla Emmagan

I can trace my family to those fleeing the Siege of Limerick in 1690. Honestly.

But in true AH style - who could blame them?!?!

kneemos

Teyla Emmagan wrote: »

I can trace my family to those fleeing the Siege of Limerick in 1690. Honestly.

But in true AH style - who could blame them?!?!

Lucky you.

BillyMitchel

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

Just today I found a small biography about my great-grandfather, whom I never met since he died a full 35 years before I was born. It revealed some interesting things.

Firstly he was English, which makes me at least 1/8th English, so I'll have to stop spray-painting "Brits out" on people's garage doors.

Secondly, and more importantly, he married four women throughout his life. His fourth and final marriage, at the age of 74, was to a 26 year old woman. Get in, you legend!

What strange, surprising or interesting things have you found out about your own ancestors?

My great great grandmother was apparently a slag and married some rich dirty perv and milked him dry. We still swimming in that money today

Mountainsandh

My great great great grandfather was a blacksmith. My great grandfather (I got to know him) was gassed in the 1st WW(I'm French), he died a bed ridden asthmatic, his lungs never fully recovered, but lived a long life.
His son my grandfather only died recently, he was about 20 during the 2nd WW, and told me stories of how they were ordered to hide in strangers' homes when the bridges were bombed in my hometown, or how he was in the cinema once when the Gestapo found some stash of weapons the resistance had hidden in the cinema pillars.
My grandmother, his wife, was from a well off family living in a fine house, that was requisitioned by the Germans. As a young lady she had to cook for them and do their laundry. Her step Mum (mother died in childbirth) was the great grandmother I knew, when we called to her place she would show us war stuff, and we once had a bit of war chocolate (it was a bit white but it was fine).

On the other side my grandfather was sent to Russia as a POW during WW2. He was gone for 2/3 years I think, and had stories from there too. He was a qualified civil engineer, and took under his wing some who were, like a lot of others, chancing their arms at declaring some useful qualifications. People were pretending to be tailors or bakers, just to be safe in the knowledge that they would be employed in that way, and not pushed off somewhere else.
His wife, my grandmother, was left behind in Paris, living in her father's luxury hotel (well known hotel, still standing), where the Germans used to have lavish parties. She had great stories too.
Her mother's great grandmother was a maid in a big house, she had 2 children whose father's identity she refused to reveal, but found a kind older gentleman to marry her, and adopt the kids.

And so ends our search on that side, since the father remained unknown. I like to think he might have been the noble man in the big house.

I loved all my grandparents and great grandparents war stories, they told us a lot, but I wish they'd have told us even more.

donegal__road

Similar to Telya in post #19, we can go back directly on our family tree to 1540, and indirectly to 1270 when the first records of our family name appeared in land registry documents in Dublin, after the invasion of the Normans.
Our family name is unusual, and there is a celebrated chieftain in the ranks from circa 1640.

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

My dads family seemed interesting.
His grandmothers house was a safe house for the guys on the run back then, and Sean Tracey had stayed there on a few occasions.

My dads grand uncle was locked up in Scotland for having revolvers in the house when the Black and Tans raided it. Then when we he was released from prison and was making his way back to Ireland, the really bad boat they were on, (with cattle) sank and my great grand uncle was one of the few who managed to get a life jacket. They were pulled onto an American boat that happened to be close by.
He sounded deadly actually, and only died maybe fifteen years ago so I got to know him too, but when he was old and not fun.

My great grandmother was involved in a women's part of the IRA and she got to carry secret messages to and from places.


That's pretty much all I know about them

feargale

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

That's the extra special part, they didn't. Bigamy central. Although his last wife, the 26 year old, died of TB on the day of their first wedding anniversary and he followed her a year later.

And he? The same or exhaustion? TB or not TB, that is the question.

dd972

Lord Henry Mountcharles uses Boards.ie ! Learn something new every day :pac:

feargale

Mountainsandh wrote: »

Her mother's great grandmother was a maid in a big house, she had 2 children whose father's identity she refused to reveal, but found a kind older gentleman to marry her, and adopt the kids.
And so ends our search on that side, since the father remained unknown. I like to think he might have been the noble man in the big house.
.

You took so long to get to the interesting bit, I was wondering were you French at all.

WilyCoyote

donegal__road wrote: »

Similar to Telya in post #19, we can go back directly on our family tree to 1540, and indirectly to 1270 when the first records of our family name appeared in land registry documents in Dublin, after the invasion of the Normans.
Our family name is unusual, and there is a celebrated chieftain in the ranks from circa 1640.

Cromwell?

BillyMitchel

WilyCoyote wrote: »

Cromwell?

Few families in Dublin with that surname. Always wondered how it came about.

MadsL

donegal__road wrote: »

Similar to Telya in post #19, we can go back directly on our family tree to 1540, and indirectly to 1270 when the first records of our family name appeared in land registry documents in Dublin, after the invasion of the Normans.
Our family name is unusual, and there is a celebrated chieftain in the ranks from circa 1640.

Frenchies Out!!

JohnMearsheimer

My great grand father was the manager of a brewery in Clonakilty. His son, my grandfather, was a cooper at the same brewery. I think the Porterhouse in Dublin brew a beer (Clonakilty wrastler) brewed at the brewery my great grandfather and grandfather worked at. My great grandfather kept a diary and it was photocopied for me by a distant cousin. It was interesting to read his thoughts on the politicians/current events of the day, World War 1 etc.

My great grandfather's brother emigrated to the US in the 1880s. With the help of ancestry.com and one or two letters exchanged between my great grandfather and his brother I was able to trace them up until the 1920s but the trail went cold.

MadsL

My great-grandfather was a chain-maker who worked on the anchor chain for Titanic.

Mountainsandh

feargale wrote: »

You took so long to get to the interesting bit, I was wondering were you French at all.

That's what 2 hot whiskeys do to me I think.

Frenchies Out!!

Not sure I like the way this is going...

:P

donegal__road

WilyCoyote wrote: »

Cromwell?

he was executed by Cromwell

Maximus Alexander

feargale wrote: »

And he? The same or exhaustion? TB or not TB, that is the question.

Unfortunately there's no mention of what he died from, but presumably in 1950 dying at 75 wasn't that odd.